News

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and signaled it may pause further increases, giving officials time to assess the fallout from recent bank failures, wait on the resolution of a political standoff over the U.S. debt ceiling, and monitor the course of inflation.

The unanimous decision lifted the U.S. central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate to the 5-5.25 percent range, the Fed's tenth consecutive increase since March 2022.

The Federal Reserve’s actions increase the likelihood of higher borrowing costs for new and used vehicles and other forms of credit. Rising interest rates along with higher sticker prices have dealers concerned.

Franchised dealers surveyed in January and February by Cox Automotive for its first-quarter Dealer Sentiment Index were most likely to cite interest rates as a factor holding back their business.

The Fed's accompanying policy statement dropped …

Norwegian hydrogen company Nel will establish a $400 million manufacturing plant in Michigan, creating an estimated 500-plus jobs at what officials said will be the first U.S. facility to make alkaline electrolyzer equipment used to produce renewable hydrogen.

Nel Hydrogen, a subsidiary of Oslo-based Nel ASA and a collaborator with General Motors Co., is still evaluating where in the state to put the factory.

The project was announced Wednesday by Nel CEO Håkon Volldal, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and state and local economic development officials attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Maryland.

"The choice of Michigan is based on an overall assessment of what the state can offer in terms of financial incentives, access to a highly skilled workforce, and cooperation with universities, research institutions and strategic partners," Volidal said in a statement in which he also highlighted "personal engage…

Uber Technologies Inc. said it plans to make UberX Share available in five more U.S. cities in the coming weeks. UberX Share gives users a discount for sharing their ride with others.

The service will soon be available in Baltimore, Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia and Washington., the company said in a statement Wednesday.

UberX Share launched in New York, Los Angeles and other major cities across the U.S. and Canada in 2022 after a pause in shared ride availability due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, Uber's shared ride service was known as Uber Pool, which launched in 2014. Shared rides are typically cheaper than those under UberX, the company's standard single-user service.

"Getting more butts in seats of fewer cars will help achieve our goal of zero-emissions," Uber said in the statement. The goal of UberX Share is "to encourage fewer cars on the road and less impact to the planet."

Uber said it plans to expand UberX Share to othe…

Morgan Automotive Group, one of the largest dealership groups in the country, continued its rapid pace of acquisitions with the purchase of four dealerships in Florida in March and April, chairman Larry Morgan confirmed.

Morgan Automotive, of Tampa, Fla., on March 15 purchased Kendall Hyundai-Genesis in Miami from Potamkin Automotive Group Inc., Morgan told Automotive News. The name remains.

The purchase represents the group's first foray into Miami, Morgan said. Planning has begun for renovations that will include a larger showroom and more service bays, he added.

Following the Miami acquisition, on April 27, Morgan Automotive bought two dealerships in Leesburg and one in Fruitland Park from Bill Bryan of Bill Bryan Automotive Group. Bryan, a friend of Morgan's, had unidentified partners in the stores, Morgan said.

The three dealerships are near The Villages, Central Florida's sprawling master-planned community for active residents 55 and older.…

Ford Pro, the commercial vehicle business unit of Ford Motor Co., plans to boost the range of the E-Transit electric van by 48 percent with a model that can travel up to 186 miles on a charge, the automaker confirmed Wednesday.

The longer-range option, which would include faster charging capabilities, will be an improvement over the 126-mile range on the E-Transit today. Ford Pro will continue to offer the 126-mile van as a base option, according to the website Electrek, which first reported the plans based on an interview with Ford Pro CEO Ted Cannis.

A Ford spokesperson declined to comment on how much the 186-mile van would cost or when it would go on sale. Cannis told Electrek that a formal announcement would happen May 11, the day of Ford's annual shareholders meeting.

Ford executives said they settled on the van's 126-mile range after internal research indicated fleet customers drive 74 miles a day and typically don't want to spend more on capabilit…

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Toyota Motor North America announced an agreement to put its fuel cell powertrain into Kenworth and Peterbilt big rigs.

The automaker and Paccar, owner of the truck brands, announced the deal Tuesday at the ACT Expo clean transportation conference here.

Toyota has leveraged the fuel cell technology it developed for the small-volume Mirai sedan for use in heavy-duty trucks.

Much of the work used Kenworth Class 8 truck cabs and chassis, including a demonstration project at Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., ports.

The companies see a growing market for zero-emission fuel cell technology as regulators in California and other regions begin to phase out diesel trucks.

California, for example, will require 5 percent of new Class 7 and Class 8 truck sales to be zero-emission vehicles starting next year. That jumps to 40 percent in 2032. The truck industry expects other states to follow California's lead, adding to the market si…

Volvo Cars' twin electric models will receive a new drivetrain and extended range this year.

The 2024 Volvo C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge models get rear-wheel-drive variants that will arrive in U.S. stores by the fourth quarter.

The single-motor models feature an in-house developed permanent magnet e-motor on the rear axle and an 82-kilowatt-hour battery.

The energy-dense battery and 248-hp motor allow the C40 and XC40 to go 297 and 293 miles, respectively. The battery can also charge faster than the previous version, refilling from 10 percent to 80 percent in about 28 minutes.

Pricing was not disclosed.

Volvo dealer Matthew Haiken said the new variants address near- and long-term customer concerns about electric vehicles.

"Buyers today still consider range a key determining factor in purchase," said Haiken, owner of Prestige Collection, which operates two Volvo stores in East Hanover and Engl…

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Leveraging its experience offering fuel cell passenger vehicles, Hyundai Motor Co. plans to offer a hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck in the U.S. this year.

Hyundai unveiled the production version of its Xcient Fuel Cell Class 8 truck on Tuesday at the ACT Expo just a block from Disneyland in California.

"Our hydrogen fuel cell technology has pioneered the industry with a real-world proven track record of its efficiency and durability," said Ken Ramirez, the Hyundai executive vice president who heads the company's global commercial vehicle and hydrogen fuel cell business.

The South Korean automaker further outlined its business plan for distributing the truck and tapping into a fueling infrastructure.

Hyundai launched the first version of the Xcient in 2020 in Switzerland, hauling goods for several large retailers. It now operates in Germany, Israel, South Korea and New Zealand, accumulating more than 4 million operating miles. …

Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday posted first-quarter net income of $1.8 billion, up from a $3.1 billion loss a year earlier, and reaffirmed its full-year guidance as the company bounces back from global supply chain shortages.

Ford posted first-quarter revenue of $41.5 billion, up 20 percent from the same period of 2022, and margins of 8.1 percent, up 1.4 percentage points. That was driven by a 9 percent increase in vehicle shipments, as well as a more favorable sales mix and higher net pricing.

“This quarter was much smoother,” CFO John Lawler said, comparing the results to the fourth quarter of 2022, where the company left $2 billion in profits on the table due to issues with its operational execution. 

Lawler said this quarter’s results were a “peek at what’s possible” from the company’s growth plans, called Ford +. 

In a call with analysts, CEO Jim Farley said he hopes Ford’s performance in the past quarter become a pattern of “boringly …

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Daimler Truck North America revealed a Freightliner medium-duty electric truck at the ACT Expo on Tuesday.

Orders for the eM2 will begin immediately, and Daimler said production will begin in fourth quarter at its Portland, Ore., manufacturing plant.

"For drivers who have already experienced this truck, they love it," said Katie Rabideau, eMobility product marketing manager at Daimler Truck North America. The truck was used in test programs with companies before launch. "It's incredibly intuitive."

A drive on a controlled course here at the ACT Expo, which stands for Advanced Clean Transportation, revealed a quiet ride, a comfortable seat and steering wheel setup, and a responsive throttle.

The eM2 release comes about a year after the commercial launch of the eCascadia, an electric version of a popular Freightliner Class 8 tractor. Rakesh Aneja, chief of eMobility at Daimler Truck North America, said the eM2 benefited from lesson…

TOKYO -- Japan's automakers are facing a sales crisis in China, data shows, as a rapid shift to electric vehicles has upended the world's largest auto market and led to a plunge in purchases of gasoline-powered cars.

Total sales of Japanese auto brands in China were down 32 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, more than double the pace of the overall market contraction, industry data analysed by Reuters showed.

While other automakers like Volkswagen AG have also been caught out by the sharp shift in China, Japanese automakers stand out because of their limited showing in the fast-growing category of electric and plug-in hybrid sales.

Production and margins will come under pressure in China as automakers cut output and prices of gasoline-powered cars to keep inventories in check, analysts say, in a worrying sign of the competition Japanese automakers could increasingly face outside their home market.

"Especially Japanese automakers face a li…