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Seven years ago, Del Grande Dealer Group was as far away from digitized as possible. Daily sales numbers, old automaker statements, payroll, inventory reporting and pricing mechanisms for new and used cars were mostly compiled by hand, recalled CEO Jeremy Beaver.

"We felt like there were a lot of inefficiencies in data integration," Beaver told Automotive News. "It would take hours to calculate a spreadsheet and send it out to the organization."

Beaver hired Jagdish Rajan to help solve the problem. As Del Grande's first-ever chief technology officer, he was charged with modernizing how the group gathered and used its data to make daily operations and processes more efficient. That mission has succeeded on multiple levels, Beaver said, thanks to Rajan and his team's creation of what's known as a data lake — a virtual repository that holds massive amounts of data from multiple sources in the organization, which has stores across Northern California.

Using…

Automakers and suppliers are hunting for greener versions of basic materials that go into their vehicles and parts. Many basic materials have remained the same for decades, but a new determination to improve its environmental impact is spurring the industry to make changes in the way future vehicles are built. In November, Forvia, the world's seventh-largest parts maker, launched Materi'act — a brand dedicated to developing and manufacturing sustainable materials such as bio-based foils, low-CO2 carbon fibers and "green steel" that emits less carbon in production. Continental, meanwhile, has launched several green surface materials in recent years, including Xpreshn. The supplier says Xpreshn can line car doors and instrument panels and be made with green or recycled materials. Steelmakers are also moving toward the production of green steel.

Bicycle detection systems are beginning to catch on in new vehicles — and could soon be a standard safety feature. Volvo's new EX30 electric crossover comes standard with the equipment, which gives occupants visual and audio cues if they are about to throw open a door in front of an oncoming bicyclist or pedestrian. Cadillac also began offering a side bicyclist alert system, which indicates when it might be unsafe to change lanes or open a door, according to the brand's website. If safety advocates have their way, the technology could soon become more commonplace as they urge federal regulators to include bike detection in proposed rules on automatic emergency braking.

For years, automakers, suppliers and technology companies have been creating more software-driven and high-tech vehicle cockpits. And the results today are cabin environments that are highly technical and complex. But many companies are looking to simplify what the industry has done. Diverse technologies won't go away in next-generation vehicles — but how drivers and passengers interact with them will be simpler and less distracting, many believe. New digital cockpits, likely fitted with pillar-to-pillar touchscreens, will integrate entertainment, vehicle data and comfort features through software and artificial intelligence. One small glimpse into what's coming: German electronics supplier Preh has rolled out a physical, rotary knob that adheres to digital touchscreens as a way to make multifeature cockpits easier to navigate.

The transportation industry has been working for years to cut back on carbon emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles or eliminate them through electrification. Michigan startup Remora has a different solution: capturing emissions emitted by semi-trucks as they are driven. The company developed a retrofitting technology it says captures the carbon dioxide emitted from a truck's exhaust, preventing it from entering the atmosphere. That carbon can then be turned back into diesel use to power the truck via a system powered only by renewable energy, creating a circular solution preventing more CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

The goal of a truly autonomous supply chain is moving closer to reality at international shipping giant Maersk.

In a recent interview with Danish newspaper Børsen, Maersk CTO Navneet Kapoor said the goal is to create a supply chain of “zero touch logistics.”

”It’s not just hopeful thinking. We believe it’s possible to digitize almost the entire supply chain. It takes time, but we are working on an AI engine. When it becomes fully functional, it will be possible to integrate data automatically, and that’s where the magic happens,” he said.

Kapoor estimated that Maersk is using artificial intelligence for as much as 20% of its logistics tasks with hopes that it reaches between 70% and 80% within seven years.

The comments were translated into English by Shipping Watch.

Maersk’s ambitions have been well-known, and company leaders have discussed the important role AI can play in logistics moving forward.

In May, Silvia La Face, digital cu…

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama plans to invest $290 million to enhance U.S. production of crossovers.

Hyundai designated $190 million for tooling and equipment upgrades to prepare for production of the fifth-generation Santa Fe.

"Today, the legacy of the Santa Fe continues with HMMA investing $190 million to prepare our assembly plant for the next generation of this popular SUV," Ernie Kim, the plant's CEO, said in a statement. "An additional $100 million will be invested to support ongoing production of the Tucson SUV and Santa Cruz Sport Adventure Vehicle."

The plant in Montgomery began assembling the Santa Fe in 2006. This will be its first full redesign since 2018.

The 2024 Santa Fe will feature a bolder exterior design, enlarged tailgate and cabin, a more refined interior with sustainable materials, and a variety of high-tech features including a 12.3-inch panoramic curved display.

When assembly begins this year, the updated San…

United States Steel Corp. said on Thursday that its labor agreement with the United Steelworkers does not afford the union the right to veto a sale of the company that may arise from its recently announced strategic review.

U.S. Steel's statement came after USW said this week it would only back Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. as a suitor for the company. The union said that "over the years, Cliffs has shown itself to be an outstanding employer to all of its workers."

Both U.S. Steel and Cliffs are major suppliers to North American automakers.

U.S. Steel, which rejected Cliffs' $7.3 billion cash-and-stock offer as inadequate, has said it is exploring "multiple unsolicited proposals". It has attracted a $7.8 billion all-cash offer from Esmark Inc. and as well as potential acquisition interest from ArcelorMittal, another key auto industry supplier.

In a regulatory filing, U.S. Steel said its agreement with the union gives the latter the right to counter with…

DETROIT — The past several rounds of UAW contract negotiations with the Detroit 3 have given workers incremental raises, moderately improved benefits and job commitments from automakers looking to lock in future product plans.

This year, however, the UAW is seeking nothing short of wholesale changes to pay structures and work schedules that would redistribute corporate wealth and reset the standard of living for roughly 150,000 blue-collar employees.

The union's first-year president, Shawn Fain, says he's determined not only to claw back concessions made in 2009 during the financial crisis, but also to establish new employee protections born from a pandemic-era shift in thinking around work-life balance. He's demanding raises that are more than seven times what the union won in 2019, a 32-hour workweek at 40 hours' pay and a host of other gains.

Part of the union's aggressiveness stems from what Fain views as a failure of past leaders — two of wh…

Within weeks of his election, UAW President Shawn Fain promised a revolution in communication as the union prepared to enter contract negotiations with the Detroit 3. As those talks have ramped up over the past month, that promise has been put to the test.

Fain has promised a members-first approach to bargaining with increased communication and improved transparency as core tenants of the strategy.

Already, the union leader has shined a spotlight on the bargaining process, illuminating what are usually closed-door proceedings by publicizing the UAW's demands and dramatically trashing one automaker's proposals on a social media livestream. His vice presidents and bargaining teams also have posted regular video updates and photos of the process.

Aside from informing the membership, Fain is attempting to rebuild trust among the rank and file after the corruption scandal that sent two former presidents and other high-ranking officials on both sides of the b…

AW members have high expectations for their next contract with the Detroit 3 in part because the union's president, Shawn Fain, has told them they should.

Fain brashley declared that the UAW is making the most "audacious and ambitious" demands from the automakers in decades, then doubled down by saying he's serious about winning everything on a list that sources say could inflate the companies' labor costs by up to $80 billion.

He was warned by his own staff that seeking too many gains at once could complicate negotiations. Although some workers don't think the union is asking for too much in light of the sacrifices they've made over the years, there is some concern about a letdown if the UAW's new leaders can't deliver on everything members are looking for.

"My expectations are high, and I know the membership's expectations are high. That's how we set these demands," Fain told Automotive News. "These companies have made a quarter of a trillion dollars …

If the Detroit 3 want a glimpse of how contract negotiations with the UAW may play out in the coming weeks, they can look to a handful of deals struck recently by that union and others.

In the last two years, the UAW has negotiated new contracts with John Deere, Caterpillar and Case New Holland that achieved much of what it seeks from the Detroit 3: double-digit wage gains, elimination of multiple wage tiers, addition of pensions and restoration of cost-of-living adjustments.

Chuck Browning, vice president of the UAW's Ford department, led negotiations for those contracts, and in two of the three cases won additional benefits after workers voted down initial tentative deals and went on strike. The bargaining strategies used by the union — and by the Teamsters to reach a financially beneficial tentative agreement for UPS workers last month — likely will be a template for negotiations with Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis.

"We now have…