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LAS VEGAS – Ambitious targets for electric vehicle sales – in California or nationwide – will be hard to achieve by 2030 or 2035, Akio Toyoda told reporters Thursday. 

Regarding California’s rule calling for a ban on the sale of gasoline-burning vehicles by 2035, the Toyota Motor Corp. CEO said: “Realistically speaking, it seems rather difficult to really achieve that.” 

He added that a potential national goal of 50 percent zero-emission vehicles by 2030 would be “very difficult.” 

As a global automaker serving 200 countries, Toyota must take into account the wide variety of conditions in those various markets, including the needs of the 1 billion or so people who don’t have reliable access to electricity.

Through a translator, he cautioned that regulations “tend to narrow the options available for solutions toward carbon neutrality.”

Longer term, he sees hydrogen combustion as a compelling offering. In the short term, hybrid…

What’s inside? Why high-quality data is everything in autonomous driving How multiple workforces tackle bottlenecks in the AV data pipeline Critical questions to ask a prospective workforce partner How CloudFactory’s AV-centric workforce approach can work for you

Porsche’s landmark initial public offering will raise over $9 billion for Volkswagen Group. Toyota’s output rises for the first time in five months. Pent-up consumer demand may be disappearing. Plus, a conversation with Autotech Council Executive Director Liz Kerton from the MOVE America mobility conference in Austin, Texas.

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New York state plans to adopt California's rules approved in August that would require all new vehicles sold in the state by 2035 to be either electric or plug-in electric hybrids, Governor Kathy Hochul said Thursday.Hochul said in a statement that she has directed a state environmental agency to propose and finalize rules adopting California's plan setting yearly rising zero-emission vehicle rules starting in 2026 that phases out gasoline-only new car sales by 2035.The agency will hold a public hearing before the rules are finalized.The California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted its rules after Governor Gavin Newsom issued a 2020 executive order directing the move. CARB said the rules will reduce smog-causing pollution from light-duty vehicles by 25 percent by 2037 and result in 9.5 million fewer conventional vehicles sold by 2035.Automakers must sell 68 percent of sales by 2030 as EVs or plug-ins and by 2035 can sell no more than 20 percent of models as plug-in hybrids.…

Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday appointed Zhu Meijun president of the company’s Lincoln brand in China.

Zhu was previously Lincoln’s executive vice president for China. She has worked for the Ford and Lincoln brands in mainland China and Taiwan for 27 years.

Lincoln’s current China president, Mao Jingbo, is resigning from the post for “personal reasons”, Ford China said. 

Mao was hired as Lincoln’s China head in 2018. Prior to that, she was a sales executive at Mercedes-Benz’s China unit.

Lincoln builds four models – the Nautilus, Aviator and Corsair and Zephyr -- at Ford’s Chinese joint venture with Changan Motor Co.  

In 2021, the brand’s China sales surged 48 percent to 91,621, with most of that volume mainly generated by locally produced models, according to Ford China. 

In the first half of 2022, Lincoln’s deliveries dropped 11 percent to 37,686.

Used-vehicle retail giant CarMax Inc. said Thursday it sold fewer used vehicles in its second fiscal quarter as ongoing financial pressures affecting retailers in the used-vehicle market stuck around.

CarMax reported a slimmed net income of $125.9 million in the quarter ended Aug. 31, down 56 percent year-over-year. The company's net revenue in the quarter was $8.1 billion, up 2 percent from the year-earlier period.

It retailed a total of 216,939 used vehicles in the quarter, down 6.4 percent from the year-earlier period. Comparable store used-vehicle sales fell 8.3 percent. CarMax said vehicle affordability challenges in the period stemmed from more inflationary pressures, climbing interest rates and low consumer confidence, conditions which also beset the retailer in its first quarter.

The company said it bought 342,731 vehicles from consumers and dealers, down 8.1 percent year-over-year. It said 322,543 of those vehicles were purchased from consumers,…

BYD Co., seeking to fast establish a foothold in Europe, disclosed tentative prices on Wednesday for three full electric passenger vehicles to be delivered in six European countries.

The Atto 3, a compact crossover, will be sold for 38,000 euros ($36,480). Both the Tang crossover and the Han sedan have been priced at 72,000 euros, the largest Chinese electrified-vehicle manufacturer said. 

The three EV models will be displayed at the Paris motor show in October.  Deliveries will begin simultaneously in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. 

The vehicles will be shipped to Europe from BYD plants in China.

Before the end of the year, BYD will also export electric passenger vehicles to France and the United Kingdom, the automaker said, without providing additional details. 

In the first eight months, BYD sold 974,348 electrified passenger vehicles globally, a 274 percent jump from a year earlier. Th…

The new-vehicle market in China will expand four straight months, with retail volume jumping 23 percent year over year in September, the China Automobile Dealers Association estimated this week.

Some 1.95 million sedans, crossovers, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles were delivered industrywide this month, according to the trade group’s preliminary tally.

CADA estimated that deliveries this month will include some 580,000 full electrified vehicles and plug-in hybrids, surging 74 percent from a year earlier. 

As sporadic coronavirus outbreaks in cities eased in mid-September, sales at dealerships gathered steam in the second half of the month, CADA noted. 

Volkswagen Group set the final listing price for Porsche at 82.50 euros per share, valuing the company at 75 billion euros ($73 billion) as it seeks to prove that the iconic sports-car brand can sidestep the slump in capital markets and pull off Europe’s largest initial public offering in a decade.

A meeting of VW’s supervisory board and its executive committee late Wednesday approved the final list price, which sits at the upper limit of the 76.50-82.50-euro range first offered to investors. Porsche will mark its first day of trading when markets open on Thursday in Frankfurt.

The listing of the 911 maker is a bold move into public markets, which have been largely shut to IPOs for most of the year, with companies shying away from seeking new listings because of the European energy crisis, rising interest rates and record inflation. The sale will help Volkswagen raise funds to plow into its electrification push, while investors get a slice of an emotional brand…

Florida experienced "catastrophic" conditions Wednesday after dealerships from Tampa to Florida's Atlantic Coast had closed in anticipation of Hurricane Ian.

"Most, if not all, of my dealers have closed Wednesday and Thursday," Central Florida Auto Dealers Association CEO Evelyn Cardenas wrote in an email Wednesday. "They have been working hard over the past two days to prepare to ensure the safety of their staff and stores."

The National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center at 2 p.m. EDT said the Category 4 hurricane sat 25 miles northwest of Fort Myers, Fla., and was moving northeast at 9 mph with sustained winds of 155 mph.

The weather service said Ian was "causing catastrophic storm surge, winds and flooding" in the state.

"Hurricane conditions are ongoing within the Hurricane Warning area now and will slowly spread northeastward through the day," the weather service said.

As of 2 p.m. EDT, a hurri…

DENVER — More than a decade ago, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen famously claimed, "Software is eating the world." That trend certainly is reverberating through the automotive world.

What was once a primarily atoms-focused hardware business is increasingly morphing into a bits-driven software and services one. Powertrain electrification and in-vehicle connectivity have turned cars into computers on wheels, with the average vehicle running more than 100 million lines of software code.

Christoph Starzynski, who leads the development of Mercedes-Benz's electric EQ subbrand, has a front-seat view of the industry's tech transformation as he helps navigate the German luxe brand toward an all-EV lineup.

In a software-first world, automakers can deliver new functionality and dial up performance via over-the-air updates long after the vehicle has rolled off the assembly line, Starzynski told Automotive News at a press event here last week.

"How can we,…

Dealership groups scramble to close their Florida locations as Hurricane Ian bares down on the Gulf Coast. GM eases up on its return-to-office mandate after employee outcry. Ford invests $700 million in its Kentucky truck plant. Plus, a conversation with Harbinger CEO John Harris about the new EV startup’s focus on the medium-duty commercial truck market.

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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. 

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