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Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive is trying to scale up its Illinois factory to turn out 50,000 vehicles this year, but Cox Automotive estimates first-quarter deliveries of just 8,145 units, for a 1.1 percent gain over the previous quarter.

Luxury EV maker Lucid Motors is growing at a faster clip, but Cox projects deliveries of 1,344 vehicles in the January to March period. That represents a 27 percent increase vs. fourth-quarter 2022, but it's a slow start for Lucid to meet its 2023 guidance of 14,000 Air sedans.

The two startups are cutting costs and laying off workers a year and a half after their first deliveries in fall 2021. Both have seen their stock prices drop by about 70 percent in the last 12 months.

Rivian says it has enough demand, but has been unable to solve manufacturing issues at its Illinois plant, which has a 150,000-unit annual capacity. Lucid says it needs to raise brand awareness to grow its order backlog.

Meanwhile, …

Ford signs a deal with partners for a $4.5 billion EV battery material plant in Asia. Kia stores have become a hot ticket for retail M&A. Polestar sees its leasing business growing, thanks to U.S. tax credits. Jeep rolls out its Easter Safari concepts. Plus, a conversation about the UAW’s new president and its bargaining convention.

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Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. announced that it’s started producing electric vehicles following years of turmoil and more than $3 billion spent.

The company celebrated the milestone with a live-streamed event where it showed off a vehicle body built by a supplier outside its Hanford, California, plant. Faraday started assembling the rest of the vehicle after the stream ended and is still planning to make its first deliveries late next month, according to a spokesman.

Faraday still has hurdles to clear before shipping its first FF 91 electric crossovers, including certifying some key safety components such as the seat belts and airbags. It’s been a long time coming for the vehicle — founder Jia Yueting first showed a prototype of it in January 2017.

The company, which went public in July 2021 through a reverse merger, is coming off a power struggle for control over the board of directors. A shareholder group associated with the founder, who go…

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Automotive supplier Magna Seating is planning a 300,000-square-foot plant and 500 new jobs in suburban Detroit near the Orion Assembly Plant of customer General Motors.

The $100 million just-in-time seating plant is expected to be built on 40 acres at 1700 Brown Road, according to an Auburn Hills, Mich., planning commission document.

Magna confirmed the project investment and size as well as the number of jobs spurred by new business from GM. The jobs will be UAW-represented.

"We are working with the city of Auburn Hills and the State of Michigan on a potential new facility that would ultimately supply GM's Lake Orion Assembly Plant and Factory Zero," spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst said in an email to Crain's Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News.

The Canadian company, which has a large presence in metro Detroit, will operate the plant as the "exclusive supplier" to "all the electric SUVs and trucks" produced at Orion Assembly, the project…

Ford is again increasing the price of some models of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup, with the base model now starting at $61,869, including shipping— up about 50 percent over the initial starting price when the truck launched in April 2022.

The price hikes come as the automaker reopens retail order banks for current reservation holders, resumes vehicle shipments and returns to full production at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center following a February battery fire.

The automaker said the price for the Lariat standard range model will jump from $76,369 to $77,869, while the Platinum model will jump from $98,769 to $99,969. All prices include a $1,895 shipping charge.

The Lightning Pro remains sold out for retail customers, Ford said, and order banks for commercial buyers will open in mid-April.

Ford said the price changes are a result of "current material costs, market factors and supply chain constraints."

The company restarted Lightnin…

WASHINGTON — Ford Motor Co. has withdrawn its petition to deploy a limited number of self-driving vehicles without traditional driving controls or features on U.S. roads, an unpublished federal document shows.

In the notice, which is scheduled to be published Friday, NHTSA said Ford has withdrawn its July 2021 request for a temporary exemption from certain federal safety standards for a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system.

Ford sought an exemption from seven safety standards to deploy vehicles that would be used to support mobility services such as ride-sharing and package delivery, according to the petition.

Ford notified NHTSA in February of its decision to withdraw the petition.

If it had been approved, it would have allowed Ford to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving vehicles annually.

In a statement to Automotive News, Ford spokesman Alan Hall said it withdrew the petition as part of a strategic decision announced in late 202…

Jose Munoz joins the board of directors of Hyundai Motor Co. Operating losses widen at Shift Technologies, even as the company reports a net profit. Half of U.S. new-vehicle shoppers will have a viable EV option this year. Kia unveils its three-row EV9. Plus, how a dealer manages complex operations in Manhattan.

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American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. is considering a $460 million electric vehicle research and supplier park adjacent to its Detroit headquarters in a project that would create 1,110 jobs, according to city documents.

The plan, called Project Orb, involves the redevelopment of the 50-acre former manufacturing property near the automotive supplier's campus at Holbrook Avenue and St. Aubin Street, along the Hamtramck border.

The "office/research and supplier park" would support the "concentration of the company's EV investment in Detroit and Michigan rather than competing international and other domestic locations," according to a project synopsis included in a city document.

The axle and auto parts manufacturer, whose largest customer is General Motors, is seeking $100 million in statutory and discretionary incentives from the state's Critical Industry Program — part of the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund signed into law in la…

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating two Illinois automotive groups for potential unfair, deceptive or discriminatory behavior, demanding years of finance-and-insurance documents as part of the inquiry.

Neither Liberty Auto City nor Leader Automotive Group have formally been accused of anything by the agency, which has been looking into them both for potential FTC Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act violations since at least last year.

FTC commissioners in both cases said they were exploring the groups' "auto sales and lending practices" for unfair or deceptive practices or prohibited discrimination "resulting in higher vehicle sales prices, periodic payments, 'add-on' charges, or other harm to consumers."

Leader Automotive attorney Ira Levin of Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella said in a statement Friday the company "does not typically comment on pending legal matters; however, we can share that we are working with th…