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The continued turbulence of the automotive industry and the rapid transition to electrification has driven seating supplier Adient plc to take a new approach to doing business.

It's no longer about growing market share at all costs, or winning every contract no matter the value proposition, according to CEO Doug Del Grosso.

The Plymouth-based company, projected to hit $15 million in revenue this year, has become more deliberate about walking away from business it doesn't like and more aggressive about renegotiating contracts that no longer make financial sense.

"We've changed our mindset over the course of the last four years," Del Grosso told Crain's Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News, during a wide-ranging interview at the company's Plymouth Technical Center. "It's very much bottom-line performance-based and not top-line growth. Unless we're absolutely sure we can get a return on our investment, we don't really measure performance in …

BEIJING — China will speed up the construction of charging facilities for new energy vehicles such as electric cars, and improve policies for purchasing and using them, state media quoted the nation's cabinet as saying on Friday.

Improved charging infrastructure for new energy vehicles will help unleash the potential of rural consumption and support growth of rural tourism, adding new impetus to rural revitalization, the cabinet was quoted as saying after a regular meeting.

The government is studying policies to promote auto consumption and support modernization as China's NEV market faces challenges from weak domestic demand, Xin Guobin, vice minister at Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said last month.

The cabinet, or State Council, has approved plans to speed up the development of advanced manufacturing clusters, state media also reported.

Developing such clusters will be vital for steering China's industries towards innovation,…

A possible electrical problem in a 2009 Dodge Journey may have caused the death of a woman trapped in her burning car. According to NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation report, there are about 82,500 similar vehicles.

NHTSA on May 1 said it opened a preliminary evaluation in response to the December 2022 incident. The ODI learned of the incident in January 2023.

According to the NHTSA report, the driver pulled over and called for help when all warning lights began flashing, wipers came on, horn started honking, windows would not go down and doors would not unlock. The vehicle caught fire, with the fire appearing to begin in the engine compartment and eventually consuming the vehicle.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the friends and families of this customer and will cooperate fully with the NHTSA," a North American spokesman for Stellantis told Automotive News.

The vehicle was equipped with both automatic and manual locks, according to th…

Lordstown Motors on Thursday reported a steep fall in its cash reserves and warned it might have to stop making its Endurance electric pickup truck in the near future unless it finds a partner.

The cash-strapped EV maker had earlier this week said it might be forced to file for bankruptcy, citing uncertainty over a $170 million investment deal with its major shareholder Foxconn.

Lordstown, named after the town in Ohio where it is based, said on Thursday it was in talks with the Apple supplier but was yet to reach a deal.

In May 2022, Lordstown Motors completed a deal to sell its Ohio factory for $230 million to Foxconn, excluding assets such as the hub motor assembly and battery pack lines.

Foxconn will make Fisker Inc's electric compact car at the Ohio factory starting next year, the EV startup has said.

Lordstown Motors had cash and cash equivalents of $108.1 million as of March 31, down from $203.6 million a year earlier.

Shares…

Carvana Co. said Thursday it sold fewer used vehicles in the first quarter as a result of a continued pullback on growth initiatives and reduced inventory size, but reported boosted total per-vehicle profit and a slimmer net loss.

The online used-vehicle retailer reported a net loss of $286 million for the quarter ended March 31, smaller than the $506 million it lost in the first quarter of 2022. Revenue fell 25 percent to $2.6 billion. It also reported an adjusted loss of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $24 million, significantly smaller than its adjusted EBITDA loss of $348 million a year ago.

"Given our strong start to the year, we expect to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in Q2 2023," CEO Ernie Garcia said in a statement.

Carvana sold 79,240 used vehicles, down 25 percent from 105,185 sold in the year-earlier period. That sales volume figure was just over a preliminary estimate the company gave in a March 22 regula…

Wheel supplier Superior Industries International on Thursday reported a first-quarter net loss of $4 million.

That's compared with net income of $10 million during the same quarter in 2022. The loss was caused by industry production levels that are still below pre-pandemic levels, as well as struggling European aftermarkets, executives said during a call Thursday with analysts.

The company's revenue fell 4.8 percent to $381 million. With the cost of aluminum significantly lower than a year ago, value-added sales increased by 7 percent despite lower unit shipments and revenue, according to CFO Tim Trenary. Still, customers opted for more expensive, larger wheels and the company's content-per-wheel costs increased by 16 percent.

"We enjoyed considerable success in recovering cost inflation in 2022 and pivoted late last year to negotiating appropriate price increases to offset the cost of inflation, the cost of OEM production schedule volatility and lower f…

The UAW said workers at a Yanfeng auto parts plant in Riverside, Mo., a key General Motors supplier, voted to join the union.

Of the roughly 430 workers who were eligible to vote in the election, 311 voted yes and 26 voted no, the UAW said in a statement Thursday.

Yanfeng, based in China, is a supplier of smart products, interiors, seating, electronics and other products with more than 240 operations worldwide. The company's North American business is headquartered in suburban Detroit.

The Riverside facility produces components for General Motors' Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City. It is the sixth Yanfeng operation to organize with the UAW and the Riverside workers join more than 1,000 other Yanfeng-employed UAW members at facilities in Michigan, Canada and Alabama.

The UAW said workers at the plant have faced low pay, a lack of seniority rights and understaffed shifts. Additionally, the UAW said workers of color have faced discrimination from…

LOS ANGELES — Porsche has put the combustion engine Cayenne on the path to retirement, but first, the automaker is giving the workhorse midsize crossover a midcycle freshening that feels more like a redesign.

To elevate the driving experience, Porsche has dialed up engine output across the Cayenne lineup.

While the industry steers away from thirsty V-8 engines to meet ever-tightening emissions regulations, Porsche is returning the big engine to the Cayenne S for the U.S. after ditching it nearly a decade ago.

The 2024 Cayenne S swaps its V-6 for a V-8 that makes an additional 34 hp and delivers a 0-to-60-mph time of 4.4 seconds. Porsche mechanically adapted the eight-cylinder to make it "at least as fuel-efficient" as the V-6, said Mike DePetro, product manager for Porsche Cars North America.

The V-8 also helps differentiate the S trim from the base Cayenne.

"The V-8 is a very important American need and want in an automobile," he told Aut…

BorgWarner Inc. executives are expecting a boom in the electrification business but not before e-products put some strain on its profitability.

The supplier saw first-quarter sales of $4.2 billion, up 8 percent from a year ago, and net earnings of $230 million, about flat with last year, according to its earnings report Thursday.

While the company increased its sales and earnings projections for the full year, its first-quarter profit results came in just shy of Wall Street expectations, due to inflated costs, high R&D spending on electrification and sagging sales in China, which is also hurting other suppliers with high exposure to the Far East.

"We outperformed the market both in Europe and North America," CEO Frederic Lissalde said on a call with investment analysts. "As we expected going into the quarter, our margin performance was negatively impacted by our planned e-R&D investment, net inflationary costs and the impact of low production i…

Toyota has confirmed that it will reveal the redesigned 2024 Tacoma pickup on May 19.

The top-selling midsize pickup is the third of the Japanese brand's four body-on-frame vehicles sold in the U.S. to move onto Toyota Motor Corp.'s global F1 platform. They are known internally as the Four Brothers: the Tundra, Sequoia, Tacoma and 4Runner.

Toyota has released a series of teaser images in recent weeks, giving hints about the fourth-generation Tacoma in advance of the reveal. Included in those is confirmation that it will have an optional hybrid i-Force Max powertrain, as does the Tundra full-size pickup and Sequoia large SUV, tuned specifically to provide more power and towing capacity instead of just added fuel efficiency. The redesign is expected to be powered by a turbocharged 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine as well as the hybridized optional powertrain. It will be available with an optional manual transmission.

An image of the upcoming Toyota …

Volkswagen Group says first-quarter revenue was up considerably. You might see way more of Waymo soon. The Tesla Semi will make its debut this year. Plus, Chevrolet marketing chief Steve Majoros talks about why the brand is so bullish on the new Trax and the subcompact crossover segment.

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