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Chinese electric carmaker Nio Inc. unveiled a five-seater crossover as it seeks to close the sales gap with local rivals Xpeng Inc. and Li Auto Inc. and other competitors.

Named ES7, the light truck will start at 468,000 yuan ($69,700) with a driving range of 485 kilometers (300 miles), the Shanghai-based automaker said during an online launch event Wednesday.

The ES7 will also feature the latest autonomous driving technologies in-house developed with several high-performance sensing units and four Nvidia Orin chips. Aside from competing with home-grown electric models, Tesla Inc. offers the Model Y at a more affordable 316,900 yuan in China.

The ES7, slated to go on sale in August, “might be our fastest delivery from unveiling,” Nio CEO William Li said at the event.

Nio has long labeled itself as a premium EV producer catering to middle class consumers. The latest model, with an optional electric tow bar, is one of the first certified passenger v…

Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. said it hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to help it analyze "potential alternatives for refinancing its capital structure," prompting a negative reaction from investors.

The automotive sealing and fluid delivery parts supplier saw its stock value plunge 20 percent to just over $4 per share as of Wednesday afternoon. That's less than a fifth of its price per share at the start of the year as financial struggles amid market volatility have led to a steady slide.

The company issued a statement on Wednesday to Crain's Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News, offering more specificity on why the supplier tapped the New York City investment banker.

"Goldman Sachs has been retained as an adviser to assist us with refinancing portions of our debt to extend the maturity dates," Chris Andrews, senior director of communications, said in an email. "Goldman Sachs is a long-term banking partner for the company. Cooper-Standard con…

MARANELLO, Italy -- Ferrari told investors that full-electric and hybrid models will make up 80 percent of its sales by 2030, and vowed to produce "even more unique" cars as it makes the expensive shift to zero-emission models.

"We believe we can use the electric engine to enhance the performance of our cars," CEO Benedetto Vigna said on Thursday at Ferrari's capital markets day as he unveiled the company's long-awaited new business plan.

Vigna confirmed the Italian supercar maker's plans to launch its first full-electric vehicle in 2025, and Ferrari said it would launch 15 new models from 2023 to 2026.

"Everything we do will always focus on being distinctively Ferrari," Chairman John Elkann said in opening remarks. "The opportunity set of electrification and electronics will allow us to make even more unique cars."

Ferrari expects full-electric cars will make up 5 percent of sales in 2025 and 40 percent in 2030, Vigna said. Hybrid mode…

General Motors plans to return to Europe with battery-powered models starting with the Cadillac brand and is considering selling the hulking Hummer electric vehicle, according to people familiar with the matter.

The automaker might start importing the electric Cadillac Lyriq, already on sale in the U.S., the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations.

Broadening GM's offering would expand its presence in a market where the company currently only sells luxury vehicles and the Corvette sports car in small numbers.

A GM spokesman said no final decisions had been made.

The move would be a renewed push in the region after the company sold its mass-market Opel and Vauxhall brands in 2017 to what is now Stellantis, following two decades of losses.

GM has recently revived the dormant Hummer brand, starting production of the electric pickup in December.

The nameplate was controversial among environmentali…

TOKYO – Honda Motor Co. and Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. have inked an agreement to set up a “high-value-added” electric vehicle joint venture this year under the name Sony Honda Mobility Inc. that will deliver a “new generation of mobility and services.”

The move, announced in a statement Thursday, teams two iconic Japanese brands from two of the country’s most important business industries: automotive and high technology.

The 50-50 company will be established this year with the goal of starting EV sales and providing mobility services in 2025, the companies said. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Yasuhide Mizuno, currently a senior managing officer at Honda, will be CEO of the new company. Mizuno was formerly Honda’s chief officer for automobile operations before being tasked to head the Honda-Sony JV Prep Office, a change that took effect June 1.

Izumi Kawanishi, a Sony executive vice president, will be COO.

Sony Hon…

A top executive of American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. said Wednesday that "there is no process to sell the company," echoing its formal response to a recent report that it was exploring a sale.

Asked to address the Bloomberg report from last month, CFO and Vice President Christopher May said the Detroit-based automotive supplier is "focused on our standalone plan to create value for shareholders."

May's comments came during the livestreamed Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference. It marked the first time an American Axle executive publicly addressed the rumor of a sale, though the company did issue a written statement shorty after the report was published.

To the other major question looming over American Axle – is it prepared to survive the automotive industry's transition to electric vehicles? – May said, "Absolutely, yes."

Rooted in traditional gasoline engines, the company has made big moves to electrify its portfolio and convince…

DETROIT— General Motors plans to invest more than $81 million to build the Celestiq, Cadillac's flagship electric vehicle, at the automaker's Global Technical Center.

The Celestiq, expected to launch next year, will be the first vehicle built at the Warren, Mich., tech center, which has been GM's engineering and design hub since the 1950s. The Celestiq will be hand built in low volumes. AutoForecast Solutions expects volume of fewer than 200 vehicles per year.

GM will use the investment to purchase and reinstall equipment to hand build the Celestiq. Renovation at the Warren campus has already begun, GM said in a statement Wednesday.

The Celestiq "signifies a new, resurgent era for the brand," GM President Mark Reuss said in the statement. "Each one will be hand-built by an amazing team of craftspeople on our historic Technical Center campus, and today's investment announcement emphasizes our commitment to delivering a world-class Cadillac with nothing bu…

A look at the first U.S. report on crashes involving driver assist and automated driving systems. Toyota pushes back against criticism that it’s going too slow on EVs. The latest Ford recall involves almost three million vehicles. And Automotive News used car reporter C.J. Moore talks about the forces shaping the present and future of the wholesale used car market.

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WASHINGTON — For the first time, the nation's top highway safety agency released data on crashes involving vehicles with advanced driver-assist systems or automated-driving systems activated.

NHTSA, cautioning that the data is preliminary and lacks proper context, said the vast majority of crashes of vehicles equipped with Level 2 ADAS were reported by Tesla Inc. and Honda Motor Co.

As automakers add more ADAS features to vehicles, NHTSA wants to better understand their role in crashes, whether they are caused by flaws in the technology or misuse by drivers. The report is an early step in that process.

"This is an unprecedented effort to gather nearly real-time safety data involving these advanced technologies," Steven Cliff, NHTSA's administrator, told reporters during a press call Tuesday. "Understanding the story that the data tell will take time, as most of NHTSA's work does, but it's a story we need to hear."

The report comes after NHTSA in …

WASHINGTON — Ford Motor Co. is recalling more than 2.9 million U.S. vehicles for a gear-shifting defect that has been linked to four reports alleging an injury.

The recall covers certain 2013-19 Escape, 2013-18 C-Max, 2013-16 Fusion, 2013-21 Transit Connect and 2015-18 Edge vehicles.

Those vehicles could have a damaged or missing bushing that prevents them from shifting into the intended gear and might cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction, according to a recall report submitted to NHTSA last week.

The affected vehicles could roll away even after the driver puts the vehicle in "park," increasing the risk of a crash or injury, the report states.

"Additionally, if a vehicle is turned off in a transmission gear state other than 'park,' regardless of the gear shift lever position, the engine will not restart," Ford said in the report.

Ford told NHTSA that it is also aware of six reports alleging property damage and 1,630 wa…

Thomas Mueller from Wipro discusses software-defined vehicle technology, the impact of continuous software updates, and how OEMs and customers can get the most out of the cloud.