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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.

he frenzy to produce and sell more electric vehicles is haunted by the image of an EV battery on fire. But engineers at Teijin Auto-motive, the Detroit supplier of materials, battery enclosures and pickup boxes, have managed to produce an advanced flame-retardant material that should ease consumer and automaker worries about such fires. Called phenolic, the material is better known in the aerospace industry, but Teijin has redeveloped it for use in autos. That task included altering its chemical composition and rendering the material odor-neutral. The company plans to quickly get phenolic into prod-uction globally to create battery enclosures that do not go up in flames.

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…

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 …

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…

Nathaniel Dillard, 23, the youngest world-class technician ever, knew when he got his first vehicle that it was up to him to get it running.

The Martinsburg, W.Va., native started working on cars when he was 8 years old with his father, who was in the U.S. Air Force. By his teens, the father and son were picking up vehicles on the cheap and getting creative with available parts.

That first car? A model three years younger than him — a 2003 GMC Sonoma.

"I remember replacing the cylinder head. We swapped the truck bed off it from another scrap car that we picked up," he said. "It was great. It had three different colors on it."

His first job in automotive was as a lube technician at a nearby Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealership when he was 18. After a year, he transitioned to an independent repair shop, ZZ Auto Service Center, where he started the 22 requisite National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, or ASE, tests. Once his top certificat…

The connected mobility experience is the future of consumer vehicle ownership and brand loyalty. It represents a major market opportunity, one that will be worth $361 billion worldwide by 2030. In the meantime, automakers, major technology companies and Tier 1 suppliers are engaged in a strategic struggle over the customer data and the technology needed to fully realize the connected vehicle experience.

Whoever owns the data and the in-vehicle platforms stands to benefit the most in this automotive paradigm shift as they are closest to the consumer. They'll have the most direct view into user behavior to leverage for experience improvements and new services that add revenue and increase customer lifetime value. Understanding the landscape, the value they bring to the connected driving experience and the potential stakes can illustrate the role of customer data and technology in creating the connected mobility experience and reshaping the automotive indust…

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…