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A federal judge has delayed a competency hearing, possibly until November, to determine whether former Reynolds and Reynolds Co. CEO Bob Brockman is able to assist with his defense against charges of tax evasion and wire fraud.

U.S. District Judge George Hanks Jr. said Monday during a status conference in the case that he soon would confirm a date but that a competency hearing tentatively could begin Nov. 15. The hearing had been scheduled to begin Monday but was postponed. Hanks instead held the status conference to discuss details of the hearing and address several remaining motions.

The competency hearing could take about a week in total, lawyers for Brockman and the government told the judge Monday.

The question of whether Brockman, 80, is competent to stand trial only involves his ability to understand the case and assist with his defense. It is not used to determine whether he was competent at the time of the alleged offenses.

Brockman was…

DETROIT — Jason Stein, the outgoing publisher of Automotive News, has been named president and corporate development officer of Motormindz automotive consulting firm.

Stein, 49, will be in charge of expanding the company's global presence and launching its venture fund, Motormindz said in statement Monday. He leaves Automotive News on Wednesday after 18 years at the publication, the past eight as publisher.

"Jason Stein brings a wealth of experience to the team and he will play an integral role in driving our own transformation, creating a 2.0 version of ourselves," Jeff Van Dongen, Motormindz founder and CEO, said in the statement.

On Aug. 24, Stein said he was leaving Automotive News to host SiriusXM's "Cars & Culture with Jason Stein," a weekly radio show, and to launch his own global media services and broadcasting platform. The Motormindz positions will come in addition to those roles.

Motormindz, of Troy, Mich., comprises 120 executive-l…

Qualcomm Inc. has made a formal bid to buy automotive technology company Veoneer Inc. for more than $4 billion, beating a previous offer from Magna International Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. semiconductor company has formalized its offer of $37 a share, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Qualcomm is interested in Veoneer’s Arriver software unit, which helps cars perceive and make driving decisions, and would likely later divest the non-Arriver assets to private equity firms or other automotive companies, the people said.

Representatives for Magna, Veoneer and Qualcomm declined to comment.

Crash-avoidance and hands-free driving technologies have become a hotly contested battleground as automakers seek to boost prices and get the edge on rivals. Both global suppliers and chipmakers are positioning for growth in the market for advanced safety features. 

Magna offere…

LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. said Monday that it plans to buy an 85 percent stake in 10 new-vehicle franchised stores in Florida and separately buy five import dealerships in Texas.

The two deals, if completed, would add a combined $937 million in annual revenue to the growing publicly traded group that has just more than a half-dozen franchised dealerships currently, with several deals under contract. The company said it would spend $211.6 million on the two acquisitions, including real estate.

LMP said it would buy an 85 percent stake in the Alan Jay Automotive Network of Sebring, Fla., paying $50 million for the dealerships' goodwill and about $44.1 million for real estate. LMP said in addition to cash and debt it could finance the deal with as much as $25 million of common stock.

The retailer said the deal includes 21 franchises including mainly domestic brands, plus Kia, Nissan, Toyota, Maserati and Alfa Romeo.

The transaction includes 10 ne…

Stellantis is poised to roll out a new strategy for China, with the first major step being to take control of its struggling Jeep joint venture from a domestic partner, according to people familiar with the matter.

The automaker formed from the merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group is in advanced discussions with state-owned partner Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. on raising its stake in the 50-50 venture overseeing its Jeep operations in China, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions aren’t public.

The change could take effect as early as next year, when Chinese rules on JVs are set to be loosened, the people said. In the coming years, Stellantis plans to promote brands including Jeep and DS in the world’s biggest car market, and also push an electric Opel model, one of the people said.

Stellantis is trying to align its production with disappointing levels of demand in China, outlining in a statement last week a plan to i…

Automotive News' Lindsay VanHulle examines the latest developments in the federal tax evasion case against former Reynolds and Reynolds CEO Bob Brockman.

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DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Monday said it has hired Mike Amend as its new chief digital and information officer as it places an increased emphasis on software services to generate recurring revenue from car buyers.

Amend, 43, most recently was president, online, at Lowe's. He reports to CEO Jim Farley.

"Mike adds dimension to our team as we use technology and software to transform our company and transportation from the inside-out," Farley said in a statement. "Ford has always been an innovator in vehicles; now we're taking our digital capabilities to new levels to further differentiate ourselves with customers and from competitors."

Ford said Amend's team will "help translate customer needs into software solutions that engage and create value for them, Ford and other stakeholders." He'll oversee a number of business functions and will work closely with Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's chief product platform and operations officer, as well as Doug Field, who was…

TOKYO — To critics who believe Toyota has been dragging its feet on electric vehicles, the Japanese giant's new plan to plow nearly $14 billion into battery output offers a clear sign of its determination to go electric.

The investments will give Toyota a battery production capacity of 200 gigawatt-hours a year — compared with just 6 GWh today — and expand its battery-making network to 70 assembly lines from only two lines now.

The ramp-up, outlined last week, underscores Toyota's rapidly evolving outlook for soaring EV sales. But it also reflects a conservative approach to investment, as well as the automaker's continuing commitment to hybrid vehicles — the segment it pioneered by introducing the Prius in 1997 and still its go-to green technology.

Despite the major leap forward in its battery capacity, Toyota's expansion will be done in incremental steps for flexibility.

Toyota's move comes as rivals increasingly make big-block investments into…