Trade News

FRANKFURT -- Mercedes-Benz is embarking on a sweeping cost-cutting plan to free up cash to build electric and self-driving cars, a step which could see entire engine families and platforms eliminated, Daimler board member Markus Schaefer said.

"We will review our current lineup and the idea is streamlining the portfolio," Schaefer said on a conference call on Tuesday.

Potential cost-cutting measures at Daimler could see the company reducing the many variants of Mercedes' vehicles together with entire platforms and powertrains, Schaefer said.

"Yes we will have fewer platforms in future," Schaefer said in response to a question about whether Mercedes will build cars on fewer more flexible vehicle underpinnings.

Some products may get eliminated by tightening emissions standards, such as the introduction of so-called Euro 7 exhaust emissions standards.

"The question is how many engines you take through the gauge, through Euro 7," Schaefer said…

BEIJING -- China's car sales had the biggest monthly plunge on record as the coronavirus kept shoppers away, intensifying the pressure on automakers already battling an unprecedented slump before the outbreak.

Sales fell 80 percent in February, the China Passenger Car Association said on Wednesday, without giving a full sales figure for the month. Average daily sales improved toward the end of the month compared with the first three weeks.

"Dealers returned to work gradually in the first three weeks of February and their showroom traffic is very low," CPCA said, adding it expects February's sales drop will be the steepest of this year.

Toyota, the first major global automaker to report its February sales in China, said it sold 23,800 Toyota and premium Lexus cars last month, down by 70 percent from a year earlier.

General Motors said the industry will face "serious challenges" in the first quarter, but anticipates the situation will ease in the s…

Aston Martin has joined the recent parade of roofless vehicles from ultraluxury and exotic brands with the V12 Speedster.

The British brand called the V12 Speedster a "living show car" and design elements peppered throughout the exterior and interior help it look the part.

For example, in addition to not having a windshield, a narrow bar begins at the dash and runs between the shoulders of the two seats and above the center armrest, giving the model a unique, dual cockpit look.

It rides on its own platform, Aston Martin noted, and the body is largely built of carbon fiber.

The front and rear of the vehicle share similar design elements with other models in the lineup, including the Vantage sports car and the upcoming DBX SUV.

Originally set to be unveiled at the Geneva auto show, the V12 Speedster is to debut via a streamed press conference at the brand's headquarters.

Aston Martin said it wi…

FRANKFURT -- Daimler is working on a strategy to push sales during the remainder of the year to make up for lost volume in China, where BMW expects March demand to continue to suffer from the steps being taking in the country to slow the coronavirus outbreak.

"The Chinese market was down in February. We want to come up with a recovery plan," CEO Ola Kaellenius told journalists in a conference call on Tuesday.

China production at Daimler's Mercedes-Benz brand is currently stable, supply chains are secure and and three-quarters of the automaker's retailers in the country have re-opened, sales boss Britta Seeger said.

Seeger said it is too early to forecast the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on the automaker's overall sales, which are forecast to be slightly below last year's level.

Meanwhile, rival BMW said on Tuesday said its China sales have taken a hit because of the coronavirus, but the company stuck to its target for increasing passenger car sa…

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it will offer a battery-electric version of the Transit cargo van in the U.S. and Canada for the 2022 model year as it looks to strengthen its leadership in commercial vehicles.

The automaker said the EV will be available in cargo van, cutaway and chassis cab configurations, plus three roof heights and three body lengths. It declined to discuss range, pricing or other production-related specifics.

Ford agreed to build a Transit EV at its Kansas City Assembly Plant as part of its four-year contract with the UAW ratified late last year. It's also planning a Transit EV for Europe.

The van will join an F-150 EV and the Mustang Mach-E in Ford's growing electric-vehicle portfolio, as the automaker invests more than $11.5 billion in the technology through 2022.

"Commercial vehicles are a critical component to our big bet on electrification," Ford COO Jim Farley said in a statement. "As leaders in this space, we are …

The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by half a percentage point in the first such emergency move since the 2008 financial crisis, amid mounting concern that the coronavirus outbreak threatens to stall the record U.S. economic expansion.

The rate cut, which came between the central bank’s regularly scheduled meetings, was announced hours after Group of Seven finance chiefs held a rare teleconference to pledge they’d do all they can to combat the fast-moving health crisis.

“My colleagues and I took this action to help the U.S. economy keep strong in the face of new risks to the economic outlook,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told a hastily convened press conference in Washington on Tuesday. “The spread of the coronavirus has brought new challenges and risks.”

Powell left the door open to further action by the central bank at its next scheduled meeting March 17-18. “In the weeks and months ahead we will continue to closely monitor developments,” he said…

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. told employees Tuesday it's banning all nonessential domestic and international air travel at least until March 27 as cases of the coronavirus spread around the world.

Ford also confirmed two employees in China have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and are getting better, Reuters reported.

The automaker has been prohibiting travel to and from China but is extending the ban to all flights within the U.S. and internationally. A spokesman, citing the health and safety of Ford's employees, said there may be some exceptions, but they'd likely be rare.

The spokesman said the company will reevaluate the date of the ban on a weekly basis and could extend it if necessary.

CNBC first reported the new travel restrictions.

General Motors, meanwhile, said it has no restrictions on domestic travel for employees, but the automaker banned employees from traveling to China, Japan, South Korea and Italy last week. Senio…

Cox Automotive's Manheim Nashville auction location will remain closed as it assesses damage caused by severe weather Tuesday. In the meantime, the company is asking clients to avoid the site.

It was not clear how long the location will be closed.

Social media users had been posting photos apparently of the property, showing debris strewn around and at least one van partially overturned. Manheim commented on one of the photos: "Thanks for your concern. We are just happy that no one got hurt. We can replace cars. We can't replace people."

Matt Trapp, Manheim's east regional vice president, said in an email that no one was injured at the site. The auction's human resources team is working to account for the safety of team members who live in the area, he said.

Tornadoes and severe weather ripped through parts of Tennessee early Tuesday morning, killing at least 22 people and damaging some 140 buildings, the Associated Press reported. Local authoriti…

In a two-year search for a partner, Stephen Girsky and his VectoIQ Acquisition Corp. made a merger deal with Nikola Corp. — energizing Nikola's plans for battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell EVs along with a hydrogen fueling station infrastructure.

The two companies are merging under the name Nikola Corp. and will be listed on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol NKLA. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter, according to a statement released Tuesday.

Girsky, VectoIQ's CEO and a former General Motors vice chairman, was searching for the right company with the ability to grow,

"Nikola was the clear winner," Girsky said in the statement. "Nikola's vision of a zero-emission future and ability to execute were key drivers in our decision."

Nikola CEO and founder Trevor Milton told Automotive News that Nikola was the perfect company for VectoIQ as a full zero-emission truck manufacturer.

"We are on a roll," Milton said in th…

Toyota Europe will delay the unveiling of its new small crossover for Europe by “weeks or months” after the cancellation of the Geneva auto show this week because of the coronavirus.

Toyota was due to unveil the car at the Geneva show, but in contrast to other automakers such as BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler the Japanese automaker decided not to stage a digital reveal this week, a source close to the company said.

The reveal will happen “in the coming weeks or months," the source added.

The Geneva show organizers canceled the event last Friday after the Swiss government banned gatherings of 1,000 or more people in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Automakers were forced at very short notice to make alternative arrangements for revealing their cars, with many choosing livestreams on Tuesday this week.

Toyota had already reduced its Geneva activities after moving its traditional media briefing event involving senior executives fr…

TOKYO – Didier Leroy, the French chief competitive officer at Toyota, is stepping back from his role as the top non-Japanese executive at the automaker.

Under a management shuffle announced on Tuesday, Leroy will resign his post as executive vice president effective April 1 but continue to serve on Toyota’s board of directors.

Leroy will also remain chairman of Toyota’s European operations. Leroy, 62, however, will hand off his duties as chief competitive officer, a position he has held since 2016, as well as those as president of business planning and operations.

Leroy’s broad portfolio made him one of Toyota’s most influential executives, earning him a place among the so-called Seven Samurai, a group of President Akio Toyoda’s closest confidants.

An engineer by training, Leroy started his career at Renault and joined Toyota in 1998.

Shigeki Terashi, another of Toyoda’s Seven Samurai, will assume Leroy’s work as chief competitive officer in add…