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WASHINGTON — Federal funding to support a national electric vehicle charging network has prompted Flo to hasten its EV charger manufacturing and deployment strategy in the U.S.

The North American EV charging company entered the U.S. market in 2018, but federal assistance from the bipartisan infrastructure law signed in 2021 and last year's Inflation Reduction Act have encouraged the Canadian company to more quickly invest and scale up production here, said CEO Louis Tremblay, who called the laws' EV-related provisions "critically complementary."

"It's definitely sped up our need to have U.S. manufacturing," Tremblay said during an interview here on Tuesday. "We see the U.S. as the biggest North American market."

Flo, which has a head office in Quebec City, launched production at its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Auburn Hills, Mich., a Detroit suburb, late last year. The company plans to make 250,000 EV chargers by 2028 for the U.S. market.

Re…

MILAN -- Ferrari has unveiled the Roma Spider, the first of four new models to be launched this year.

The 2+2 car is Ferrari's first softtop front-engine roadster since the 1969 365 GTS4.

The Roma Spider is powered by a 3.9-liter turbocharged V-8 engine with 612-hp (620 cv) derived from the Roma coupe. The engine is coupled with the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox also used on the Purosangue four-door crossover.

Top speed is more than 320 kph (200 mph) and the car can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (0-62 mph) in 3.4 seconds.

The Roma Spider weighs 3,430 pounds, 185 pounds more than the coupe.

Deliveries are expected to start before the end of the year.

The base price will be around 250,000 ($265,000) euros in Italy. The Roma coupe, which costs 209,705 euros, is Ferrari's least expensive model. The coupe was unveiled in 2019.

The Spider's main design change from the coupe is the cabin shape and the retractable fabric roof. The roof r…

Public demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is causing a rebirth of the automotive industry. The momentum around EVs is driven by two factors: meeting the global energy sector’s goal to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050 and reducing US dependence on foreign oil purchases. Integral to these factors are consumer interest in lower fuel and operating costs, as well as reduced vehicle emissions to limit climate change.

5 Key Takeaways

Why it’s important for automakers need to partner with more suppliers to create the experience buyers want. Learn How a modern ERP solution helps automakers adapt to the EV market. Disparate systems are prone to gaps, delays, and lower customer satisfaction. The current interest in EVs is on an accelerating trajectory. Collaboration tools help foster new/improved relationships with internal and external partners.

Lithia Motors has succeeded in its bid to enter the United Kingdom with the purchase of Jardine Motors Group. Almost 30 dealers leave Ford’s EV program. Plus, Automotive News' Laurence Iliff digs into new EV registration data and what they tell us about winners and losers from the Inflation Reduction Act’s new tax credits.

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America's public and private electric vehicle charging stations are susceptible to cyberthreats because they don't meet the latest security standards.

Most of the hundreds of thousands of public and home chargers use older technology that leaves them vulnerable to security breaches, according to Jim Alfred, vice president of Canada's BlackBerry Technology Solutions.

That means these chargers are vulnerable to so-called man-in-the-middle attacks, where a hacker penetrates the digital communication used by an application to steal a login or financial data, experts told Automotive News.

Recent documented hacks of EV charging stations have been relatively low stakes. Hackers put pro-Ukraine messages disparaging Russian President Vladimir Putin on EV charger screens in Russia last year. On the Isle of Wight in England, hackers took over three charging stations to show pornography on the screens.

Concerns about the security of EV charging stations are…

Mobileye Global Inc., a global supplier of advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving technology, established a test center in Shanghai last week.

The facility in Shanghai’s suburban Jiading district will  test and validate  technology to ensure it provides customers in China with advanced and reliable solutions, Mobileye said.

Mobileye said it won 24 projects from 12 Chinese automakers in 2022. As a result, its revenue from China more than doubled from levels in 2021, the company said, without disclosing the exact figures. 

Sales of used light vehicles in China surged 35 percent from a year earlier to 1.18 million in February after slumping 15 percent a month earlier, the China Automobile Dealers Association said.

The market last month benefited from the timing of the Chinese New Year holiday.

The week-long holiday began on January 21. Last year, it started on January 31. As a result, February had more working days than the same month last year. 

The rally in sales was broad, with all segments of the used-vehicle market posting major gains. 

Deliveries of used sedans spiked 36 percent to some 873,100, while the volume of secondhand crossovers and SUVs jumped 35 percent to about 186,000.

Sales of used multi-purpose vehicles also surged 35 percent to around 88,800 while demand for used minibuses rose 19 percent to roughly 28,400.

In the first two months, the market for used light vehicles expanded 6.3 percent to approach 2.19 million. 

The average backlog at new-vehicle stores marketing foreign mass-market brands and producing in China rose to a 65-day supply in February from a 57-day supply the previous month, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association.

The trade group blamed the increase in dealership stockpiles at foreign brands on weak demand for gasoline vehicles as the market transitions more and more to electrified products.

In February, inventories at stores stocking luxury brands and imported vehicles remained unchanged at 51 days.

Stockpiles at dealerships under Chinese brands slid to 52 days from 53 days a month earlier.

As a result, the average backlog at new-car dealerships across all brands climbed to a 58-day supply in February from a 54-day supply the previous month, 

Geely Automobile Holdings’ premium brand Lynk & CO reported the highest average dealer stockpiles at 92 days. 

It was followed by Cadillac and Buick stores, wh…

Audi will decide this year whether it needs to build a production facility in the United States to take full advantage of the electric vehicle tax subsidies contained in the Inflation Reduction Act, the premium brand's CEO said Thursday.

Speaking from Germany during Audi's annual press conference with global media, CEO Markus Duesmann said the brand is actively studying whether to expand its production footprint into the U.S. and will make a decision soon.

"The United States is an extremely important market for us," Duesmann told journalists through an interpreter on an online broadcast. "We have considered to expand capacities, but the decision has not been taken yet."

As for the Inflation Reduction Act, Duesmann said "you cannot ignore it as a company, and it has to be a wake-up call. And the European Union also have to find an answer to this, but it must be a nonprotectionist answer. We are really closely observing [its impact] in the market; it seem…

Lexus' new 2023 RZ 450e electric crossover will offer luxury EV shoppers a fresh alternative to Tesla's Model Y in an elegant and athletic package that starts just under $60,000 and can travel up to 220 miles on a single charge.

The compact crossover, which is on sale now, has distinctively Lexus exterior styling and carries forward the spindle grille, which the automaker calls the spindle body.

"Depending on whether it's a battery-electric vehicle, plug-in or hybrid, there will be different iterations of the design, but it will all be reminiscent of this spindle body approach versus just being stuck to the spindle grille," said Eli Nesbitt, a Lexus senior analyst and product expert.

The goal, Nesbitt said, is to maintain Lexus styling without intruding on aerodynamics. Because of the low roofline and a front fascia engineered for precise air intake, the RZ has a drag coefficient of .29 and is the most aerodynamic vehicle in Lexus' lineup, he said.

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American Honda Motor Co. said it will recall 448,613 vehicles in the U.S. and more in Canada, Mexico, Panama and St. Marten over seat belt buckles that may not latch properly.

The recall covers the 2017-20 Honda CR-V, 2018-19 Accord, 2018-19 Accord Hybrid, 2018-20 Odyssey and 2019 Insight, and the 2019-20 Acura RDX.

A manufacturing issue with the front seat belts may prevent the buckle from latching. The surface coating on the channel for the buckle may deteriorate and lead to the belt release button shrinking at lower temperatures, documents show.

An unlatched seat belt will not properly restrain someone during a crash, increasing the risk of injury, according to NHTSA.

Honda observed a potential trend in seat belt latching errors in June 2019 and determined on March 2, 2023, it was a defect impacting safety, documents show. It had received 301 warranty claims related to the defect as of March 2. No injuries have been reported.

Dealers wil…