Trade News

NEW DELHI -- Tata Motors warned on Friday of lower profit at its British luxury car brand Jaguar Land Rover for the fiscal year as the coronavirus outbreak has hit sales in China.

The outbreak, which started in China and is spreading globally, has hurt sales in the world's biggest auto market. The spread of the virus to South Korea, Japan, and Northern Italy is creating similar issues, Tata said in a statement.

"Recognizing the present situation is highly uncertain and could change, the reduction in China sales resulting from the coronavirus presently is estimated to reduce Jaguar Land Rover's full year EBIT margin by about 1 percent," it said.

China is also a major hub for vehicle parts production and a prolonged shutdown at plants has disrupted auto supply chains affecting carmakers in all parts of the world.

"Suppliers in China are resuming operations but remain below full capacity," Tata said, adding that JLR has managed to avoid pot…

BMW has updated its logo for the first time in 23 years, but the automaker is stopping short of making the change on its vehicles, it said in a statement.  

The update, which began rolling out this week, is for "online and offline communication purposes," the brand said, positioning its new look as "better-suited to the digital age."

The biggest change is that the thick outer ring in the circular logo went from a solid black to transparent. So whatever color the logo is set against will appear in that portion.  

The design was also made simpler and flatter, a change from the slightly rounded look of the old logo, which made it look more three-dimensional.  

The automaker follows other brands, such as Volkswagen, that have gone to a flatter look for digital media reasons. 

"BMW is becoming a relationship brand. The new communication logo stands for openness and clarity," Jens Thiemer, BMW's head of brand management, said…

Genesis has priced its first crossover — the midsize GV80 that goes on sale this summer — at $49,925, including shipping, for the base model with rear-wheel drive and a turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

"To our competitors, consider the GV80's pricing a shot across the bow," Mark Del Rosso, CEO of Genesis Motor North America, said in a news release Thursday.

The Standard trim includes 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, seating for five people, leatherette seats, a suite of safety features, a 14.5-inch infotainment screen and premium audio.

The Advanced trim, at $53,825 including shipping, includes a panoramic sunroof, wood trim, ventilated front seats and an upgraded Lexicon audio system with 21 speakers. The top Prestige model at $58,075 adds leather seating, 20-inch wheels and additional safety features such as blind-spot monitoring.

All-wheel-drive versions of the four-cylinder model add about $6,000.

Versions of the crossover with t…

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Hyundai's spokesman.

Hyundai Motor America is recalling about 207,000 Sonata vehicles in the U.S. because of a fuel line issue that could increase the risk of fire.

The recall covers 2013-14 Hyundai Sonatas sedans produced between November 2012 and January 2014 for the U.S. market. The automaker did not release a global number of vehicles involved.

The low-pressure fuel hose may crack over time as a result of heat generated within the engine compartment, according to a NHTSA document. This could cause a fuel leak, increasing the risk of an engine-compartment fire. Occupants also might detect a fuel smell related to this issue.

Hyundai has not yet identified a solution to the problem. The automaker said it "believes the material used to produce the fuel feed line might be more susceptible to heat under certain vehicle operating conditions," according to the recall report.

The U.S. Department of Labor approved a final rule Thursday requiring unions to file annual financial reports concerning their trusts, as the federal agency aims to increase financial transparency amid recent convictions of officials from the UAW and automakers.

The final rule requires labor unions with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more to file an annual report — referred to as "Form T-1" — under certain circumstances for each type of trust as defined by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. Unions also must file an annual trust report if they select or appoint the majority of the members of the trust's governing board or contribute more than 50 percent of the trust's receipts, according to the rule.

Any contributions related to a collective bargaining agreement will also be considered the union's contributions, the department said.

The department's announcement Thursday came directly after federal prosecutors charged Gary Jones, a f…

The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on automobile output and demand will shave 170 billion yen ($1.6 billion) from the profits of Japan’s top five automakers, Goldman Sachs said.

Total sales for all global automakers are now projected to shrink 3.5 percent in 2020, instead of the previous estimate for a 0.3 percent decline, according to the bank. Even if factories get back online, “it will take some time to return to full capacity owing to labor shortages and the need to secure adequate supplies,” analysts including Kota Yuzawa wrote in a report.

The spread of the illness, which has shut down factories in Hubei, China’s fourth-largest vehicle-manufacturing hub, has had a ripple effect across the global auto industry. Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. rely on parts from the country even if they assemble vehicles elsewhere.

All told, the five manufacturers will build 580,000 fewer cars f…

Dark roast one minute. Half-caf the next. Modern coffeemakers allow java fans to switch blends simply by dropping in a new pod. So what if tomorrow's EV drivers could change their tires in a similar way – not with a pod, but with a capsule that regrows tread?

That's the idea behind the latest concept from Goodyear, the reCharge tire.

The tire, designed for electric vehicles, would be made with a biodegradable tread compound reinforced with fibers inspired by spider silk. Goodyear says the tread would be "recharged" by inserting capsules filled with a "customized liquid compound" into the center of the tire.

"These capsules allow the tread to regenerate and the tire to adapt over time to climatic circumstances, road conditions, or simply how you want to travel," Goodyear said Tuesday in a news release. "Thanks to artificial intelligence a driver profile would be created around which the liquid compound would be customized, generating a compound b…

FRANKFURT/BERLIN -- Continental said it would step up cost savings after posting a drop in adjusted profit and a 1.2 billion-euro ($1.3 billion) net loss in 2019 as worldwide vehicle demand slumped.

Cost-cut plans will be presented in May because worldwide car production is expected to fall for the third year in row, by between 2 percent to 5 percent, CEO Elmar Degenhart said in a statement on Thursday. The CEO also said that forced redundancies may be necessary.

The net loss included non-cash, goodwill write-downs of 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) due to diminished market expectations.

Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell 22 percent to 3.2 billion euros ($3.6 billion) in 2019. Full-year revenue came in at 44.5 billion euros ($49.7 billion), up slightly from 44.4 billion euros ($49.6 billion) in 2018. 

Continental said it expects to deliver an adjusted EBIT margin of 5.5 per…

TOKYO – Genesis is bringing its new “two lines” signature lighting to the redesigned G80 and putting the midsize sedan on a new platform packed with new powertrains and other technology.

Pictures released Thursday of the next-generation G80 show a sleek four-door with a fastback silhouette, massive shield grille and distinctive hashmark lighting in the front, sides and rear.

The idea behind the lighting is to get Hyundai Motor Group’s premium brand noticed.

“A relationship begins at first sight. The distinctive ‘two lines’ signature of the Quadlamps presents a clear and unique Genesis identity within seconds,” Genesis design chief Sang Yup Lee said in a news release. “No matter what body type, sedan or SUV, the Quadlamps and Athletic Elegance design language present a distinctive brand identity.”

While its quality and satisfaction scores are industry-leading, the brand is still a big unknown to many. Sales are growing fast, but from a modest base…

SAN FRANCISCO -- The former head of Uber Technologies Inc.'s self-driving technology unit, Anthony Levandowski, filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, shortly after a court confirmed that he must pay $179 million to Google to end a legal battle over his split from the Alphabet Inc unit.

Levandowski, who had been a key engineer in Google's self-driving project, and colleague Lior Ron engaged in unfair competition and breached their legal obligations by starting a rival company and bringing over Google employees, an arbitration panel ruled in December.

Uber, which later acquired the startup co-founded by Levandowski, indemnifies workers under its employment agreements. But Uber has said in financial filings that it expects to challenge paying the big judgment against its ex-employee Levandowski, who is fighting a federal indictment on charges of stealing trade secrets from Google.

Uber declined to comment. Levandowski's attorney Neel Chatterjee…

DETROIT — The UAW has listed a $1.3 million lakefront home originally built for Dennis Williams, the former UAW president implicated in the union's ongoing corruption scandal, according to The Detroit News.

Amid the federal investigation, President Rory Gamble put the home up for sale as part of a series of reforms announced in recent months.

Last fall, the home was part of a nationwide series of raids, as were Williams' Los Angeles home and former President Gary Jones' home, according to The News. Neither Williams nor Jones have been charged with a crime in the probe.

To date, 13 people have been charged with federal crimes in the investigation and all 13 have pleaded guilty. This week, Edward Robinson — the former top aide to Jones — pleaded guilty in federal court in Detroit to conspiring to embezzle more than $1 million in union funds.

During the broad investigation, the home slated for Williams immediately raised red flags with the FBI, The…