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Ford Motor Co. is facing legal challenges to its dealer certification program for electric vehicles from retailers in three states who argue that the plan violates franchise laws.

A group of 27 dealerships in Illinois filed a protest with the state's motor vehicle review board Friday, and four dealers in New York filed suit against the automaker earlier this week. Those actions come after the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association in October filed a formal complaint against the manufacturer with that state's motor vehicle commission.

They are believed to be the first legal actions taken against Ford as opposition to the certification program mounts. Dealer associations in at least 14 states have written letters to Ford calling for changes, and earlier this week the plans drew rebukes from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and some state lawmakers.

Ford had set a Friday deadline for dealers across the U.S. to decide whether they will invest up to $1…

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares will give a keynote address and reveal two concept vehicles at the CES technology show in Las Vegas on Jan. 5.

Tavares will show the Peugeot Inception and the Ram 1500 Revolution electric pickup concept at the show.

The Inception concept “will give a taste of the next generation of models,” Peugeot has said. The brand’s future models will be headlined by the next-generation 3008 compact SUV, which will be revealed next year. 

Peugeot has not shown any images of the Inception. It said the concept would show how Peugeot is “taking advantage of ‘BEV-by-design’ next-generation electric platforms.” Those platforms include STLA Small, STLA Medium, STLA Large and STLA Frame, with the first vehicles on the architecture expected to debut in early 2024. 

Peugeot will become a full-electric only brand in Europe by 2030.

Ram has released a few teaser images of the concept. It will be on the STLA Frame…

General Motors and LG Energy Solution on Friday said they are increasing their investment in a joint-venture battery cell plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., by $275 million.

The additional spending will create 400 more jobs and raise annual production capacity of the Ultium Cells LLC plant from 35 gigawatt-hours to 50 when completed and operational, the companies said. Cells made there will be used in the Cadillac Lyriq midsize crossover and other electric vehicles built on the Ultium platform at GM's nearby Spring Hill Assembly plant.

The companies originally had planned to spend $2.3 billion building the 2.8 million-square-foot battery plant, which is slated to open late next year.

"This investment will allow us to provide our customer GM more battery cells faster and support GM's aggressive EV launch plan in the coming years," Tom Gallagher, Ultium Cells' vice president of operations, said in a statement. "Ultium Cells is taking the appropriate steps to sup…

Legislation to avert a crippling U.S. rail strike goes to President Biden's desk. Ford and Honda sales drop in November while competitors enjoy double-digit gains. Ford’s EV certification program for dealers is under fire in Connecticut. Plus, a CDK Global cybersecurity study finds a big decrease from 2021 in dealership readiness for a cyberattack.

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Software security researchers and engineers used a flaw in a SiriusXM service to hack into Honda, Nissan and Toyota vehicles using only their VINs, which provides wider access to account information.

But for Hyundai and its sibling Genesis models, one only needs the email address, they said.

The researchers discovered the coding flaw in a hybrid 2022 Hyundai Sonata in September and found they could remotely unlock, start, locate, flash and honk the horn in the car. They used the same methodology to crack into Honda, Nissan and Toyota models.

As these researchers and engineers explored the back end of these smartphone applications, they kept seeing SiriusXM, a company known for its satellite and online radio services, referenced in the code and documentation related to these vehicles' onboard systems.

During their research, they found that the domain "http://telematics.net" handled the services for enrolling cars in SiriusXM Connected Vehicle Serv…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Report: Toyota, Honda losing to rivals that are ahead on EVs

Toyota and Honda are losing loyal owners to rival brands further ahead in the electric vehicle transition, including Tesla, Ford, Hyundai and Chevrolet, according to a new report from S&P Global Mobility.

"Early S&P Global Mobility data suggests consumers moving to electric vehicles in 2022 are largely doing so from Toyota and Honda — brands which have been unable to keep their internal combustion owners loyal until their own brands begin to participate more significantly in the EV transition," the data firm said Tuesday.

Sales of Toyota's mass-market EV, the bZ4x crossover, were stopped for months shortly after its launch earlier this year due to a risk that its wheels could fall off. Honda discontinued its Clarity EV in 2020 after offering the sedan, with 89 miles of range, as lease-only in California and Oregon. Honda's coming Prologue EV crossover is expec…

The 2022 Automotive News Leading Women conference tackled issues such as diversity and work cultures, leading multigenerational teams and leadership lessons. 

Keynote speakers were racing pioneer Lyn St. James and Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink.

Automotive News Vice President of Editorial Operations Chrissy Taylor moderates the panel discussion on diversity, equity and inclusion with Lia Theodosiou-Pisanelli, vice president of partner products, programs and operations for Aurora Innovation; Chandra Vasser, vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Nissan Americas; and Cheryl Thompson, founder and CEO, Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement.

Racing pioneer Lyn St. James, Automotive Hall of Fame inductee and Automotive News 100 Leading Women 2010 honoree, opens the Leading Women Conference. St. James talked about her influences, racing career, and being a female athlete before Title …

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., earlier this week said he planned to ask the Federal Trade Commission, as well as state authorities, to investigate Ford Motor Co.'s electric vehicle certification program over potential violations of franchise laws in what he labeled an "egregious treatment" of dealers.

Blumenthal joined a bipartisan group of Connecticut state legislators in criticizing the plans during a virtual press conference that also included a top-ranking member of the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association. The lawmakers called on Ford to again delay a Dec. 2 deadline for dealers to opt-in to the program.

"I'm convinced there's a case that needs to be investigated here," Blumenthal said, saying the issue was of "profound" public interest. "I just think Ford is making a terrible mistake here if it persists in this approach."

Ford, in a statement, said it would not extend the deadline.

"The voluntary program empowers our dealers on w…

CarMax Inc. the largest U.S. used car retailer, agreed to pay $1 million to resolve claims by 36 states that it failed to disclose open safety recalls to consumers before selling vehicles to them.

Thursday's settlement followed a multistate probe led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul that began in 2014, amid concerns that consumers were not being warned about necessary repairs and potentially serious safety recalls.

The accord requires the Richmond, Virginia-based company to provide consumers with hyperlinks and QR codes to look up recalls, and documentation that "clearly and conspicuously" discloses open recalls before presenting other sales paperwork.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who joined the settlement,in a statement said CarMax sometimes classified vehicles as "safe" even if they had been recalled for airbags or other safety features.

"When someone buys a car, they need to know that it will keep them safe," James said.

…

DETROIT — Toyota Motor Corp. believes the microchip shortage that's plagued the U.S. auto industry is likely to remain for an extended period, even as sales in the U.S. continue to slowly rebound, according to the Japanese automaker's head of sales.

Jack Hollis, in his first year as executive vice president of sales for Toyota Motor North America, said he sees the industry finishing 2022 at 14 million new vehicle sales in the U.S., with a recovery in 2023 to 15 million as production continues to struggle through supply shortages in microchips and other components.

Early on Thursday, Toyota said its November U.S. sales rose 10 percent to 169,226 vehicles. Deliveries for the first 11 months fell 11 percent to 1.9 million vehicles.

"For 2023, we think we're really going up another million vehicles, which is great, because if you look at where we've been so supply constrained, to see there being growth and a path to growth I think is going to be encouraging…

TrueCar CEO Mike Darrow gives his thoughts on new electric models and whether they’ll help drive EV adoption. U.S. sales at Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai, and Kia rose double digits last month from a year earlier. Honda will build a CR-V fuel cell vehicle in Ohio. And Cruise eyes a big expansion next year.

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Hertz Corp. vehicles previously rented by U.S. Secret Service agents burst into flames at Nantucket Memorial Airport early Monday morning, according to several media reports.

The large fire involved five vehicles that had been rented to the Secret Service for President Joe Biden's visit to Nantucket for Thanksgiving, the Secret Service said. Local fire officials said the fire was not suspicious, although the incident sparked national conspiracy theories, Forbes reported on Wednesday.

Investigators are focusing on a white Ford Expedition as the ignition for the fire, although the official cause is undetermined.

In a statement released Thursday, the Secret Service said:

"The Secret Service had rented the vehicles for the President's trip and dropped the SUVs off at HERTZ on Sunday night. We were made aware of one Ford SUV catching fire early Monday morning. That SUV was parked next to several other vehicles which also caught fire becasue of the pro…