Trade News

FRANKFURT -- BMW and Audi are planning to adopt different strategies for electrifying their flagship sedans.

BMW's next-generation 7 Series will be available with a full-electric drivetrain in addition to plug-in hybrid, gasoline and diesel versions, CEO Oliver Zipse said on March 18 at the automaker's annual accounts press conference. 

The electric 7 series would be a competitor to the Tesla Model S and the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS expected to launch in the middle of the next year.

Zipse did not give a timeline for the rollout of the new 7 series. Production of the 7 Series EV is expected to begin in the second half of 2022 and be launched first in China and Europe, Automotive News reported.

Audi is backing away from its initial idea of making its next-generation A8 range-topping sedan a battery-electric vehicle. Instead the A8 will have a plug-in hybrid version as an electrified option.

Audi development chief Hans-Joachim Roth…

Chancellor Angela Merkel and German auto industry executives are studying how and when to restart the country’s sprawling factory network amid concerns that some cash-poor suppliers may not survive the damage from the coronavirus pandemic.

In a phone conference late Wednesday, Merkel and the executives discussed measures to minimize contagion risks and protect workers’ health once assembly lines resume churning out vehicles, according to people familiar with the talks.

Participants included Hildegard Mueller, the head of the German cars lobby VDA, and Joerg Hofmann, leader of the IG Metall labor union, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks were not public. A government spokesperson confirmed that the phone meeting took place but declined to comment further.

The country can ill afford a prolonged shutdown of its car industry, which employs more than 800,000 people and is a key indicator of industrial health in Europe’s largest econ…

Volkswagen said it will introduce a series of aftermarket accessories at its dealerships to give its refreshed three-row Atlas crossover more of a rugged appearance.

Nearly 400 copies of the refreshed Atlas had been produced and were being shipped to dealers when Volkswagen temporarily halted production at its Chattanooga Assembly plant last month to help fight the spread of COVID-19.

Volkswagen first showed the Atlas refresh at the 2020 Chicago auto show.

The accessories are modeled after the Atlas Basecamp concept, first shown a year ago at the New York auto show. They include a two-tone front bumper guard, textured fender flares with integrated splash guards, side-door rocker panels and an upgraded rear valance with trailer hitch access.

The package also comes with special "Basecamp" badging. Upgraded alloy wheels and off-road tires are also available, the automaker said.

The accessory package, which will be available before summer, is d…

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tesla Inc. tends to pull out all the stops at the end of each quarter, with CEO Elon Musk often rallying the troops to deliver as many vehicles as possible to customers.

This approach probably didn’t work well for Tesla in March, with shelter-in-place orders and distancing guidelines around the globe limiting how many vehicles the company could hand over. While Musk tried to salvage the quarter by introducing a “touchless” delivery option in select locations, the coronavirus pandemic is expected to have done a number on demand for all automakers.

Analysts on average estimate Tesla delivered roughly 77,400 cars worldwide last quarter, the first to include hand-overs of the new Model Y crossover. While that would be a jump from a disappointing result a year ago, it also would mark a more than 30 percent drop from the record deliveries Tesla reported for the last three months of 2019.

It wasn't clear when Tesla will be disclosing first-quar…

LONDON -- Aston Martin said it may need to tap into high-interest notes it was trying to avoid drawing down, even after a capital infusion of up to 536 million pounds ($663 million) from a group led by billionaire Lawrence Stroll.

The automaker does not have sufficient working capital based on European Securities and Markets Authority rules because the coronavirus has created "increased and unquantifiable uncertainty" in its business, Aston Martin said.

That has made it impossible to come up with a model for a "reasonable worse case downside," the company said.

Aston Martin, which has struggled with cash flow and dealer-inventory back-ups since going public in 2018, had hoped that the fundraising approved by shareholders on Monday would avoid the need to seek additional money. But the coronavirus crisis has added a level of difficulty to the turnaround put in place with Stroll's arrival.

"Taking into account the proceeds of the capital raise,…

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump attacked automakers for the second time in a matter of days, chiding their “foolish executives” as his administration completed the final step of a three-year quest to dismantle Obama-era fuel efficiency rules.

Days after demanding that General Motors and Ford Motor Co. make ventilators, Trump claimed that unidentified company leaders were being “politically correct” by not endorsing his efforts to ease gas mileage and emissions regulations for automobiles, a move that has enraged environmentalists and sparked courtroom battles.

Last week, the president took Detroit -- and particularly GM and CEO Mary Barra -- to task for moving too slowly to build breathing devices for coronavirus victims. Shortly after Trump sent a set of angry tweets, the company announced a deal to partner with a ventilator maker and start production within weeks -- with or without the federal contract they had been seeking.

The back-to-bac…

Europe's automakers are calling for immediate support from the European Union and member states after suffering a production loss that could render companies short of cash in just weeks.

Industry association ACEA demanded "strong and coordinate action" to aid manufacturers, their suppliers and dealers who all face a "severe" financial hit.

"The effect of the coronavirus on the automobile industry is unprecedented," ACEA Director General Eric-Mark Huitema said in a statement. "It is becoming increasingly clear that Covid-19 has led to the worst crisis ever to impact the automotive sector."

EU-wide production losses from factory shutdowns amount to 1.23 million vehicles so far, with some 1.11 million workers affected, not including the supply chain, ACEA said. The wider sector provides jobs for 13.8 million people across the European Union, ACEA said.

Huitema spoke of "grave consequences" for the industry going far beyond what can currently be forec…

Hyundai, one of the hottest brands over the last 24 months behind an expanded crossover lineup, posted a 43 percent decline in U.S. sales last month, underscoring the sudden impact the coronavirus is having on automakers and dealers alike.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported a 10 percent decline in first-quarter sales as a virus-impacted March more than offset gains in January and February. Volume skidded 42 percent last month at Mazda.

March deliveries at Hyundai totaled 35,118, with retail demand falling 39 percent and fleet volume dropping 54 percent, Hyundai said, even as the brand quickly rolled out a promotion that included no-interest loans and deferred payments for four months on select models.

In the first two months of the year, Hyundai's U.S. deliveries rose 11 percent, but volume dropped 11 percent in the first quarter on the sharply weaker March results.

"The entire world is facing a tremendous challenge that is having a significant i…

It is extraordinary for a technology to have the opportunities and disruption potential that autonomous vehicles (AVs) will have over the next decades. Market opportunities worth trillions of dollars are forecast to emerge across transportation segments and different AV use cases. Tens of billions of dollars have been invested by high-tech companies, startups, auto manufacturers, their supply chains and many other companies—with more to come.

To give perspective, the table below summarizes the potential impact of AV technology. It is imperative to understand the difference between SAE Level 4 (L4) and Level 5 (L5) autonomous operation. L4 AVs can operate in specific areas that are usually defined by geographic boundaries. L4 AVs also include preprogrammed, fixed routes such as local bus routes, campus routes and similar trips—usually at low speeds. L5 AVs are autonomous vehicles that can operate anywhere within a country.

When AV technology is mature enough …

TOKYO – Subaru Corp. will join Japanese rivals in suspending domestic production because of the coronavirus pandemic with plans to shut its main assembly plant here from April 11 to May 1.

The automaker is also extending a previously announced U.S. shutdown by eight days.

Subaru’s suspension will affect its main assembly operations in Gumma as well as an engine and transmission plant, taking factories offline for 17 workdays, the company said April 1.

The shutdown translates to roughly 39,100 units of lost production, given the Gumma complex’s normal output rate of 2,300 vehicles a day, Subaru said. 

The move affects popular U.S. export nameplates such as the Forester and Crosstrek crossovers. Last year, Subaru of America sold 335,504 imported vehicles. The plant also produces the WRX and BRZ sporty cars for the U.S. as well as a host of vehicles, ncluding the Outback crossover, Legacy sedan, Levorg wagon and Impreza small car, for…

LOS ANGELES — Genesis Motor America has chosen Infiniti executive Tedros Mengiste as its new sales director following the March transfer of Genesis COO Erwin Raphael to Hyundai Motor America.

Mengiste will immediately take over sales and dealer-facing duties from Raphael and will report to Mark Del Rosso, CEO of Genesis Motor America, the company said in a release. Mengiste's formal title is executive director, sales operations.

The 23-year auto industry veteran most recently was regional vice president at Infiniti USA.

"Ted has exactly what Genesis needs as we extend our 'Young Luxury' platform," Del Rosso said in a statement. "I'd like to welcome him to the Genesis family and can't wait to introduce him to our retail network."

The recruitment of Mengiste follows a trend of Nissan executives finding new positions at the Korean automaker after the appointment of Jose Muñoz as Hyundai North American CEO. Muñoz was a 15-year veteran of Nissan before…