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Toyota has gone from being an environmental darling, lauded for pioneering hybrid technology, to a pariah among many conservationists. Gill Pratt, CEO of the Toyota Research Institute, defends the company’s commitment to hybrids. And we hear from environmental activists and former government officials who say the world’s largest auto company is dangerously dragging its feet.

The drama is building in this second week of the UAW strike against the Detroit Three, even as Unifor in Canada brings home its first ratification.

On one level, UAW President Shawn Fain adding General Motors and Stellantis parts depots to the three assembly plants on strike looks to be a cost-effective move. It broadens protest activities about 13-fold, providing local footage to dozens more media markets, while increasing the number of strikers by less than 50 percent.

It's also shrewd in terms of squeezing a key source of franchised dealerships' profitability to apply indirect pressure on the automakers though their wholesale customers and vital partners.

But there's some risk to the union: When American consumers can't get their cars fixed, their sympathy with strikers may run dry. "It sounds to me like they are going to become a national villain to the retail customer or the retail public," said Ben Keating, owner of Keating Auto Group, which includ…

Will Ford deal in Canada drive UAW contract?

The drama is building in this second week of the UAW strike against the Detroit Three, even as Unifor in Canada brings home its first ratification.

On one level, UAW President Shawn Fain adding General Motors and Stellantis parts depots to the three assembly plants on strike looks to be a cost-effective move. It broadens protest activities about 13-fold, providing local footage to dozens more media markets, while increasing the number of strikers by less than 50 percent.

It's also shrewd in terms of squeezing a key source of franchised dealerships' profitability to apply indirect pressure on the automakers though their wholesale customers and vital partners.

But there's some risk to the union: When American consumers can't get their cars fixed, their sympathy with strikers may run dry. "It sounds to me like they are going to become a national villain to the retail customer or the retail public," said …

Unifor members at Ford Motor Co. of Canada have voted by a slim majority to ratify the tentative collective agreement struck Sept. 19 between union negotiators and the automaker.

Membership approval of the three-year deal, which was unanimously endorsed by Unifor’s auto bargaining committee, locks in substantial wage gains and pension improvements for workers, and will see Ford invest to expand production at one of its Windsor, Ont., powertrain plants starting in 2025. 

Unifor said 5,600 members at Ford workplaces in Canada voted on the deal over a period of roughly 24 hours Saturday and Sunday, with 54 percent voting in favor.

Union President Lana Payne said the Unifor bargaining team pushed Ford on every front to secure a contract that will "change lives in a profound way."

"It fundamentally transforms pension plans, provides protections during the EV transition and includes the highest wage increases in the history of Canadian a…

Automotive labor negotiations are a forum for the Detroit 3 and union representatives to agree on a contract that serves the companies and the workers who build their vehicles. It is not a bargaining table for past or present U.S. presidents.

It may be unavoidable that state and federal officials would visit picket lines and rallies, as they have in Michigan and Ohio, to show their support for striking union members. But the involvement needs to stop there, lest they undermine UAW leaders' authority as negotiators or misunderstand the role of corporations in America.

President Joe Biden said he supports the workers. He has urged Ford, General Motors and Stellantis to work harder to meet the union's demands.

Biden even took the unusual move of planning to send a White House adviser to help at the negotiating table. UAW President Shawn Fain said he didn't want Biden meddling in his organization's affairs, and Biden shifted to a Zoom me…

The writer and visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School details the financial, safety and climate-related costs associated with pickups and SUVs and the potential of minicars and micromobility to change transportation.

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There isn't much time left to get a new V-8-powered Maserati.

Maserati is dropping the V-8 engine in the Levante, Ghibli and Quattroporte at the end of the year as it transitions to electric vehicles. The brand plans to go all-electric by 2030.

Levante: A redesigned Levante may move to the STLA large platform, which will underpin a range of Stellantis electrified vehicles, around 2026 as an EV.

Grecale: The Grecale midsize crossover that debuted in 2022 offers conventional and mild-hybrid engines. An electric version is coming in 2024.

MC20: The sports car's gasoline-powered version has a twin-turbocharged V-6 engine that generates 621 hp. The MC20 speedster will get an electric version in 2025.

Quattroporte: A redesigned Quattroporte could arrive in 2025.

GranTurismo: The GranTurismo coupe and its convertible counterpart will get electric variants in 2024. The electric option tops 1,200 hp.

Ghibli: P…

The No. 1 challenge for building electric autos is cost, said Joerg Reger, managing director of ABB Robotics. The Swiss production innovator is addressing that by making its robots more adaptable and more autonomous. Reger, 56, told Automotive News Europe Correspondent Nick Gibbs why ABB is seeing a surge in auto plant investment during an interview at the company's R&D center in Friedberg, Germany.

Q: What is the biggest problem you are being asked to solve in automotive manufacturing today?

A: The biggest challenge our customers face is managing a broad range of vehicle variants. Everybody has to be very, very flexible. This includes the production lines. We offer flexible cells with a standardized design supporting multiple applications, for example, for gluing, for sealing, for spot welding, for arc welding or for assembly. These cells are supplied by autonomous mobile robots that bring the warehouse closer to the production line. In old plants you sti…

Ferrari's trademark performance will be bolstered by electric and hybrid powertrains in the years ahead, but it also plans to evolve the internal combustion engine.

The automaker expects electric and hybrid models to account for 80 percent of its sales by 2030. Ferrari's business plan indicates the "hybrid engine can further increase performance."

Ferrari also says it will continue to "push the internal combustion engine evolution and, with the support of partners, will develop solutions in energy efficiency and alternative fuels to build on an essential part" of its heritage.

The automaker has said it will use a new "e-building" at its Maranello, Italy, plant to handle development and assembly of electric motors, inverters and battery modules for its electric vehicles.

EV: The brand's first battery-electric vehicle, slated to be unveiled in 2025, could debut in the U.S. for 2026.

Ferrari said the EV's "unique features, leveraging the ra…

Lamborghini's first electric vehicle will be a four-seat, two-row SUV similar in size to its top-selling model, the Urus. But the Volkswagen Group's supercar brand will continue to produce limited runs and special editions of current and previous models. However, its first full EV won't arrive in the U.S. before 2028.

The brand's entire range will be electrified in 2024, relying on hybrid motors and small batteries to reduce carbon emissions, with more EV models coming on the group's SSP architecture.

Lanzador: With help from Porsche and Audi, Lamborghini is continuing development on its all-electric SUV, shown in concept form as the Lanzador.

The 2+2 GT vehicle will likely take advantage of the new SSP architecture. It is unlikely to reach the U.S. before 2028.

Urus: Lamborghini's volume model underwent reengineering to accommodate a plug-in hybrid powertrain in 2023 with its new Performante trim. Engineers squeezed …

WASHINGTON — As car dealers anxiously await details on how tax credits will be applied to eligible electric vehicles at the point of sale as soon as Jan. 1, some are worried about a Cash for Clunkers scenario that could leave them footing the bill for several months.

Starting in 2024, eligible EV buyers will be able to transfer federal tax credits to dealers and use those funds as a down payment. The credit transfer is allowed under the Inflation Reduction Act's Section 30D credit for new EV purchases and Section 25E credit for used EVs, which provide consumers with up to $7,500 and $4,000, respectively, if certain requirements are met.

The U.S. Treasury Department said participating dealers will be able to register via an online IRS portal in the next few months. In January, those dealers will be able to submit EV sales information to the IRS and "promptly receive payments for transferred credits," Lily Batchelder, assistant secretary for tax…