News

Across a sprawl of streets in southern Beijing, China’s answer to search engine giant Google is charting the path for driverless cars in the world’s biggest electric vehicle market.

Baidu Inc.’s Apollo program, which allows customers to hail and ride a fully autonomous robotaxi, has racked up more than 1.4 million public journeys, and is expanding a network that already covers dozens of square miles across 10 key cities that also include Wuhan and Chongqing.

By next year, the company wants to have the largest autonomous service area in the world — an ambitious target considering it needs to complete with General Motors Co.’s fast-expanding robotaxi unit Cruise and California-based Waymo. Baidu is also being challenged in China by competitors like WeRide and Pony.ai.

The pace of development is on display at a company showroom in Yizhuang district, where an early autonomous model — a boxy red compact 4x4 rigged with steel beams to…

When the Indy Autonomous Challenge racing series made its CES debut last year, the concept of self-driving cars traveling at speeds approaching 170 mph attracted considerable attention.

"There was, I think, a lot of shock and awe that it was even possible in today's day and age," said Paul Mitchell, CEO of Energy Systems Network, the race producer.

The Indy Autonomous Challenge returns to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, Jan. 7, with bigger brains and brawn powering its race cars.

Approximately 10,000 event-goers have registered to attend the race as of Dec. 20. That's a five-fold increase from the 2,000-person crowd last year, an audience limited by pandemic-related restrictions, Mitchell said.

Nine university-affiliated teams are eligible to compete. Their software must still pass safety checks before they qualify. Those that do will showcase hardware improvements that include bigger turbochargers on the identical Dallara AV-21 base v…

Automotive News reporter Laurence Iliff discusses the year that Tesla had in 2022, including CEO Elon Musk's Twitter takeover and what it might mean for the EV maker's future.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tesla buyers who waited months for their new car have had an unusual choice for much of the past two years: keep the new electric vehicle, or sell it at a profit to someone with less patience.

But the days of the Tesla flip are numbered -- a potential threat to new car prices that are already getting cut.

Prices of used Teslas are falling faster than those of other automakers and the clean-energy status symbols are languishing in dealer lots longer, industry data provided to Reuters showed.

The average price for a used Tesla in November was $55,754, down 17 percent from a July peak of $67,297. The overall used car market posted a 4 percent drop during that period, according to Edmunds data. The used Teslas were in dealer inventory for 50 days on average in November, compared with 38 days for all used cars.

Rising gasoline prices, an effect of the Ukraine war, boosted demand for Teslas, one of few long-range electric vehicles in …

Toyota Motor Corp. said its global output hit a record for November, thanks in part to solid consumer demand, though it warned of an uncertain outlook due to a persistent shortage of semiconductors and spikes in Covid cases in China.

The world's No. 1 automaker produced 833,104 vehicles last month, a 1.5-percent increase from a year earlier. Global sales rose 2.9 percent to 796,484 units, the company said in a statement on Monday.

The vehicle output reflects solid demand in areas such as North America, and a rebound from a year earlier when Covid infections in Southeast Asia disrupted supply chains. The auto industry is still dogged by shortages of chips and other car parts, while it will also face challenges stemming from the rapid spread of Covid cases across China.

In early November, Toyota cut its global production target for the fiscal year through March while sticking with a conservative profit outlook because of chip shortages.

Toyota's dom…

CES will again serve as a global showcase for the latest innovations in transportation, from scooters to space technology.

After a topsy-turvy two years in which COVID-19 stymied efforts to hold a large, fully in-person show, event organizers expect more than 100,000 attendees when CES kicks off Thursday, Jan. 5.

In Las Vegas, those visitors will find an emphasis on electric vehicles in particular and electrification overall. BMW and Stellantis will unveil EV concepts that underpin their production plans set in the not-too-distant future.

BMW will showcase its Neue Klasse next-generation platform, which it expects to build vehicles upon starting in 2025. Stellantis will highlight its Ram EV pickup, scheduled to launch in 2024. Both BMW CEO Oliver Zipse and Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares are set to deliver keynote remarks.

Although technology displayed at CES often can feel like it borders on science fiction, the focus …

A conversation with Automotive News reporter Carly Schaffner about the biggest news and issues in 2022 related to Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

The Yearbook is back, packed with tons of useful data

After the positive feedback we received from Automotive News subscribers on our first two Yearbooks, we're happy to bring another one to you again on Monday.

While the COVID-19 threat diminished somewhat (except in China) and there appears to be relief from the global microchip shortage on the horizon, 2022 was no less chock-full of industry-impacting happenings than the previous couple of crisis-defined years.

At the top of our biggest stories of the year, as voted on by our editors, was Sen. Joe Manchin twisting Congress' arm on electric vehicle tax credits, leading to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. See the rest of our choices for the year's top 10 in Monday's special issue.

Also in this 88-page keepsake, we'll run a number of our signature features from the year. Just a small sampling:

■ Automotive News awards, including Best Dealerships To Work For, All-Stars, PACE Awa…

BMW Model Location Potential Lost Volume 2-Series Coupe San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico 0 3-Series San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico 0 X3 Spartanburg, S.C., U.S. 6,219 X5 Spartanburg, S.C., U.S. 1,196 X4 Spartanburg, S.C., U.S. 951 X6 Spartanburg, S.C., U.S. 0 X7 Spartanburg, S.C., U.S. 0 COMPAS Model Location Potential Lost Volume QX55 Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico 0 GLB Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico 0 QX50 Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico 0 Daimler Model Location Potential Lost Volume GLE Tuscaloosa, Ala., U.S. 0 GLS Tuscaloosa, Ala., U.S. 0 GLE Coupe Tuscaloosa, Ala., U.S. 0 Sprinter North Charleston, S.C., U.S. 0 Sprinter North Charleston, S.C., U.S. 0 Ford Motor Model Location Potential Lost Volume Edge Oakville, Ontario, Canada 33,315 MKX/Nautilus Oakville, Ontario, Canada 9,319 Maverick Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico 5,417 Bronco Sport Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico 10,480 Mustang Mach-E Cuautitlan, Mexico, Mexico 1,152 Explorer Chicago,…

Another wave of electric vehicles is on tap for 2023 as automakers leverage new and freshened sheet metal to drive showroom traffic against a rising tide of economic and market headwinds.

Crossovers and pickup trucks dominate the list of key showroom introductions in the year ahead, though some top-selling cars also will undergo makeovers, with Honda rolling out its 11th-generation Accord. As we saw in 2022, supply bottlenecks in the wake of the pandemic upended or delayed some light-vehicle launches, and 2023 likely will see more disruptions, especially on vehicles with parts sourced in China.

Among major brands, Chevrolet — one of the big sales winners of 2022 though the third quarter — and Toyota have ambitious launch schedules planned, while Ford — another gainer this year — and Honda have at least two major launches on deck. It will be a quiet year for Nissan, Jeep, Hyundai and Kia. With solid market gains in 2022, each have another key …

In 2020, we met COVID-19.

Last year was all about the microchip shortage.

In a refreshing reminder of what the Before Times were like, 2022 didn't have one ongoing story that dominated the auto industry.

Instead, it marked a return to many of the topics that automakers, dealers and suppliers had been talking about before we all got sidetracked for a good while:

Electric vehicles — which there are a lot more of.Self-driving cars — which still aren't much of a thing.The future of franchised dealerships — which still is a thing, despite the best efforts of Tesla and Carvana.And, of course, the omnipresent Elon Musk — who still hasn't produced the Cybertruck or robotaxis he said were imminent pre-COVID.

As a result, this was the first time since those halcyon days of the last decade that we at Automotive News weren't immediately certain what to consider the year's top story. The lingering inventory and supply shortages? The t…

SHANGHAI -- Tesla suspended production at its Shanghai plant on Saturday, according to an internal notice and two people with knowledge of the matter, bringing ahead a previous plan to pause most work at the plant in the last week of December.

The U.S. automaker cancelled the morning shift and told all workers at its most productive manufacturing hub they could start their break, said the people and the notice seen by Reuters. The company did not give a reason.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the electric car giant planned to suspend Model Y production at the plant from Dec. 25 to Jan. 1.

The suspension comes among a rising wave of infections after China eased its zero-COVID policy earlier this month, an abrupt move welcomed by businesses and the public but heavily disrupting business operations in the short term.

One of the people said workers at Tesla and its suppliers have also been falling sick as part of this wave, posing challenges …