Trade News

Tesla Inc.’s $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity in 2016 was “entirely fair” to shareholders, Delaware’s top court ruled, upholding the dismissal of an investor lawsuit and sparing Elon Musk from a potential multibillion-dollar hit. 

The Delaware Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that negotiations over the deal “were conducted at arm’s-length, in good faith, with the advice of independent financial and legal advisors, led by an indisputably independent director, and, thus, constituted a fair process that led to a fair price.” 

Tesla shares rose as much as 1.5 percent after the news and were up 1.2 percent at $220.30 at 2:15 p.m. in New York. 

Randy Baron, a lawyer for the investors, declined to comment on the decision. Tesla didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The investors who sued in 2016 over the buyout of the struggling solar power provider alleged that Tesla co-founder Musk was too involved in the buyout fo…

General Motors will spend $209 million to retool its Oshawa Assembly Plant northeast of Toronto to build the next generation of internal combustion engine (ICE) full-size trucks. However, the automaker said Tuesday that product details and timing related to GM’s future trucks are not being released at this time.

This investment builds on GM’s commitment to Canadian manufacturing, which includes more than $903 million invested in the Oshawa plant in 2020, less than a year after it ceased assembly at the facility.

GM agreed to maintain the integrity of the plant even as it launched an aftermarket parts operation there, leaving the door open for potential investment down the line.

The automaker then agreed to invest the $903 million as part of a collective bargaining agreement, negotiated with Unifor in 2020.

“When people said auto-making was finished in Oshawa back in 2018, we said 'no chance.' Not only has this facility risen from the proverbi…

The Biden administration will abandon a proposal to include the EV industry in the U.S. biofuel blending program and withdraw potentially billions of dollars worth of tradable credits that had been attributed to the scheme, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Reuters had first reported in early May that the EPA was considering delaying the EV program over concerns the plan could trigger lawsuits. A final rule is set to be released later this month after review by the White House.

Scrapping the plan pushes the administration further away from allowing EVs to generate nearly 2 billion credits under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard over the next two years, something companies such as Tesla Inc. have pushed for. The EV program would have been a boost to President Joe Biden's goal of electrifying the motor vehicle industry to fight climate change.

The EPA, which administers the RFS, said it was considering comments for a final rulemaking on …

U.S. franchised dealerships polled in April and May saw a favorable market and expected it to continue next quarter. But their optimism has been tempered by economic uncertainty and the issue of interest rates, according to the latest quarterly index survey from Cox Automotive.

The April 24-May 7 Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index survey of 568 franchised dealer representatives and 492 independent dealer personnel revealed franchisees score the current market a 56, up two points from the first quarter, and rated the market three months ahead a 57, up a point.

Scores greater than 50 indicate dealers view conditions as positive or improving.

Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke told Automotive News on Monday the new-vehicle market is getting better, which despite modestly declining profitability has kept franchised dealerships bullish during a time independent retailers have grown more pessimistic.

"Summertime is always strong for busin…

Ford Motor Co. said it has hired Liz Door, a sourcing executive at appliance maker Whirlpool, to be the company's chief supply chain officer as it looks to reset supplier relations amid quality woes and cost concerns.

The move comes nine months after Ford warned Wall Street about surging parts costs and put its CFO in charge of supply chain efforts on an interim basis while it searched for someone to take on the newly created role.

Door's hiring is part of a minor executive team shakeup announced Tuesday by Ford. Two executives are retiring: Kiersten Robinson, general manager of family vehicles and president of Mexico and Canada for Ford Blue, on July 1; and Jonathan Jennings, vice president of supply chain, as of Aug. 1.

Additionally, Dave Bozeman, head of Ford Blue's enthusiast vehicles and the Ford Customer Service Division, is leaving the company to become CEO of global transportation and logistics company C.H. Robinson next week. And Tim Slatter, f…

Group 1 Automotive's acquisitive year continued with the June 1 purchase of Beck & Masten Kia in Tomball, Texas, a few weeks after the Houston company bought three high-volume Buick-GMC stores in Texas, all owned by retiring John Beck and James Masten.

The auto retailer now has purchased dealerships that are expected to add about $1 billion in revenues this year, with the Houston-area Kia store, which will retain its name, projected to bring in $85 million.

"Kia is a new brand for our Houston platform," Group 1 CEO Daryl Kenningham said in a statement. "Kia America experienced the best first-quarter sales performance in the company's history and Houston is the second-fastest growing major metropolitan area in the U.S."

Interest in Kia stores is rising across the country, according to Ryan Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors, a dealership sell-side firm in Incline Village, Nev.

"That franchise has had a really good run of product…

Chevrolet is ending output of the sixth-generation Camaro by going back to its origins.

Before production of the sports car ends in January, Chevy said it will release a Collector's Edition package on multiple trims that incorporates the Panther name, the Camaro's early code name dating to the 1960s.

The Collector's Edition offered on the LT/RS, LT1 and SS trims will feature Panther Black Metallic Tintcoat paint, accent stripes in Satin Black and 20-inch wheels in Satin Black or the optional Polished Forge, Chevy said. The package includes the front splitter from the Camaro 1LE package and, for coupes, the rear spoiler from the ZL1.

The Camaro ZL1 will receive a limited-run Collector's Edition with Panther Black Matte exterior paint, which Chevrolet said is the first factory-offered matte paint for Camaro. The ZL1 Collector's Edition also will offer a Black Metallic ZL1 stripe, red brake calipers and black lugnuts. Just 350 vehicles…

Vehicle battery manufacturer Clarios is shifting some production out of a striking plant near Toledo, Ohio. More than 400 members of UAW Local 12 have been on strike at the plant since May 8.

Beginning this week, the Ford and General Motors supplier is shifting some production from the Holland, Ohio, plant to a factory in St. Joseph, Mo., according to a representative of the Missouri plant's union local, IUE-CWA Local 86116. Union members there plan to accept the work.

The UAW has been in touch with IUE-CWA Local 86116 "since day one," UAW Region 2B Director David Green told Automotive News. But, according to the representative in Missouri, the UAW has not asked the IUE-CWA to reject the shifted production. The representative said he did not know how much production will be shifted to the St. Joseph plant. Before the strike, the Holland plant was producing 125,000 to 150,000 batteries a week.

The two plants are both sites where former owner Johnson Cont…

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill that would prevent automakers from eliminating AM broadcast radio in new vehicles isn't necessary, an industry trade group representing automakers is expected to tell a House panel Tuesday.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation's Scott Schmidt, vice president of safety policy, will argue that while the group's members are "committed to ensuring drivers have access to free, public alerts and safety warnings through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System," the way consumers receive information is constantly evolving, according to his written testimony.

Emergency alerts under FEMA's system are sent out across multiple platforms, including AM, FM and satellite radio as well as cellular networks.

"The intent is not for the public to rely on a sole source to receive the alerts but to create a 'net' of sources in which the public can receive them. In other words, the more the better,"…

An inventory efficiency index developed by Cloud Theory ranked Kia the most efficient mover of vehicle inventory in the U.S.

The index's May results show Kia reclaiming the top spot over Toyota. Before Toyota's triumph in April, Kia had been the consistent industry leader in inventory efficiency for more than a year, according to Rick Wainschel, Cloud Theory vice president for data science and analytics.

Cloud Theory, of Grand Rapids, Mich., is a software company that aims to provide comprehensive, updated efficiency data to help manufacturers make decisions about marketing and inventory distribution.

The company's "inventory efficiency index" assigns scores to vehicle makes based on active inventory and sales data in comparison with competitors. A score below 100 indicates supply is outstripping demand, while a score above 100 suggests the vehicle is selling more efficiently than average.

Toyota slid 7.3 points last month, to a score of 149.6, w…

Genesis' top-selling GV70 is joining its battery-powered counterpart, the Electrified GV70, on the luxury brand's modest roster of U.S.-assembled vehicles. It will be Genesis' second U.S.-built model.

The compact crossover will be produced at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing in Montgomery, Ala., which also builds the Hyundai Elantra compact sedan, the gasoline and hybrid versions of the Santa Fe, the Tucson compact crossover and Santa Cruz compact pickup.

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama CEO Ernie Kim said in a statement that since the Electrified GV70 went into production in February, the team has kept the Genesis customer's "highest expectations in mind" and that they are "ready to launch the broader GV70 lineup with the same commitment to safety and quality."

The gasoline-powered GV70 started production in late May. All Alabama-built GV70s will be distributed to U.S. dealers. There are no plans to export.

The factory, which has an annual product…