Trade News

When Renault reimagined its Espace as a crossover after five model generations as a minivan, it was an acknowledgement that a once-iconic segment had truly run its course in Europe.

Minivans have been declining in popularity among European consumers, much as they have with American shoppers. Since the early 2010s, minivans have been replaced by crossovers and SUVs, as well as small passenger vans with more and more features.

Dataforce, which tracks sales by model and segment, no longer has a minivan category, instead combining passenger van versions of light-commercial vans with the few remaining minivans on the market.

Renault's Espace was the first minivan in Europe when it launched in 1984. Chrysler Corp.'s popular minivans, the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager, launched in the U.S. nearly concurrently.

The Espace featured plastic composite body panels and seven seats that could be arranged like a living room, w…

Ferrari has zero interest in building a car that can drive itself.

That's the word from CEO Benedetto Vigna, who spoke at the Financial Times' Future of the Car Summit this month in London.

"In a cabin, there are four kinds of software," Vigna said, according to Insider. "There is performance software, there is comfort software, there is infotainment software, and there is autonomous. The last one, we don't care."

The ultraluxury brand is, however, working on electric vehicles and has the talent to develop its own software for those, said Vigna, who became CEO in September 2021. He added that it has secured partnerships with battery makers to introduce an EV by 2025.

But as much as Vigna has sworn off self-driving technology, it's always possible the company might change its mind. After all, Ferrari executives said in 2016 that they had no plans to build an SUV or four-door vehicle. The four-door Purosangue, Ferrari's fir…

More than 1.8 million Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles now alert drivers in the U.S. and Canada of nearby firetrucks, ambulances and road hazards through their Uconnect infotainment system.

The idea for the feature came from a hearing-impaired Stellantis employee who nearly collided with an emergency vehicle she couldn't hear. The employee in 2021 suggested driver notifications to help avoid such calamities, and Stellantis deployed the Emergency Vehicle Alert System from HAAS Alert that it began rolling out last year.

An over-the-air update added the system to vehicles starting with the 2018 model year. The notifications come from HAAS Alert's Safety Cloud platform, a vehicle- to-everything and digital alerting solution used by thousands of public and private roadway fleets in North America.

The alerts demonstrate two of the goals Stellantis wants to achieve with software: continuously improving vehicles and using vehicles to create conveniences …

Sheeva.AI is continuing to develop its in-vehicle payment and commerce system by launching two new automotive product offerings.

The Sheeva technology uses precise vehicle location identification to enable a driver to pay for services such as electric vehicle charging, refueling and curbside pickups directly from the car's infotainment screen, using a digital wallet.

"The good thing about our system is … because [of] it's awareness, it knows exactly where you are and what you are at that moment in time," said Evgeny Klochikhin, founder and CEO of the Vienna, Va., startup.

Industry analysts expect in-vehicle commerce to be a growth market. Some applications are already in place. Apple CarPlay, for example, allows vehicle occupants to order Domino's pizza from the touchscreen.

Sheeva.AI has a pilot in-vehicle commerce program with Stellantis in India, said Mamatha Chamarthi, the automaker's head of software business …

Volvo Cars' entry electric crossover will be the Swedish automaker's first vehicle to offer a safety solution aimed at preventing deadly accidents with cyclists.

The EX30, which will make its world debut June 7, warns occupants with visual and audio cues if they are about to open the door in front of a passing cyclist or other traffic user.

The system will be part of the EX30's standard safety equipment.

"Dooring" accidents account for up to one-fifth of all reported bike accidents in some cities.

Dooring happens when a cyclist is hit by or runs into a vehicle door that is opened into the path of travel. The collision usually knocks the cyclist off the bike, causing serious injuries and, in some cases, death.

Volvo will be the second member of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to offer the technology.

The first was the Smart #1, which is the first car from Smart Automobile in its new status as an e…

Bosch's reorganization of its biggest business unit, Mobility Solutions, into Bosch Mobility will help the mega-supplier prepare for a future in which software, computers and semiconductors are just as important as engines, transmissions and brakes.

Markus Heyn, who will lead Bosch Mobility when the reorganization goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, said that while business is good at Mobility Solutions, it is crucial to create better processes.

"We are trying to reshuffle big parts of our mobility business sector into a setting that is more suitable for the businesses we want to pursue in the future," he told Automotive News Europe at Bosch's annual news conference this month.

The reorganization will result in seven divisions under Bosch Mobility, covering electric components from seat motors to e-axles; vehicle control such as steering and traction; internal combustion and hydrogen powertrains; computing for self-driving and parki…

Staying late at the office. Covering another employee's shift. Going the extra mile for a customer.

Employees at Raymond Chevrolet and Raymond Kia, both in Antioch, Ill., are rewarded with cash bonuses for these efforts — an incentive that owner Mark Scarpelli said has improved employee retention and workplace attitude.

Exemplary employee behavior is met with a "Q-card." The "Q" stands for quality. The cards, which detail how the employee excelled, are cashed for a $25 bonus.

At the end of every month, employees gather for Cake Day, where they socialize and news updates are shared. More anticipated, however, is the chance to receive an even bigger monetary reward. The names of employees who received a Q-card — typically eight to 10 each month — are placed in a bucket. The employee whose name is drawn from the bucket receives a "crisp $100 bill," Scarpelli said.

"Sometimes it's really easy to focus on areas where we ne…

Kristi Hudson was interested in working on cars from an early age.

When she was 10 years old, her father took her to a parking lot and taught her how to change her first tire — in the rain.

"He said, 'One day you're going to need this,' " and a flat tire is likely to happen in bad weather.

It helped her feel independent being able to handle car repairs herself, including oil changes.

"It just always intrigued me," she said.

She and her friend were the only females to take an auto shop class in high school, and she attended a half-day program offered by a local technical school her senior year.

"I graduated, and I thought I could do anything," she said.

But initially, that was not the case. After graduating, she thought it would be easy to find a job as a lube technician.

"And nobody would hire me because I was a female," Hudson said.

Through her cousin she ended up getting a job an hour's drive away for the sum…

From its beginnings as a provider of high-performance graphics processing power for video games, Nvidia Corp. has become one of the most valuable companies in the world based on its central role in ushering in an artificial-intelligence era across industries. The company, which works with several global automakers such as BYD, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, saw its stock surge 24 percent on Thursday, adding $184 billion to its value after a positive revenue outlook based on artificial-intelligence advances. That’s one of the largest one-day gains in value for a company in history, and places Nvidia’s market capitalization at nearly $939 billion.

That surge continued Friday with shares rising another 2.5 percent to close at $389.46 — pushing the market capitalization past $963 billion. The increase extends Nvidia far ahead of computing competitors like Qualcomm, worth approximately $122 billion, and Intel, valued at about $119 billion.   Although Nvid…

Hyundai Motor Group took another step to complete the puzzle for its new $5.5 billion electric vehicle production hub in southeast Georgia with the announcement Friday of a deal to source battery cells through a $4.3 billion joint venture with supplier LG Energy Solution.

The companies will each hold a 50 percent stake in a new battery plant, to be constructed in Bryan County with enough annual capacity to produce 30 gigawatt hours of batteries, which can power 300,000 EVs annually.

It will be the second new U.S. battery plant to serve Hyundai.

The LG deal follows a similar supply agreement that Hyundai inked with South Korean battery supplier SK On Co. for a $5 billion battery plant in Bartow County, Ga. That plant will have an annual production capacity of 35 GWh and is expected to mainly supply Hyundai Motor Group auto plants in West Point, Ga., and Montgomery, Ala. Construction of the LG joint venture plant will begin this year, with production sch…

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation has filed an emergency motion to prevent a June 1 enforcement of Massachusetts' updated right-to-repair law, according to a court document filed Thursday.

The action comes after state Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a March filing that terminating her office's nonenforcement stipulation was "in the public interest" and that enforcement would begin in June.

A spokesperson for Campbell's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In its filing, the alliance argues that a June 1 enforcement would cause its members "irreparable harm," as any attempt to comply with the law would require automakers "to remove essential cybersecurity protections from their vehicles."

Additionally, attempts to avoid compliance — either by disabling telematics systems as some automakers have done or withdrawing from the Massachusetts market — "would harm consumers and cause incalculable harm" to automakers'…

Hyundai and LG Energy Solution say they will invest $4.3 billion to produce electric vehicle batteries in Georgia. In the first direct partnership of its kind between two competing electric vehicle makers, Ford EVs will get access to Tesla’s superchargers. Plus, a look at what employee referrals for staff openings say about a dealership’s service department.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily 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

Android

Spotify