News

WASHINGTON — The nation's top auto safety regulator is requesting more information from Tesla Inc. to aid its investigation of certain Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with Autopilot after reports alleging "phantom braking."

NHTSA's request comes after the agency in February opened the investigation into an estimated 416,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from the 2021-22 model years after receiving 354 complaints of unexpected braking while using Autopilot's driver-assist features.

In a letter sent May 4 to Eddie Gates, Tesla's director of field quality, NHTSA said the number of reports of unexpected brake activation in those vehicles had increased to 758.

The agency is now seeking further details from Tesla, including any complaints or lawsuits related to the alleged defect as well as reports involving a crash, injury or death.

Tesla has until June 20 to respond, or it could face civil penalties of up to nearly $115 million.

According …

General Motors Cruise on Thursday became the first company to secure a permit to charge for self-driving car rides in San Francisco, after it overcame city officials' objections.

Self-driving test cars with human safety drivers have become a constant sight in San Francisco, and completely driverless ones are increasingly common too. Turning them into a fledgling business in a major U.S. city marks a milestone in the long, delayed journey toward driverless taxi service.

The permit was Cruise's final hurdle in California. Cruise said it would launch paid services within the next couple of weeks using up to 30 driverless Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved Cruise's permit late Thursday in a 4-0 vote.

Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen said during the meeting the panel had been "taking a careful, incremental approach" to regulating autonomous vehicles.

"This resolution marks another important s…

Dave Gardner, American Honda Motor Co. executive vice president of national operations, is tasked with shifting 800,000 Honda and Acura new-vehicle sales to electric vehicles in the next eight years. Globally, the company hopes to phase out the internal combustion engine by 2040 and transform itself into a carbon-neutral entity by 2050. Considering that Honda is the world's largest maker of internal combustion engines, the mission is daunting.

But Gardner says that, despite the industry instability caused by supply chain problems and the never-ending microchip shortage, Honda's path to electrification in North America is clear. It starts with turning up the hybrid mix of its high-volume vehicles and the introduction of the Prologue electric compact crossover, the company's first volume EV, built with rival-turned-partner General Motors. Honda also will build its own all-electric vehicles on what it's calling its e:Architecture, and continue its work with GM to roll o…

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a "super bad feeling" about the economy and wants to cut about 10 percent of jobs worldwide at the automaker, he said in an email to executives seen by Reuters.

The message, sent on Thursday and titled "pause all hiring worldwide," came two days after the billionaire told staff to return to the workplace or leave. It adds to a growing chorus of warnings from business leaders about the risks of recession.

Tesla employed almost 100,000 people at the company and its subsidiaries at the end of 2021, according to its annual SEC filing.

Tesla was not immediately available for comment.

Tesla shares fell nearly 3 percent in U.S. pre-market trade on Friday and its Frankfurt-listed stock was down 3.6 percent after the Reuters report.

High-profile message

Musk has warned in recent weeks about the risk of a recession, but his email ordering a hiring freeze and staff cuts was the most direct and high-pro…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ 8 automakers improve EV fire guidance

Eight automakers have improved their emergency response guides for EVs and incorporated vehicle-specific details on extinguishing lithium ion battery fires following a recommendation last year by a federal safety agency.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday said Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo — along with electric commercial vehicle maker Proterra and electric bus maker Van Hool — have completed the actions asked for in the recommendation issued in January 2021 to 22 vehicle manufacturers.

The agency asked those manufacturers to model their emergency response guides on international safety standards and to include vehicle-specific information on extinguishing electric vehicle battery fires as well as mitigating thermal runaway and the risk of battery reignition.

Twelve automakers, including Ford, General Motors, Tesla and Toyota, are making…

Toyota will introduce the fifth generation of its innovative hybrid technology in the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross, giving the all-wheel-drive subcompact crossover an extra 25 hp while delivering a 23 percent boost in combined fuel economy over the model that went on sale last year.

The Corolla Cross Hybrid, equipped with a standard electronic awd system, will go on sale late this year with a hybridized 2.0-liter engine delivering 194 hp and boasting an estimated 37 mpg combined in fuel economy, Toyota says. That compares with the crossover's standard 2.0 liter engine that delivers 169 hp and is rated at 30 mpg combined in awd form.

Like the nonhybrid version, the Corolla Cross Hybrid will come standard with Toyota's new touch screen-based infotainment system as well as Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, which includes dynamic cruise control, lane-keeping, blind-spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alert and automated headlights. It will be available in five tr…

Kellen Walker gives you the top headlines. Ford makes a big investment in Midwest manufacturing. Stellantis locks down a lithium supply. Panasonic is going all-in on EV batteries in North America.  Plus, Automotive News' Hannah Lutz talks with Buick & GMC Global Vice President Duncan Aldred about the decision to go all-electric by the end of the decade.

How do I subscribe?

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. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. C…

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK -- The Justice Department on Thursday charged the U.S. business of Stellantis with criminal conspiracy in its multi-year emissions fraud probe surrounding vehicles with diesel engines.

Reuters reported last week FCA US, now part of Stellantis, had agreed to plead guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge arising from its efforts to evade emissions requirements for more than 100,000 older Ram pickup trucks and Jeep SUVs in its U.S. lineup and would pay roughly $300 million in penalties.

U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds in Detroit set a plea hearing for FCA US for 1:30 p.m. Friday.

The government's criminal information charges FCA US with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. to violate the Clean Air Act and to commit wire fraud, said the automaker deceived U.S. regulators and sold the vehicles "knowing that those vehicles did not meet U.S. emissions standards" and also deceived customers "by making false and misleading representations." Read more

A 2022 Jeep Wrangler four-door tipped over on its passenger side during a driver-side small overlap crash test, receiving a "marginal" rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said Thursday.

The news comes after the 2019 Wrangler also tipped onto its passenger side during an audit for the test and also received a "marginal" rating. According to a statement from IIHS, Stellantis made modifications to the 2022 model to try to address the issue.

IIHS said tipping on the passenger side "presents an additional injury risk beyond what the standard criteria are intended to measure" since the institute does not conduct the test with a dummy in the passenger seat.

"There are other things that sometimes happen during crash tests that sort of fall outside of the normal metrics that we use to assign a rating," IIHS spokesperson Joe Young told Automotive News. "Obviously, rolling onto the side could present additional risk to a person that would be seated…

Jeremie Papin has spent the past 24 months orchestrating sweeping change over Nissan Motor Co.'s Americas business.

As the region's top boss, the Frenchman is transforming Nissan's product lineup, sales strategy and organizational culture.

"We are different to what we were," said Papin, 48. "We speak about the products, we speak about the brand — we don't speak about the deal. We're focused on the customer experience."

That's a bold about-face for a brand that historically has pumped out vehicles and built a business on selling the deal.

But the Japanese automaker's "Nissan Next" strategy is beginning to pay dividends. A freshened product portfolio has revived consumer interest in the brand and raised dealer profitability and sentiment.

The brand's U.S. sales rose 12 percent last year, an optimistic reversal from 2020, when the automaker suffered its largest annual percentage decline.

Meanwhile, 22 percent of retailers in Kerrigan …

Stellantis said it secured lithium essential for its electric vehicle production in North America from a project in California, as carmakers worldwide scramble to secure supply of the battery metal key to the electric vehicle revolution.

Controlled Thermal Resources Ltd. (CTR) will supply the owner of Jeep and Peugeot with up to 25,000 metric tons per year of lithium hydroxide over the 10-year term of the agreement, Stellantis said Thursday.

CTR, which operates in California's Salton Sea, is also developing a geothermal lithium brine project to meet General Motors' lithium needs.

Lithium demand has soared of late as automakers boost production of electric vehicles that use lithium-ion batteries, driving a global supply shortage of the metal.

Stellantis, formed in 2021 through the merger between France's PSA and Fiat Chrysler, said in March it would have 75 EV models on the market and sell 5 million EVs a year by 2030.

The company has also…

Ford Motor Co. said it will invest $3.7 billion and create 6,200 UAW jobs across manufacturing hubs in three Midwest states as it looks to increase production of both internal combustion and electric vehicles.

The majority of the investment — $2 billion supporting 3,200 new jobs — will come in Michigan at Ford's Flat Rock Assembly Plant, Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, Michigan Assembly Plant, nearby parts factories and a new packaging facility coming to Monroe.

Ford said Thursday the investments would go toward producing the next-generation Mustang coupe at Flat Rock Assembly and the next-generation Ranger midsize pickup at Michigan Assembly, and boosting F-150 Lightning output at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to 150,000 pickups per year. Ford set Lightning production goals in January but until now had not announced any additional jobs or investments related to that planned production increase.

Ford also plans to spend $1.5 billion and create 1,800…