Trade News

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…

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration struck a deal with Senate Democrats and Republicans on an historic rescue package that tees up more than $2 trillion in spending and tax breaks to bolster the hobbled U.S. economy and fund a nationwide effort to stem the coronavirus.

“At last we have a deal,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said early Wednesday on the chamber’s floor. “I’m thrilled that we’re finally going to deliver to the country.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called it an “outstanding agreement.”

The legislation -- which could have broad impacts on the auto industry -- was still being drafted overnight but McConnell said the Senate would vote on it Wednesday. It would still have to pass in the House before it gets to President Donald Trump’s desk. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had consulted with Schumer throughout his negotiations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The plan includes about $500 billion that can be us…

TOKYO -- Toyota has nominated James Kuffner, currently the CEO of its automated driving and robotics arm, to join the board of directors starting in June, signaling a shift in President Akio Toyoda's priorities away from old-school automotive to next-generation mobility. Kuffner, 49,  will be the second non-Japanese director on the Toyota board pending his approval at the company's annual shareholders' meeting, expected sometime in June. He has described his mission to develop self-driving cars for Toyota as the "moonshot" of his generation. The American computer expert will retain his title as CEO of the Toyota Research Institute -- Advanced Development and take on a new title as Chief Digital Officer, the company said on Wednesday in a press release. Kuffner will also be appointed an operating officer at the parent company; he currently holds a title there of senior fellow for advance R&D and engineering. Kuffner replaces Didier Leroy, 62, the…

Dealerships are getting some help from technology vendors to counter the financial hit brought by the COVID-19 virus, which has slowed sales and forced some showrooms to close to help limit its spread.

Over the past week, dealership technology providers, vehicle listings companies and other third-party vendors said they will waive or reduce some fees for dealership customers starting in April. Some companies left open the possibility of revisiting the fees at the end of next month, depending on the status of the virus outbreak at that time.

Dealership management system giant CDK Global Inc. told dealers in a letter this week that it will temporarily waive all subscription fees for layered applications, such as its Elead CRM and service products, and cut fees for DMS and related products, such as document management and digital contracting, by 25 percent.

April bills will be adjusted automatically to reflect the changes, CDK said.<…

DETROIT — Two Fiat Chrysler Automobiles factory employees who tested positive for COVID-19 have died, a UAW spokesperson said Tuesday. They are the first U.S. auto plant workers known to have died after contracting the virus.

One of the employees worked at FCA's Ram pickup plant in Sterling Heights, Mich. The other worked at a plant in Kokomo, Ind.

It was unclear when the workers died.

The UAW spokesman did not have any information about the people and was unable to confirm whether they were the same two workers who were already known to have tested positive earlier this month at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant and the Kokomo Transmission plant. An FCA spokeswoman, citing privacy reasons, didn't have any information to share.

"I want to extend sincere sympathies from myself and the entire International Executive Board for the families of two of our members ... who have lost their lives to this virus," UAW President Rory Gamble said in a statem…

Kia Motors America, after closing its Georgia plant two days last week over supply chain problems and reopening Monday, will suspend production again beginning next week as the industry copes with the coronavirus pandemic.

The West Point plant — which builds the Optima, Sorento and Telluride — will close March 30 and is scheduled to restart April 13. Kia said in an emailed news release that the downtime includes a previously planned April 6-10 shutdown for new-model equipment changes.

The plant's workstations will undergo cleaning and disinfecting during the closure, Kia said.

The auto industry continues to wait for the specific terms of a trillion-dollar economic stimulus package, but the sector could get a slice of the pie through a $500 billion fund from the U.S. Department of Treasury, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation's top executive.

"It is fairly clear to me — again having been through 2008-09 and also in my conversations on Capitol Hill and with the administration — that there is definitely a focus on the auto sector. No question about it," John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said during a webinar Tuesday organized by the Center for Automotive Research.

Bozzella was joined by CAR's Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labor and economics.

"In terms of what the actual prioritization is and the use of the facilities would be is really going to be up to individual companies working with the Treasury and with the Fed," he said.

Also Tuesday, senators continued to d…

The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association is urging Ottawa to “speed up” financial assistance for its members as they battle to survive widespread government economic shutdowns prompted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Dealerships are having to make tough decisions about how to sustain their business, keep their staff employed, and financial support needs to be immediately available, CADA economist Oumar Dicko said in a statement posted on the group’s website. 

“Access to support in three to four weeks may be too late for some of the businesses. It may not have the intended effect the government is trying to do for the economy.”

While Dicko applauded the government’s C$82 billion ($56.5 billion US) package to help support individuals and businesses affected by the crisis, he said the government needs to act quickly to distribute the money so that it can have an immediate impact.

“COVID-19 is a serious health crisis, but it …

ATLANTA — Porsche Cars North America is offering its 192 U.S. dealers a relief package as the auto industry reels from a business slowdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The sports car maker is guaranteeing payouts, relaxing dealer performance bonus objectives and extending finance.

It is similar to dealer-focused plans instituted by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and other automakers.

Porsche dealers are guaranteed their marketing and customer satisfaction bonus for the first half of the year, even if they don't meet qualifying objectives.

To buoy retailer bottom lines, Porsche's Floorplan Assistance Program will cover a "large portion" of vehicle inventory costs for 60 days.

Dealers will receive an undisclosed flat fee to help with the cost of any new vehicle home delivery through April 30. The number of vehicle home deliveries is expected to increase as customers stay home to avoid the coronavirus.

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WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would like to see U.S. businesses reopen by Easter, which is April 12 this year.

"I’d love to have it (businesses) open by Easter. I will tell you that right now," he said on Fox News during a discussion of U.S. economic shutdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

The pandemic has killed more than 580 people in the United States and sickened more than 46,160, shuttered thousands of businesses, thrown millions out of work and led state governors to order about 100 million people -- nearly a third of the nation's population -- to stay at home. 

Meanwhile, the president is prepared to use the Defense Production Act, but industry has been stepping forward, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Fox News on Tuesday.

He also said that the White House coronavirus task force has not discussed a nationwide lockdown, as has been done in other countries to counter the spread…

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. plans to build respirators, ventilators and face shields in partnership with its UAW work force, manufacturing company 3M and GE Healthcare to aid medical workers as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to overwhelm their supply.

The automaker on Tuesday said it will use fans from F-150 pickup seats, portable tool battery packs and 3D-printed parts to quickly assemble disposable air purifying respirators alongside 3M at its advanced manufacturing center near Detroit in Redford, Mich.

Ford said it initially would be able to make up to 1,000 respirators per month, helping 3M boost production of the respirators tenfold.

In addition, Ford plans to produce up to 100,000 face shields per week, also in Michigan. Roughly 75,000 of these shields are expected to be finished this week, and more than 100,000 face shields per week will be produced at Ford subsidiary Troy Design and Manufacturing's facilities in Plymouth…

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc. and an outspoken skeptic of the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, donated more than 1,000 ventilators to officials in Los Angeles to meet demand as the pandemic becomes more severe.

The billionaire said in a tweet he helped acquire 1,255 of the machines from China last week and arranged for them to be air-shipped to Los Angeles. He thanked Tesla staff and customs officials in China and Los Angeles for assistance.

“Elon Musk: how about this? I told you a few days ago he was likely to have 1,000 ventilators this week,” California Governor Gavin Newsom told reporters in a briefing Monday. “They arrived in Los Angeles and Elon Musk is already working with the hospital association and others to get those ventilators out in real time. It’s an heroic effort.”

Musk’s move comes after he tweeted dismissively about whether there will even be a ventilator shortage. The entrepreneur had also called the panic surrounding the out…