Trade News

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. plans to restart production at some of its idled North American plants in early April, the automaker said Thursday.

It expects to reopen its Hermosillo Assembly Plant on one shift April 6 and plans to restart production April 14 at Dearborn Truck, Kentucky Truck, Kansas City Assembly and Ohio Assembly.

In a statement, the UAW said: "We are reviewing with great concern and caution today's announcement. Our priority is the health and safety of our members, their families and the American public."

The automaker said a number of other operations also are scheduled to restart April 14 to support the assembly plants. Those are Dearborn Stamping, Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing, integrated stamping plants inside Kansas City Assembly and Kentucky Truck, Sharonville Transmission and portions of Van Dyke Transmission, Lima Engine and Rawsonville Components.

Ford did not offer restart dates for Chicago Assembly, Flat Rock Assembl…

DETROIT -- General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. have widely touted their commitment to emission-free electric vehicles, but their production plans show a growing reliance on ever-larger gas-powered vehicles.

The two biggest U.S. automakers will make more than 5 million SUVs and pickup trucks in 2026, but only about 320,000 electric vehicles, according to detailed production plans for North America seen by Reuters.

That will be about 5 percent of their combined vehicle production in North America, but less than Tesla Inc., the world leader in EVs, produced last year.

The plans show that GM and Ford are betting their short-term future on satisfying America's demand for bigger, petroleum-fueled vehicles which they can sell at a higher profit margin than mostly smaller, expensive-to-develop EVs.

Click here for a more detailed graphic presentation from Reuters.

Large crossover and SUVs consume about a quarter more energy than mid…

Auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH said its healthcare affiiate developed a test that can diagnose COVID-19 in less than 2.5 hours and might help efforts to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

“Infected patients can be identified and isolated faster,” Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner said Thursday in a statement. Patients typically must wait one or two days for test results.

The ability to test for COVID-19 is seen as a key variable in restricting its spread. Diagnosis has proliferated in some countries like Germany and South Korea, while lagging behind in others including Italy and parts of the U.S.

The new test uses the medical diagnostics platform made by the healthcare division of Bosch, the world's largest auto supplier by sales. The device is already used in hospitals, laboratories and medical practices to diagnose a range of bacterial and viral diseases including influenza and pneumonia.

The new COVID-19 test will be available in Germany in April and be s…

MILAN -- Investment firm Exor said current plant closures at controlled companies Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ferrari and CNH Industrial, though temporary, might continue and increase depending on how the coronavirus outbreak developed.

Most of FCA's plants around the world are currently shut in response to the virus emergency and a slump in demand. Ferrari's two plants in Italy are also closed, as well as most of CNH's facilities in Europe.  

The holding company of Italy's Agnelli family, whose investments span from the automotive to the insurance sectors and also include industrial vehicles, media and football, said its net asset value rose to $26.55 billion at the end of 2019 from $19.74 billion one year earlier.

But it said it could not reasonably estimate the impact the coronavirus outbreak would have on its operations and results.

NEW YORK -- General Motors is managing a delicate balancing act as it prepared to draw down $16 billion in credit lines while refinancing debt of similar size, facing a longer than expected shutdown of plants and considerable revenue losses.

The automaker gave notice to lenders that it would borrow an existing credit facility almost in its entirety on Tuesday.

But the decision to draw down on the credit lines comes as the company undertakes customary refinancing discussions for $16.5 billion in debt led by JP Morgan.

GM faces a significant loss in revenue because of the shutdown of North American plants that could extend beyond March 30.

On Wednesday, Moody's Investors Service said it could downgrade GM’s Baa2 bank credit facility rating and a Baa3 senior unsecured debt rating into junk territory.

“A severe disruption in automotive demand due to the coronavirus combined with the possibility of a follow-on economic recession, will place cons…

Ford Motor Co. was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings as the coronavirus pandemic delivers a shock to the global auto industry, rendering the No. 2 U.S. automaker the largest fallen angel to date.

S&P downgraded Ford’s credit rating one notch to BB+ and may cut it further, according to a statement Wednesday.

The move follows Moody’s Investors Service, which dropped its rating Ford for the second time in sixth months earlier Wednesday.

With Ford’s factories shut around the globe -- including all North American plants -- and no decision as to when they’ll resume production, the automaker is under immense financial pressure, according to S&P.

“The stress of having all of a company’s plants shut down differs from that of a conventional recessionary downturn,” the agency said, noting that the shutdowns mean Ford isn’t generating revenue to cover costs. “The rate of cash burn, even for a few months, could be faster than that which transpires …

WASHINGTON -- The White House is close to finalizing a landmark rewrite of U.S. fuel efficiency standards through the 2026 model year, boosting annual requirements but at a considerably lower rate than under Obama-era standards, three people briefed on the matter said on Wednesday.

The Trump administration plans to unveil the final rules by Tuesday ahead of an April 1 deadline to revise the 2022 model year, the sources said.

In August 2018, the Trump administration proposed freezing fuel economy standards at 2020 levels through 2026 reversing Obama-era standards that called for about a 5 percent annual increase during the period.

A draft final proposal circulated by the administration this year proposed increase requirements by about 1.5 percent per year and the final rule is expected to be similar, the sources said.

The requirements, being written by two federal agencies, are aimed at reducing greenhouse gases and improving the fue…

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis this week signed into law a bill that will allow Rivian and other electric-vehicle makers to sell directly to consumers.

The law will let manufacturers that build only electric vehicles to own, operate or control dealerships, provided that they have no franchised dealerships in the state. It creates a path for Rivian and other EV startups to follow Tesla's lead and sell their electric vehicles without operating a franchised dealership network.

The original version of the bill would have allowed any automaker that builds electric vehicles to sell them directly to consumers, a provision that also could have applied to legacy automakers with franchised dealerships. The Colorado Automobile Dealers Association opposed that language, arguing that it would force dealer-owned stores to compete directly with their brands.

Lawmakers passed the bill after negotiating a compromise with dealers in the state Senate tha…

WASHINGTON/DETROIT -- The $2 trillion economic rescue package before the U.S. Senate on Wednesday would send the federal government to the auto industry's rescue for the second time in a dozen years.

Automakers are fearful of being tagged as seeking a new government bailout so soon after the 2009 government-funded auto restructurings. Detroit has not sought industry-specific assistance and instead made the case the entire economy needs urgent access to liquidity.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey said Wednesday the deal sets aside $454 billion to make loans or loan guarantees for companies across all sectors, as well as states.

He said it was more likely the money will be used to leverage even more funds in loans from the Federal Reserve. Toomey told reporters on a conference the Treasury will then be able to make loans, purchase loans or purchase corporate debt, which could be a major boost for automakers.

Toomey called the bill "the biggest governme…

Volkswagen Group plans short-time working for about 80,000 employees in Germany after the coronavirus pandemic forced the automaker to idle its European factory network.

Under German short-time working rules the state pays part of the reduced salaries for workers.

A VW spokesman said the reduced hours would be introduced at factories in Lower Saxony, Hessen and Saxony until April 3.

VW Group's Audi und Porsche brands, and its trucks division MAN, have also applied to introduce short-time working to save costs.

Businesses large and small face a disruption that "goes far beyond" the level of the financial crisis of 2008-2009, VW supervisory board member Bernd Althusmann said in a speech on Tuesday in Hanover, Germany.

Althusmann is the economy minister in Lower Saxony, where VW has its global headquarters.

VW also will support its German dealership network with additional liquidity. The automaker said it had also offered to push o…