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OTTAWA - Canada and Mexico have won their challenge to the U.S. interpretation of content rules for autos under the new North American trade pact, a dispute panel ruled on Wednesday, a decision that favors parts makers north and south of the U.S. border.

A year ago Canada and Mexico filed a complaint against the United States over how to apply automotive-sector content requirements under the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement, which came into effect in 2020.

The U.S. interpretation of the rules is "inconsistent" with the USMCA, the panel said in its ruling.

"The decision is good for Canada and Mexico," said Flavio Volpe, president of Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association.

Canada "is glad to see that the dispute settlement mechanisms in place are supporting our rights and obligations negotiated in USMCA," Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a statement.

"This is excellent news," said Tatiana Clouthier…

Crain Volkswagen of Fayetteville in Arkansas has filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen Group of America, alleging that the licensing of a nearby VW dealership violates its franchise agreement and infringes on Crain VW's retail territory.

The suit was filed in the circuit court of Pulaski, Ark., in December and named VW of America as the defendant. Crain VW claims to have the right, under its franchise agreement with VW of America and state law, to solely serve Washington and Benton counties in northwest Arkansas.

The licensing of Everett Volkswagen in Rogers, Ark., which is 20 miles away, encroaches upon its territory and violates the "good faith" agreement to "act in a fair and equitable manner toward each other" established by a franchise contract, the lawsuit alleges.

Click here for a map of the dealership locations.

The suit also alleges that VW of America has been unable to achieve "the industry standard of 600,000 units per year to support its…

Electric vehicle share of U.S. light-vehicle sales has reached the "hockey stick" moment analysts have been forecasting for decades, but there are hurdles to clear before the industry achieves significant EV scale, said Kristin Dziczek of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago at the organization's 29th annual automotive insights symposium on Wednesday.

EV share of new-vehicle sales has climbed to about 6 percent, despite the pandemic and supply chain challenges. And investments from automakers and policymakers, along with incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act could be levers to boost EV sales, said Dziczek, a policy adviser in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Research, Policy and Public Engagement division.

The Inflation Reduction Act "gives us a lot of incentives… they are quite substantial, and really could move the needle on EV production battery component and mineral supply chain and adoption, as well as many state incentives to anchor these invest…

A Carvana Co. outlet in Michigan agreed to surrender its dealer license in lieu of further administrative action by state regulators, who in October suspended that license over titling, registration and odometer issues they found to be in violation of the Michigan Vehicle Code.

Carvana agreed Tuesday that the location in question — in Novi, a Detroit suburb — would have its dealer license revoked, according to a closeout agreement document provided Wednesday by the Michigan Department of State. The document was signed by a representative for Jocelyn Benson, Michigan's secretary of state, and by Paul Breaux, Carvana's general counsel.

"In a plea deal signed with our department, the Carvana dealership in Novi agreed it had violated the law and to have its dealer license revoked and be barred from reapplying for a new license for three years," Department of State spokesman Jake Rollow wrote in a statement provided to Automotive News.

Michigan residents may…

A look at the winners of the 2023 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) awards. Ford’s top labor negotiator is retiring ahead of UAW contract talks. Plus, a deeper look at the Biden Administration’s new blueprint to decarbonize the transportation sector.

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An American automaker wears the U.S. luxury sales crown for the first time in nearly a quarter century.

After being bested by just 23,244 vehicles in 2021, Tesla grabbed the luxury sales throne from BMW — thumping the German automaker with a 158,612-vehicle lead last year, according to Automotive News Research & Data Center estimates. Austin-based Tesla does not break out sales by region or country. Mercedes-Benz placed third, followed by Lexus, Audi and Cadillac. Tesla delivered an estimated 491,000 vehicles in the U.S. last year, up 44 percent, and crossed 1 million deliveries globally.

It's been a swift rise for Tesla from nearly-bankrupt startup to sales juggernaut in a little over a decade.

The paradigm has shifted with electric vehicle sales dominating the luxury segment, said Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power.

"Not only do luxury buyers want EVs, but the one that only sells EV is now the sales leader," J…

Tesla Inc. has applied for construction permits to move ahead with more than $700 million in investments on the Austin, Texas, campus of its newest manufacturing plant.

The funds are earmarked for a “ground up and complete interior finish out of the EV manufacturing facility,” with construction starting later this month and ending early next year, according to filings dated Monday with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

It’s unclear how much of that investment is included in the more than $1 billion Tesla has said it planned to spend on the plant.

Tesla didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. The investment was reported earlier by the Austin Business Journal.

The EV market leader started production at the factory last year and currently makes its battery-powered Model Y passenger vehicle at the plant. Tesla relocated its headquarters to Austin from Palo Alto, Calif., in late 2021.

A decade ago, China used low prices to dominate solar manufacturing, wiping out Western competitors just as worldwide demand for panels started to soar. The U.S. and Europe are determined not to let the same thing happen with hydrogen.

As the world sprints to decarbonize, the next round of competition revolves around a device called an electrolyzer. Plug these into clean electricity such as solar power, and it's possible to extract hydrogen from water without producing any planet-warming emissions. That's a crucial step in creating a green fuel capable of decarbonizing such industries as steel, cement or shipping.

Companies around the world are already revving up electrolyzer production, green hydrogen plants are under construction, and the industry is finally making the leap from pilot projects to industrial scale. BloombergNEF, a clean energy research group, estimates worldwide electrolyzer production will need to grow 91 times by 2030 to meet demand. But man…

For years, Elon Musk paid zero dollars for traditional advertising while almost singlehandedly keeping Tesla — and himself — front and center. With a never-ending stream of tweets, television and podcast appearances and livestreamed product events, the electric-vehicle maker and its billionaire CEO dominated news cycles and occasionally went viral.

Musk was a veritable hype machine, and his knack for breaking through meant that when Tesla managed to execute, its valuation soared to a stratosphere no automaker had ever come close to reaching.

Last year, Musk was in the news like never before, albeit for problematic reasons: his offer to buy Twitter, his attempt to back out, and his sowing of chaos once he finally did take over. All the while, for three quarters in a row, Tesla under-delivered on one of the metrics that matters most: the number of electric vehicles it handed over to customers.

What’s worse, the hype mach…

"For the longest time I was talking to the wrong people. I was trying to reach out to principals of high schools and automotive tech teachers directly. Had some mild success but not the success we were looking for. So we ended up going to the school district ... and [they] talked to the principals and automotive teachers on our behalf and gave them what we have to offer. And that is when applications started coming in left and right."

Mitch Moncur, co-owner of Denny's Auto in Riverton, Utah, talking about how he developed his technician apprentice program on the "Ratchet & Wrench Radio" podcast.

Jay Goninen is the co-founder and president of WrenchWay.

First car: 1987 Ford Ranger (rear end blew up immediately)

First concert: Brooks & Dunn

Pet peeve: Loud eaters

Most thrilling/adventurous thing you've done: Raced stock cars when I was a teenager

Personal hero: Roger Penske

Something on your bucket list: Attend the Daytona 500

One thing you learned on the job you never forgot: The value of a good team; no one person can do everything themselves

Three people you'd invite to dinner, living or dead: Michael Jordan, [hot rod designer] Boyd Coddington and Dale Earnhardt

What did you want to be when you were a kid? Race car driver

Do you collect anything? Nostalgic items from service shops; I love the history of our industry.

What's your TV streaming binge show? "Yellowstone"

You're king for a day. What's your first or…