Trade News

PARIS -- French prosecutors have stepped up their investigation into alleged misappropriation of funds at Renault by former boss Carlos Ghosn, saying a judge had now been assigned to the case to launch a formal investigation.

The prosecutor's office in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris, had since last year been looking into a party Ghosn had thrown for his wife at the sumptuous Versailles palace among other financial dealings.

It said in a statement on Wednesday a judge would now examine several charges linked to Renault and levelled at an unnamed person or people. A judicial source confirmed that Ghosn was among them.

A lawyer for Ghosn said he welcomed the opportunity to give his version of the events.

"We will provide our explanations to the designated magistrate after we can finally have access to the case file," lawyer Jean-Yves Le Borgne told Reuters.

Ghosn -- now in Lebanon after he fled prosecution in Japan on financial misco…

DETROIT — Michael Grimes, who worked as an assistant in the UAW's General Motors department, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court here to 28 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering.

Government prosecutors filed a motion moving away from the initial recommended sentencing guideline range of 46 to 57 months. They asked the court for a 24-month sentence based on Grimes' cooperation, but U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman went with 28 months to send a stronger message.

Grimes is among 12 people who have pleaded guilty in an ongoing federal investigation.

U.S. prosecutors say Grimes conspired with two unidentified senior UAW officials on multiple schemes going back to at least 2006. Grimes, according to prosecutors, pressured a vendor of custom UAW logo products into giving him a $60,000 mortgage and periodic bribes totaling nearly $900,000.

The prosecution's criminal information against Grimes says the trio also arranged f…

Nissan Motor Co. is bracing for potential disruptions in plants as far away as the U.S. because the coronavirus epidemic in China is leading to a parts shortage and wreaking havoc across the supply chain, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The Japanese carmaker procures more than 800 parts from factories in the outbreak epicenter of Hubei to make cars worldwide and is concerned that most of those components — ranging from brake hoses to air conditioning controllers — will run out if plants in the province stay idled beyond Feb. 21, when the government has signaled that production could resume for most companies, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.

The shortage could lead to some Nissan car output in Japan to be suspended as soon as Feb. 23, followed by Malaysia soon after, the person said. Further delays could mean plants in the U.S., U.K., India, Mexico, Russia and Spain also have to stop pro…

Online sales have long been heralded as the future of the car deal. For dealers exploring online sales, finding the right time and place for finance and insurance is the largest barrier. Where to position the "F" and the "I" in an online transaction is key to maintaining dealership profitability with digital deals, and few have found the right strategy.

But how to get the F&I manager upstream, to assist customers at the time they desire and answer questions on their terms, is a hurtle many in the industry are working to overcome.

In a traditional sale, F&I comes last — the final step in the car-buying process once a vehicle has been selected and terms negotiated. Online, the process can go in any order, where consumers first want to know what financing terms they qualify for or even learn how to purchase protection products. Dealers today are willing to put F&I general product information online, but few list pricing details or all…

Aptiv, the automotive technology supplier, said the coronavirus outbreak in China has hurt revenue by $150 million to $200 million and operating income by $60 million to $80 million.

In an SEC filing submitted Tuesday, Aptiv said it anticipates "a significant number" of production delays through February with some plants resuming operations in mid-to-late February, working to achieve full production through March.

Aptiv shares gained 2.3 percent to $90.03 in midday trading.

The supplier previously predicted in its Q4 earnings call production delays through Feb. 9 and revenue and operating income impacts of $50 million and $20 million respectively.

"In response to the evolving developments related to the coronavirus outbreak in China, the company has been adjusting to changes in customer production schedule at sites in the affected regions, which have been temporarily closed or are operating at partial capacity," Aptiv…

Lithia Motors Inc., which last week indicated it had several acquisitions in the pipeline as it looks to continue growing, has purchased two Lexus dealerships in California.

The nation's third-largest new-vehicle retailer said Wednesday that it purchased Lexus of Sacramento and Lexus of Roseville. The stores combined are expected to generate $160 million in annual revenue. Lithia, which long term wants to more than triple its combined U.S. new- and used-vehicle market share by revenue, now has 189 stores nationally and 42 in California.

"We are excited to finally enter the Sacramento market and further expand our network with a dominant luxury-vehicle presence," Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer said in a statement. "These stores kick off an expected strong year of growth in our core business and, combined with our digital strategies, further our vision to serve customers wherever, whenever and however they desire."

Lithia purchased the stores from RPM Luxury Auto…

DETROIT -- Jim Farley could get as much as a 32 percent raise when he becomes Ford Motor Co. COO on March 1, according to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ford, in the filing, said Farley's total compensation will rise to $8.29 million, up nearly $2 million from his current compensation as president of new business, technology and strategy at the automaker.

The compensation payouts reflect base salary, stock grants and yearly bonus targets.

The 57-year-old's base salary will rise to $1.4 million from $1.1 million. His annual bonus target will rise to $1.89 million from $1.375 million and his annual stock grant will rise to $5 million from $3.82 million, Ford disclosed in the filing.

The compensation committee on Ford's board of directors approved the changes last week, according to the filing.

Farley earned $5.86 million in 2018, according to Ford's most recent proxy filing. Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of automot…

Chrysler introduced the DeSoto Adventurer, a high-powered, two-door hardtop similar to the Chrysler 300, on Feb. 18, 1956.

DeSoto was born in 1928 to slot above Plymouth and eventually targeted the growing middle of the postwar American car market, competing with Oldsmobile, Mercury, Hudson, Willys and Studebaker.

The Adventurer name debuted as a four seat, high-performance sports coupe concept car — designed by Ghia — in 1954.

The Adventurer — available initially in a combination of gold with black or white paint — packed a high-output 341-cubic-inch Hemi V-8 engine with 320 hp, a dual exhaust and custom trim. Standard appointments on the limited-run car included dual outside side mirrors, gold wheel covers, a radio, an electric clock, a padded instrument panel, windshield washers, dual rear-mounted radio antennae, full instrumentation and a heavy-duty suspension.

The vehicle rode on a 126-inch wheelbase and was 220.…