Trade News

When the U.S. economy last ground to a near halt a dozen years ago and the nation's auto plants largely stopped producing vehicles, Toyota adopted a bold but expensive strategy that made it stand out from other automakers: It continued to pay all of its workers — even if it didn't have work for them to do.

Now, as the coronavirus begins to tear through the U.S. auto industry just as the financial crisis did in 2008-09, automakers again must weigh the costs of keeping their employees on the payroll or sending them off to the unemployment line. And even for Toyota, much of that decision may rest on how long they believe the virus will continue to plague their markets.

So far, transplant automakers that have called temporary halts to production operations have each committed to continue to pay their employees while plants remain closed.

Meanwhile, the unionized work force of the Detroit 3 will receive a combination of unemployment be…

Honda's timing to bring the hybrid version of its popular CR-V compact crossover to America was looking pretty good right up until a few weeks ago.

After receiving mostly positive reviews following its introduction in Europe last year, the Japanese brand's first electrified crossover was ready to do battle with the redesigned Ford Escape Hybrid that hit the market in December and the strong-selling Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, now in its second generation.

The expectation for crossover hybrid sales was evident in the decision by the three automakers to build their electrified versions in the U.S. No longer niche products shipped from afar, hybrids looked to become a healthy subsegment of the already-crowded compact crossover group.

But alas, the CR-V Hybrid's arrival in showrooms in early March coincided with an oil-price war, a global pandemic and a world turned upside down. Gasoline is cheap, consumers are pulling back from the auto mar…

General Motors is partnering with medical device company Ventec Life Systems to increase production of ventilators that will treat patients with the novel coronavirus, the companies said late Friday.

Some health care experts warn U.S. hospitals face severe shortages of life-saving ventilators if COVID-19 cases spike.

"We are working closely with Ventec to rapidly scale up production of their critically important respiratory products to support our country's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "We will continue to explore ways to help in this time of crisis."

The Ventec-GM partnership is in cooperation with StopTheSpread.org, the nation's coordinated private sector response to the virus.

The collaboration comes days after President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act, established in 1950 in response to production needs during the Korean War. The act was put into effect to obtain health and medica…

KAR is halting sales operations at all ADESA locations in North America for at least two weeks, including simulcast only sales.

The move, which is effective immediately, comes as states such as California, Illinois and New York adopt strict containment measures that close nonessential businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Where local, state and provincial directives allowed, the company planned to maintain minimal operations for security and to receive and release vehicles under certain circumstances, the company said Friday. KAR Global operates 74 ADESA auction locations in North America.

On Monday, both ADESA and Manheim decided to make all auction sales completely simulcast-only, while waiving related fees.

Manheim on Friday said it would "fully comply" with California's statewide stay-at-home order, but it was not immediately clear whether that meant halting sales at its six facilities in that state or in others.

The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) is calling for increased government support and relief from automakers and banks amid expectations that new-vehicle sales will plummet during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are in close contact with Canadian banking institutions, captive finance companies and OEMs in order to advocate for immediate relief on floor plans, mortgages and inventories,” CADA Chairman Mike Stollery wrote in a Thursday night letter to members.

The call for action comes as Canadian auto dealers adjust to new realities in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, as some provinces force non-essential businesses to close and as consumers stay home. 

CADA -- like their counterparts in the U.S. -- has advocated for auto dealers to be designated as essential businesses, saying auto repair and parts service are critical to ensuring the health of the country’s transportation infrastructure. New-vehicle sales, however, are expected…

Canadian auto supply giant Linamar Corp. is looking at ways —including potential layoffs — to mitigate the financial loss it expects to endure during the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

“Clearly the news of customer shutdowns this week globally will have impact on the facilities supplying those customers,” CEO Linda Hasenfratz said in a statement. 

The Detroit 3, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, Subaru, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz all announced this week they would idle production for varying lengths of time as North America struggles to combat the growing pandemic.

Linamar, which is headquartered in Guelph, Ont., operates plants in 11 countries, including all three USMCA member nations, and counts Ford Motor Co. and General Motors among its customers.

“Each facility is developing plans with their customers and communicating to their employees what this means to them including potential layoffs,” Hasenfratz said.

General Motors and the UAW reached an agreement that will allow the automaker to continue delivering service and repair parts, despite parts facility shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

"While today will be our last day of normal operations for GM Customer Care and Aftersales, GM and the UAW have reached an agreement that will allow us to continue delivering service and repair parts to our dealers and customers, including the police agencies, fire departments and emergency service providers who rely on our vehicles all over the country," GM said in a statement.

GM has 19 parts distribution centers in the U.S. The facilities will be staffed on a voluntary basis, spokesman Jim Cain said. "We will be working through staffing and scheduling plans to resume operations on Monday," he said.

Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler also intend to keep  parts distribution centers open. Beginning Monday, parts centers will run with a voluntary paid work force,…

TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp. has sent home a small group of workers and disinfected work sites at its Takaoka assembly plant in Toyota City after a worker there tested positive for the coronavirus.

The automaker said it opted to continue production at the plant because it has taken appropriate countermeasures to ensure the health safety of workers there.

The infected worker, a full-time male employee in his 20s, reported having a fever on March 14, a non-workday at the plant. He has been staying at home since then. The worker tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 on March 19.

In a March 20 statement, President Akio Toyoda said Toyota determined that 11 workers had been in close contact with the man. They were asked to stay home on paid leave.

“Toyota immediately disinfected the affected work sites on March 19 after learning that the employee was suspected of being positive and resumed operation shortly afterwards,” he said.&n…

SAN FRANCISCO -- Engineer Anthony Levandowski, known for advancing self-driving car technology in the last decade, agreed to plead guilty on Thursday to taking sensitive documents from his former employer Google before joining rival Uber Technologies Inc.

Federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a prison term of no more than 30 months as part of plea agreement in one of the most well-known corporate disputes in recent Silicon Valley history.

"We hope that this plea will allow him to move on with his life and focus his energies where they matter most," developing new technologies, his attorney, Miles Ehrlich, said in a statement.

The U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco declined to comment.

The office is tasked with policing intellectual property theft in the largest U.S. tech hub. Last month, it dropped what remained of a trade secrets theft case involving wearable device company Fitbit Inc and now-defunct rival Jawbone after a San Francisco jur…

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said the administration would help the U.S. auto industry manage the impact of the coronavirus amid concerns about the health of auto-parts manufacturers.

“We’re watching the auto industry very much,” Trump said Thursday on a call with state governors. “We’re going to be helping them out at least a little bit and they’ve sort of requested some help, and it wasn’t their fault what happened. So we’ll be taking care of the auto industry.”

His comment was prompted by Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who said she had concerns about the finances of some auto parts suppliers.

Earlier Thursday, the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association asked congressional leaders to create a "Manufacturing Emergency Assistance" grant program "to keep the doors open, preserve jobs, and prevent bankruptcies in the vital manufacturing sector."

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …