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Robert BoschNorth America

Vice President of Electrification

ErichBanhegyi

Big Break: Being project leader of the team that designed Bosch's first hybrid drive — an e-motor and clutch — which debuted in 2010.

Age: 43

Valeo

Regional Operations Quality Director

FernandaBarrales

Big Break: Moved from sales into a more technically challenging management career track in project management and manufacturing.

Age: 41

Honda Developmentand Manufacturingof America

Chief Engineer, Senior Manager

AnnieBoh

Big Break: Gaining buy-in from upper management to lead the business development of Honda's wind tunnel facility in the U.S.

Age: 42

Stellantis

Vice President of Jeep…

That hot new electric Kia GT is a glimpse into today's industry drama

Kia unveiled its new EV6 GT model Friday at the annual high-end auto event in Monterey, Calif. We tell you about it on Page 1 this week because it's interesting news — but also because it serves as a portal into the many dramas of today's car business.

The EV6 GT is an electric car from a mass-market brand, but it's stoked with 576 hp and a 3.4-second zero-to-60.

There are other performance EVs suddenly coming out, and you can see them scattered through this week's issue. Check out Vince Bond Jr.'s Page 1 piece on the newly revealed Charger Daytona SRT from Dodge. It's an electric muscle-car concept. Who knew there would be such a thing?

But why not? Electrification is a new ballgame. The industry is flying into it and you can read about all the new EVs just now being unveiled on several pages of this issue.

But there's also uncertainty in the mix.

We tell you th…

The Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands have startled the industry with their rapid rollout of future electric vehicle strategies. A swath of EVs, many designed on Hyundai Motor Group's new flexible shared architecture, the Electric Global Modular Platform, or E-GMP, are now in the works.

The automakers plan to invest more than $16 billion to introduce new battery-electrics by 2030, including 11 Hyundai brand models and six luxury Genesis vehicles.

At the same time, sibling brand Kia intends to have eight battery-electric vehicles in its U.S. lineup by 2029.

That includes the EV6 compact crossover that went on sale this year, the redesigned Niro EV, the EV9 three-row crossover that it will build starting in 2023 and possibly a midsize electric pickup.

But with the signing into law of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Korean brands' aggressive product plans may be under a cloud. The sweeping law changes the rules for how federal EV tax credits will be…

Kia is busy plotting its road to electrification. The Korean brand has said it will debut 14 EVs globally by 2027, with eight EVs for the U.S. by 2029, and convert half of its new-vehicle sales from gasoline to electric by the early 2030s.

Kia also has been revamping its crossover-heavy lineup with freshenings and redesigns spanning the 2022 and 2023 model years. The fifth-generation Sportage compact crossover, which went on sale early this year, now offers buyers hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants. The staggered rollout of the eco-friendly powertrains still awaits an exact on-sale date for the plug-in hybrid version.

The Niro, Kia's "trifecta of electrification," bowed as a redesign for 2023. The hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric models, increased in size and performance, have garnered more attention thanks to interest in the brand's new EV6 electric compact crossover. The EV6 burst onto the scene in a quirky commercial starring an electric dog during t…

After earning dealer buy-in for standalone stores in the U.S. and gaining recognition as a premium nameplate by U.S. consumers, the stars are aligning for Genesis, the luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Co.

Genesis will now embark on an aggressive transition into an all-electric brand, something it says was planned from the start. In three years, it will begin phasing out internal combustion engines to usher in a new lineup of only EVs by 2030.

The launch of the GV60 electric compact crossover this year marks the first of six EVs Genesis will launch by 2027. It's built on Hyundai Motor Group's scalable E-GMP platform that enables ultrafast 800-volt charging capability and generous range.

Next up is the Electrified G80, an electric version of the midsize sedan that will go on sale in coming months. The Electrified GV70, also an EV retrofitted to the existing compact crossover, will be the first all-electric vehicle to be built at Hyundai's factory in Montgom…

The Hyundai brand has committed to providing buyers with different sizes of fast-charging EVs that are well equipped, interestingly styled and — most importantly — affordable.

Hyundai also is focused on "eco-friendly" options, including hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants that will bridge the market's transition to full electrification while lowering emissions across the lineup. Having a wider menu of options lets consumers dabble in alternative fuel and gives them a chance to save money amid gasoline price uncertainties.

Hyundai launched its first dedicated EV this year, the Ioniq 5, a compact crossover built on its E-GMP platform that enables ultrafast charging capability and reliable range. Along with other product offerings, such as the recently freshened three-row Palisade, the Tucson compact crossover and the Elantra midsize sedan, the Ioniq 5 has helped boost Hyundai's market share this year.

Next up for Hyundai EVs is the Ioniq 6, a fast-back mi…

DETROIT — Dodge couldn't quietly join the electric-vehicle party, it had to crash it and make some noise in the process.

The brand, known for a brash attitude and roaring engines, is making clear it won't water down that audacity in the battery-power era. In contrast to the parade of near-silent EVs introduced in recent years, the Charger Daytona SRT, an electric muscle car concept Dodge showed last week, is just as loud and fast as today's 700-plus-hp Hellcats.

"Dodge is going to get lost if we're trying to do the same thing as everybody else, so let's go, let's invent, let's create, let's do something different than [what] anybody else out there is doing," Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said. "Let's show them that electrification can still shock people."

Kuniskis said the brand needed to do an EV the "Dodge way" with patents, innovations and performance that would "reverberate through the entire industry." Engineers inventing the future…

The former Obama White House official says his company's goal to "electrify everything" isn't just optimistic, it's also a practical and realistic vision for the future. He says President Biden's signing of the Inflation Reduction Act is a game-changer that will propel America toward that new reality.

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Considering used-vehicle gross profit as a pool that can be tapped when calculating commission payments on individual cars has helped a Michigan Ford dealership retail more used cars and keep its sales reps invested in selling any model on the lot.

Roy O'Brien Ford in St. Clair Shores, Mich., in 2020 turned up its efforts to increase used-vehicle sales from an average of 60 cars a month, according to Sean O'Brien, the dealership's used-vehicle manager. That summer, he received approval to stock more used vehicles, going from around 50 cars on the lot to 90. He also rethought the used-vehicle commission pay plan, which paid an undisclosed percentage of a vehicle's gross profit.

O'Brien wanted sales staff to sell based on a customer's needs, not cherry-pick the vehicles most likely to boost their paychecks more. So for the purpose of calculating commission payments, dealership managers now have the flexibility to essentially borrow proceeds from a vehicle sale w…

Automakers want to tap space-based communications to obtain precise positioning data and more robust connectivity for vehicles that will increasingly drive themselves.

As such, Toyota Ventures joined a 2021 funding round to invest in Xona Space Systems, a San Mateo, Calif., startup that plans to launch low-Earth orbit satellites.

Last month, Mercedes-Benz held a Car2space Challenge at the Innospace Masters innovation competition to scout ideas that can "create new business services for enhanced navigation of autonomous vehicles."

Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group launched nine low-Earth orbit satellites in June, the first of 240, to provide navigation and communications for autonomous vehicles. Geely, which owns Volvo, said its satellite constellation will initially cover the Asia-Pacific region, growing to global coverage by 2027.

Last year, Honda announced it's developing a partially reusable rocket to l…

As used electric vehicles become common, the largest auto auction houses grapple with how to value a car after factoring in the gradual degradation of aged batteries, which typically last eight to 10 years, or about 100,000 miles.

Accurately judging the remainder of the battery's useful life is crucial to building confidence in the used-EV market and also will help drive new-EV sales, said Lea Malloy, vice president of battery solutions at Cox Automotive Mobility. The company is a division of Cox Automotive, which also owns auction giant Manheim and vehicle valuation company Kelley Blue Book.

Consumers will think, "I'm going to buy a new [EV] because I'm confident that when I'm ready to unload this vehicle, I have a market that is going to support my sale," she said during a July media roundtable discussion in Detroit.

To help solve the problem, Cox developed software that tracks a battery pack's chemistry, age, service event histo…

Another victim of staffing shortages, inflation and supply chain disruptions has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Cammand Machining LLC filed a petition for bankruptcy this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit.

The machine shop, which services the mold-and-die industry for automotive and aerospace customers, indicated in the filing that it was never able to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. After two forbearance agreements with its lender, it chose to declare bankruptcy.

The company has between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities and less than $50,000 in assets, according to the filing.

"The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a long-lasting impact on the debtor's operations," according to a motion filed by Scott Kwiatkowski, an attorney representing Cammand. "… Due to the inability to run a second shift and the increased expenses associated with the global supply chain issues, operational costs have increased and t…