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In April 2020, amid a worldwide shutdown that halted auto manufacturing across the globe, Mazda Motor Corp. was evaluating whether it would be able to open its global manufacturing facilities — including its plant in Hiroshima, Japan, where the automaker is headquartered.

Mazda North America Operations, which was then importing all of its vehicles from overseas or Mexico, was working against the tide to launch a full suite of automotive finance and lease options in the U.S., backed by Toyota Motor Credit Corp.

"While it was a very challenging time to get systems aligned and dealers trained on the new processes, delaying the launch was never a consideration," Tom Donnelly, Mazda North America Operations CEO, told Automotive News. Mazda and Toyota were aligned in getting the program started, despite the hurdles, he said.

The program was a replacement for the existing partnership Mazda had with JPMorgan Chase that ran from 2009 to 20…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Self-driving setbacks: AV companies bruised in California showdowns

SAN FRANCISCO — Delays, defeat and dystopia.

Tuesday marked a sobering and perhaps seminal milepost in efforts to deploy and expand the presence of autonomous vehicles in California.

In the morning, the California Public Utilities Commission again delayed a vote on commercial robotaxi applications from Cruise and Waymo. Cruise wants to expand and Waymo wants to begin service in San Francisco.

In the afternoon, a state Senate subcommittee unanimously advanced legislation that would prohibit self-driving trucks from operating on the state's roads.

In between, Jeffrey Tumlin, director of transportation at the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency, said current deployments on city streets have sown havoc. He warned that without cooperation from self-driving technology companies, self-driving taxis could cause "dystopic scenarios" related to traffic a…

A global shortage of semiconductor chips was the automotive industry's kryptonite for most of 2021 and 2022. But the crisis is now fading, S&P Global Mobility said Thursday.

The chip shortage cost the industry the production of about 9.5 million light vehicles in 2021, according to S&P Global Mobility estimates, and another 3 million in 2022. In the first half of 2023, production cutbacks tied to chip shortages fell to about 524,000 vehicles. Supply remains constrained, but automakers have been able to adapt production schedules as chip availability becomes more predictable, S&P Global Mobility said.

"We are now in a position where the auto industry has adapted to a constrained supply, and as a result is much less likely to be hit by significant disruption," Mark Fulthorpe, S&P Global Mobility executive director of global light vehicle production, said in a statement.

Sam Fiorani, AutoForecast Solutions vice president for global vehicle …

The Michigan Supreme Court issued a key opinion this week in a case about supply chain contracts that clarifies uncertainty over terms and conditions and likely gives sellers more leverage at the negotiation table.

In MSSC Inc. v. AirBoss Flexible Products Co. — a local case stemming from a typical pricing dispute between a tier 1 and tier 2 supplier — the high court indicated that supply agreements are not requirements contracts by default, according to the opinion led by Justice Elizabeth Welch.

What it means is that buyers must be explicit in their contracts about what they intend to buy from sellers, rather than keeping the terms vague and therefore more flexible, often to the benefit of buyers. It levels the playing field for buyers and sellers, said Michael Brady, executive partner at Warner Norcross + Judd in Detroit and lead counsel to AirBoss in the case against its buyer.

"This case will have wide implications in the supply chain world," Brady…

Online used-vehicle retailer Shift Technologies Inc. said Tuesday that the company is restructuring and reducing its employee headcount by one-third.

Shift Technologies of San Francisco is cutting its headcount — which it reported to be 459 as of March 31 — by about 34 percent as it focuses "all resources" on its omnichannel used-vehicle operations and works to improve cost efficiency, according to a regulatory document it filed Tuesday.

About 60 percent of the roles cut are operational, primarily the result of "eliminating centralized support," according to a news release. The rest are concentrated among technology roles because the company also is eliminating investment into its dealer marketplace business. General corporate roles also are being reduced, the news release said.

In the Tuesday filing, the company said it expected the restructuring to be "substantially completed" that same day.

"We are moving with a great sense of urgency to impro…

Porsche Cars North America's former top executive, Kjell Gruner, is said to be headed to the U.S. electric vehicle upstart Rivian Automotive, sources have told Automotive News.

Gruner did not return a request for comment on email and LinkedIn this week.

When reached for comment, a Rivian spokesperson said: "I don't have any information to provide at this time."

On Thursday, Germany's Manager Magazin also reported that Gruner is expected to take a job at Rivian.

On July 5, Porsche announced Gruner was leaving the sports carmaker "at his own request" and less than three years on the job.

In his relatively short tenure as CEO, Gruner steered Porsche's U.S. business through the pandemic and set the brand on track to hit a three-year sales high this year.

Porsche told dealers it expects U.S. sales to hit 80,000 next year, up nearly 15 percent from 2022.

Gruner's role at Rivian is unknown, but the executive is not likely to replac…

Lithia, aiming for $50 billion in sales by 2025, is looking into new business lines to keep growing. Autonomous vehicles may get a new regulatory path for reaching the road. BMW and other luxury brands push EVs while a major supplier starts making fuel cell modules for hydrogen-powered semi trucks.

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The global supply chain has experienced a whirlwind of volatility in recent years, which have plunged the industry into a perpetual state of adaptation, transformation, and strain. The companies and leaders who can navigate this tumultuous landscape will forge strategies today that pave the way for a remarkably resilient supply chain in the future.

In this analysis brought to you by Tosca, a global leader in reusable packaging, we investigate major shifts in supply chain operation today in order to get a good look at what supply chains will look like in 5 years.

Generation Z and millennial borrowers are falling significantly behind on their car payments at rates last seen during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by car insurance comparison site Jerry.

And that's during a time when they didn't have to make their federal student loan payments — a budget burden that could ding millions of borrowers' credit, the alternative credit score provider VantageScore notes.

The Federal Reserve's quarterly household debt report, which draws on Equifax data to produce its auto loan delinquency results, breaks out borrowers into age ranges including those 18 to 29 and 30 to 39 years. These brackets capture what the Pew Research Center had previously defined as older Gen Zers (the generation starting with 1997 births) and nearly all millennials (those born in 1981 to 1996), though the organization in May said it would reduce its use of generational labels.

Those age demogra…

Toyota Motor Corp. said it is recalling certain 2023 model year Toyota Corolla, Corolla Cross, Corolla Cross hybrid, Highlander, Highlander hybrid, Tacoma, Lexus RX and RX hybrid and 2024 model year NX and NX hybrid vehicles.

Toyota spokesperson Josh Burns on Wednesday said about 118,000 vehicles are included, “with approximately 110,000 of those in the U.S.”

In affected vehicles, the spiral cable assembly in the steering column may lose electrical connection on the circuit controlling the driver’s airbag.

If loss of electrical connection occurs, the airbag warning light will illuminate, and the driver’s airbag may not deploy in a crash. Vehicles will not comply with certain federal motor vehicle safety requirements as a result, which may increase risk of injury to the driver in a crash.

Toyota declined to comment on injuries, accidents or deaths that could have resulted from the safety issue.

For all recalled vehicles, Toyota and Lexus dealers …