Trade News

PARIS -- Renault and its alliance partner Nissan have the resources to weather the coronavirus crisis and will roll out strategic plans as scheduled in mid-May, the automakers’ top executives said.

Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard and Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the three-year strategic plans for the automakers and alliance member Mitsubishi were needed to restore investors’ confidence.

Renault and Nissan have seen their sales fall and profits evaporate in the 18 months since the November 2018 arrest of Carlos Ghosn, who had led the alliance as chairman and was also serving as chairman and CEO at Renault.

"If the plan is not well explained and understood, then the share price is not going to recover and people will not believe that Nissan can get back on its feet," Uchida said in the interview.

Since the beginning of the year, Renault's share price has fallen by 58 percent while Nissan's h…

Lexus previews the second-generation 2006 IS sport sedan, as well as a convertible version, with the introduction of the LF-C sports coupe concept April 8, 2004, at the New York auto show.

The concept was equipped with a retractable hard top and four-position glass roof, allowing the car to switch from coupe to convertible to targa or speedster.

The rear-wheel-drive LF-C — for Lexus Future-Coupe — was powered by a V-8 engine and featured a one-touch activation button, crystal LED taillamps, suede bucket seats, a 3D instrument panel, drive-by-wire and a translucent crystal center console with blue backlighting.

Retractable rear-view cameras replaced side mirrors on the doors and rear bumper.

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

Automotive News reporter Lindsay VanHulle offers insights into her coverage on how dealerships across the U.S. are surviving during the pandemic and adapting to the rapidly changing digital landscape.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Weekend Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Weekend Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Weekend Drive"

Android

“Weekend Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here t…

Mazda plans special editions throughout its lineup to commemorate the company's 100th anniversary, although U.S. availability of the unique trim level will be announced later because of the coronavirus outbreak.

In Japan, Mazda is taking preorders now and will deliver the vehicles up until March 2021, the company said.

The special editions draw their inspiration from styling touches on Mazda's first passenger car, the R360 Coupe from 1960. The two-door micro-mini with a rear-mounted engine featured two-tone flourishes on higher trims on the roof and the interior, and the 100th-anniversary models echo some of those elements.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mazda's 100th birthday

The treatment is most fully realized on the MX-5 Miata convertible, which features white paint with a burgundy-red roof, like the comparable R360. Most other models come entirely in white on the outside with red leather seats and red carpet on the inside. Special edition logos — "100 YEAR…

The General Motors-Honda pact to co-develop two electric vehicles for the Japanese automaker — buried by an avalanche of coronavirus news last week — deserves a closer look. It's a rare, big deal.

Because Honda is a fiercely proud company — and doggedly protective of its sterling reputation for engineering and quality — the company doesn't often put its name on products that weren't designed in-house or that weren't designed with a partner it knows well.

Honda's name will appear, the two partners said Thursday, on two new global electric vehicles being developed by GM. Honda will design the interior and exterior of the vehicles. GM engineers are developing the vehicles' underpinnings and GM is providing the power.

The partnership will benefit from greater economies of scale, which will help with pricing and profitability.

This is the deepest collaboration Honda has had with a competitor since the 1980s, when Honda and…

Cadillac is revamping its sedan lineup in the U.S. with the 2020 CT4 and CT5. The CT5-V, the performance variant, is powered by a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine with 360 hp and 405 pound-feet of torque. It's available with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The CT5-V starts at $48,690 including shipping. Here's a roundup of CT5-V driving impressions from the automotive media.

"The car hunkered down and took off under heavy acceleration and felt secure and balanced on twisty stretches. The steering is precise and firm, with ample assist in touring mode. The CT5's weight distributions range from 51/49 to 54/46 front/rear, depending on engine, rear- or all-wheel drive and other features. I didn't notice any ill effects from the slightly nose-heavy layout, possibly because sport mode's performance traction management system neutralized them.

"The brakes, which include six-piston Brembos up front, have massive stopping power and pedal feedback that makes them ea…

DETROIT -- The Detroit Grand Prix, scheduled to take place May 29-31 at Belle Isle Park, is canceled this year because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The race will be scheduled for June 4-6 next year, according to a Monday news release.

"We looked at every possible scenario to reschedule the race, but all of them would have been too disruptive to the hundreds of fall events that will take place on Belle Isle," Bud Denker, chairman of the event, said in the release.

Ticketholders will be contacted soon, the release said.

James McLernon, a longtime auto industry executive with a specialization in manufacturing who rose from the assembly line to become a top executive with Chevrolet, opened Volkswagen's first U.S. assembly plant, and was a founder and past chairman of the board of American Axle, died March 21 at his home in Michigan. He was 92.

After serving in the Navy Air Corps during World War II, McLernon was an hourly worker at General Motors' Tonawanda, N.Y., plant while studying industrial engineering at the University of Buffalo. He became an engineer at GM and rose through the ranks to become general manufacturing manager at GM's Chevrolet Division executive in 1969.

In 1976, McLernon joined what was then Volkswagen Manufacturing Corp. of America as its first president, overseeing the completion of an unfinished Chrysler plant into the German automaker's New Stanton, Pa., assembly plant. In 1978, he was named president and CEO of a newly formed umbrella group for Vo…

Showroom traffic at car dealerships in China remains subdued even though the coronavirus epidemic has largely been brought under control in the country. 

While 98.8 percent of franchised dealerships reopened as of Friday, average showroom traffic stood at just 66.4 percent of normal levels, according to the latest survey by the China Automobile Dealers Association.

On Friday, average revenue generated by new-vehicle sales was only 63.8 percent of normal levels, according to the survey of 8,721 franchised stores across China.

And dealerships surveyed said average parts and service revenue was at 66.8 percent of normal levels.  

As the coronavirus spread from its epicenter, the central province of Hubei, to the rest of China in late January, dealerships remained closed until Feb. 8. 

By locking down Hubei and dispatching more than 40,000 medics from the rest of China to the province, the viral outbreak was largely contained by …

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

Bordrin North America President Jerry Lavine discusses the initial hurdles the EV startup faced in China as COVID-19 swept through the region and how the company is recalibrating ambitions to bring its first vehicle to market.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Weekend Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Weekend Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Weekend Drive"

Android

“Weekend Drive” is available on the Google Pla…