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Tesla Inc. said on Saturday its global deliveries fell to 254,695 in the second quarter, snapping a two-year streak of gains, as a COVID-related shutdown in Shanghai hit production and supply lines.

In the preceding quarter, the U.S. electric vehicle maker delivered 310,048 vehicles globally. Sales totaled 201,250 in the second quarter a year ago.

Analysts expected Tesla to report deliveries of 295,078 vehicles during the April-June period, according to Refinitiv data. Several analysts had slashed their estimates further to about 250,000 due to China's prolonged lockdown.

Tesla said it delivered 238,533 Model 3 compact cars and Model Y crossovers, as well as 16,162 Model S and Model X vehicles to customers in the quarter.

Total production fell 15 percent to 258,580 vehicles from the first quarter. Still, June 2022 marked a monthly high for vehicle production in Tesla's history, the company said Saturday.

Deliveries are one of the most clos…

Toyota Motor Corp. has used up a key U.S. tax credit for hybrid and electric vehicles, a milestone that the automaker says will raise its costs and hinder adoption of climate-friendly cars.

The company said Friday that it sold 3,876 plug-in hybrid and electric cars in June. The U.S. allows automakers to offer a $7,500 tax credit to buyers of fully or partly electric cars, but only up to 200,000 per company. Toyota’s cumulative sales of eligible vehicles have now surpassed that threshold, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and confirmed with the company.

The Japanese manufacturer becomes the third automaker to hit the limit, joining General Motors and Tesla Inc. Demand for EVs has steadily grown in the U.S. over the last few years.

Toyota and its rivals have lobbied Congress for an extension of the tax credits, but they disagree on who should be eligible. Toyota and Tesla oppose a proposal by the Biden administration to offer an additional $4,500 in …

SAN FRANCISCO -- Fifteen Black former or current employees at Tesla Inc. filed a lawsuit against the electric vehicle maker on Thursday, alleging they were subjected to racial abuse and harassment at its factories.

The workers said they were subjected to offensive racist comments and behavior by colleagues, managers and human resources employees on a regular basis, according to the lawsuit filed in a California state court.

The harassment, which occurred mostly at Tesla's Fremont, Calif., factory, included using the n-word and such terms as "slavery" or "plantation" or making sexual comments such as "likes booty," the lawsuit said, adding that the automaker's "standard operating procedures include blatant, open and unmitigated race discrimination."

The filing described one plaintiff, Teri Mitchell, as being regularly harassed by co-workers and managers who used racial slurs and made statements including, "It is rare for Blacks to work here. I don't know…

Kia, with one of the U.S. auto industry's leanest supplies of new vehicles, racked up June sales of 65,142, a drop of 4.9 percent, meaning the automaker gained share in a market on track to fare far worse to close out the second quarter and first half. June was the fourth month in a row that Kia volume declined on a year-over-year basis, but it represented the smallest decline over the period after double-digit declines in March, April and May.

Four of Kia's core light trucks and utilities — the Sportage, Sorento, Telluride and the Carnival "multipurpose vehicle" — all posted year-over-year gains last month, offsetting a broad decline in car deliveries.

Eric Watson, vice president of sales operations, says Kia's portfolio of crossovers and electrified vehicles is "well balanced" and is helping keep the brand competitive, especially as consumers seek more fuel-efficient options amid high fuel prices.

Notable nameplates (June): K5/Optima, down 31%; Sportag…

Subaru sales rose 0.7 percent to 43,175 in June as the automaker marked the anniversary of the industry's inventory crisis even as it continues to struggle with supply issues. June's gain snapped a streak of 12 consecutive monthly declines for the brand. For the quarter, Subaru was down 18 percent to 131,449.

Notable nameplates (June): Crosstrek, up 66%; Forester, off 9.8%; Outback, down 20%; Ascent up 7.9%.

Incentives: $753 per vehicle, down 44% from a year earlier, TrueCar says

Average transaction price: $35,393, up 8.4% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar

Quote: "Our priority for the second half of the year is to continue navigating supply chain challenges to best meet the strong demand for Subaru vehicles," said Jeff Walters, senior vice president of sales.

Did you know? Subaru saw four of nameplates post gains in June, and four nameplates post losses compared with a year earlier, with Outback generating the biggest loss by volu…

Software company WirelessCar is at the forefront of a global push to find new ways to use connected-vehicle data.

Founded in 1999, the Swedish company provides connected services in more than 9 million vehicles in more than 100 countries. WirelessCar works with nearly a dozen automakers, with its most robust services featured in Volkswagen, Volvo Cars, Subaru and Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

One of the company's latest developments is showcased in ongoing work with Polestar, and it includes the expansion of applications built on the Android Automotive Operating System.

That paves the way for new WirelessCar connected data services such as Journey Log, a system that collates and tracks details about each ride taken in a vehicle, storing the data in the WirelessCar cloud.

"We're able to monitor when a trip starts and when it ends," said Greg Geiselhart, vice president of sales and marketing at WirelessCar, who showcased the work during the AutoTech …

An advanced driving simulator is helping Ford Motor Co. push out new vehicles more efficiently.

The simulator in Dearborn, Mich., which helped bring the Maverick and F-150 Lightning to market, uses rFpro, a driving simulation software, and lidar by scanning roads to the millimeter to create an immersive experience for the driver, a Ford official said.

"We use the simulator to refine everything before we even build a prototype. Everything from the suspension, architecture, layout, basic tuning, even starting to develop all the ride handling characteristics, we did that in the simulator," said Louis Jamail, Ford's core methods and simulator supervisor.

"Once we go to the prototype stage, we were able to transfer all that knowledge into the physical prototype and do much less tuning and changes. That saves both time and money. And it also helps us to deliver a more focused product from the beginning."

Ford simulation technical expert Robert Rieveley …

Hyundai Motor America enjoyed its strongest sales month of the year thanks to solid performances by Hyundai and Genesis crossovers and fuel-sipping "green" offerings, but despite improvement, supply continues to be a drag on volume.

Combined U.S. sales at Hyundai and Genesis slid 12 percent to 67,597 in June. Still, Hyundai brand sales hit a 2022 high of 63,091 during the month, though retail volume fell 5.5 percent. Combined second-quarter volume dropped 21 percent to 198,136. In the first half, both brands logged combined sales of 396,535, a 13 percent decrease. Genesis sales have now increased 19 straight months year over year, while Hyundai volume has declined four straight months year over year.

Hyundai sales boss Randy Parker attributed the declines to the ongoing microchip shortage, saying that it's creating a "distorted" year-over-year comparison because of healthier stockpiles during the first half of 2021.

"This time last year was when the in…

Volkswagen's U.S. sales fell 34 percent in the second quarter to 78,281, and Audi sales declined 28 percent to 48,049 as the German brands continued to struggle with production and supply issues. It was the fourth consecutive quarterly decline for both brands.

Brands: Volkswagen, down 34%; Audi, down 28%.

Notable nameplates: VW Tiguan, down 46%; Atlas, down 29%; Jetta, down 36%; Audi Q5, down 17%; A4, down 52%; Q7, down 48%

Incentives: $1,169 per vehicle, down 69% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price: $47,441, up 10% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar.

Did you know? Nearly 8 in 10 of VW's second-quarter sales came from its lineup of crossovers. But the first year-over-year sales comparison for the ID4 compact crossover is off to a rocky start: Second-quarter deliveries of the EV skidded 71 percent to 1,660 from a year ago on supply constraints.

A group of Cruise autonomous vehicles blocked traffic Tuesday night in San Francisco. The traffic jam, which a witness estimated involved more than a dozen of the robotaxis, was not resolved until human operators removed the vehicles.

Drew Pusateri, a spokesperson for Cruise, acknowledged the event in a written statement to Automotive News.

"We had an issue earlier this week that caused some of our vehicles to cluster together," he said. "While it was resolved and no passengers were impacted, we apologize to anyone who was inconvenienced."

Pusateri would not elaborate on the cause aside from it being a "technical issue."

The incident occurred at the intersection of Gough and Fulton Streets and was first publicized in a Reddit post on r/sanfrancisco.

Cruise, an autonomous-vehicle company majority-owned by General Motors, commercially launched its self-driving taxi service in limited areas of San Francisco between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. just last…

Toyota Motor North America sales dropped 18 percent in June to 170,155, and were off 23 percent for the quarter to 531,105 as the Japanese automaker continued to struggle with production issues amid steady consumer demand.

The results left Toyota Motor trailing General Motors U.S. sales by 47,402 in the second quarter, and down 41,918 through the first half of the year in the effort to defend the U.S. sales crown that Toyota won from GM in 2021, the first time in 90 years.

Brands: Toyota (June) down 18%, (Q2) down 23%; Lexus (June) down 15%, (Q2) down 20%

Notable nameplates (June): Toyota RAV4 down 7.8%, Tacoma down 14%, Highlander down 34%, Camry down 27%; Lexus ES down 15%, RX down 7.6%, NX down 35%

Incentives: $803 per vehicle, down 64% from a year earlier, TrueCar says

Average transaction price: $39,775, up 8.6% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar

Fleet mix: 10%

Inventory: Toy…

DETROIT — General Motors' U.S. light-vehicle sales fell 15 percent during the second quarter while parts shortages continued to hamper production. The effect of the shortage will continue, as GM holds about 95,000 vehicles awaiting parts.

GM expects to deliver the vehicles to dealers before the end of the year. Affected vehicles include various models across several plants.

"We appreciate the patience and loyalty of our dealers and customers as we strive to meet significant pent-up demand for our products, and we will work with our suppliers and manufacturing and logistics teams to deliver all the units held at our plants as quickly as possible," Steve Carlisle, president of GM North America, said in a statement Friday.

GM said the hold is unlikely to affect its adjusted earnings guidance of $13 billion to $15 billion for 2022.

In the second quarter, GM dealerships delivered 582,401 vehicles, compared with 688,236 a year earlier.

GM's secon…