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The Biden administration’s first test of its climate change policy could come this week in a legal dispute over battery components seen as key to growing electric vehicle adoption in the U.S.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is scheduled to decide Wednesday whether to ban imports of lithium-ion battery components that the South Korean battery maker SK Innovation will need to produce battery cells for the electric Ford F-150 and Volkswagen ID4 at a factory under construction in Georgia.

LG Chem, a supplier to such carmakers as General Motors and Tesla Inc., and a competitor of SK also based in South Korea, filed its claim in April 2019, alleging that SK’s batteries use stolen trade secrets.

If the commission sides with LG, the decision could upend battery output and hamper EV production in the U.S. A favorable ruling for LG could complicate the green energy agenda of President Joe Biden, who has pledged to promote EV adoption. One early example was…

DETROIT -- Penske Automotive Group Inc. plans to more than double revenue for its standalone used-vehicle supercenters' business over the next three years, as it adds more than 20 locations by the end of 2023.

The nation's second-largest new-vehicle retailer made the announcement Wednesday as it reported fourth-quarter net income nearly doubled to $201.4 million. Revenue slipped 1.2 percent to $5.81 billion.

"I am very pleased to report 97 percent earnings growth for the fourth quarter," Penske CEO Roger Penske said in a statement. "Our results were driven by same-store retail automotive margin expansion, growth in our commercial truck dealership profitability and continued strong performance from Penske Transportation Solutions."

Adjusted net income from continuing operations jumped 97 percent to $199.9 million. That figure excluded a $200,000 gain, which came from the sale of dealerships, offset by tax costs to repay certain debt early. Pens…

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WASHINGTON -- UAW President Rory Gamble held a virtual meeting last week with a top White House environmental official as the Biden administration moves to reverse the rollback in vehicle emissions rules adopted under then President Donald Trump.

A spokesman for the union confirmed Gamble met with White House domestic climate change adviser Gina McCarthy and other members of the Biden Administration.

"It was a very open and positive dialogue," Gamble said in a statement, praising the Biden administration's "commitment to regular dialogue with the UAW."

The Biden administration has started discussions with the automobile sector about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, McCarthy told Reuters last week.

McCarthy also spoke recently to General Motors CEO Mary Barra about the automaker's aspiration to halt sales of all gas- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035, the automaker confirmed.

The White House is preparing to begin talks with automakers ab…

PARIS -- Valeo has received approval for 600 million euros ($727 million) in financing from the European Investment Bank for projects to reduce emissions and improve active safety, including 48-volt mild hybrid technology and autonomous driving.

The money will be paid out by 2022, starting with an initial 300 million euro loan, and go toward R&D projects in the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Ireland. 

Valeo CEO Jacques Aschenbroich called the financing “extremely important.”

"It will enable us to continue our research efforts and strengthen our technological leadership in the key areas of reducing CO2 emissions and improving road safety,” he said in a news release on Wednesday. 

Other projects that will benefit from the financing include battery cooling, cabin climate control, advanced driving assistance, and "smart" lighting and wipers. Valeo said it planned to spend a total of 1.4 billion euros on these projects in the next fo…

Growing Lithia Motors Inc. has purchased another two dealerships, this time expanding its footprint in Florida, and it opened an Infiniti store across the country in Los Angeles.

The nation's third-largest new-vehicle dealership group on Feb. 1 purchased Land Rover Orlando and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Sanford from Fields Auto Group of Glencoe, Ill.

Terms weren't disclosed, but Lithia said Tuesday that it paid for the stores using capital raised last year. The dealership group said the two stores are expected to add $200 million in revenue annually. Lithia said its previously awarded Infiniti point in Los Angeles is expected to add $40 million in annualized revenue.

Lithia entered Florida in fall 2019 when it acquired three stores in the Tampa market from Williams Automotive Group. The retailer said the most recent acquisitions will help build density in southeast states.

"We are excited to welcome the high-performing Fields Auto Group to the Li…

DETROIT -- General Motors is extending production cuts at three global plants through at least mid-March and building but leaving incomplete vehicles at two other factories due to the global semiconductor chip shortage.

GM on Tuesday did not disclose how much volume it would lose in its latest action or which supplier and vehicle parts were affected by the chip shortage, but said the focus remains on keeping production running at plants building its highest-profit vehicles -- trucks, crossovers and SUVs. GM said it intends to make up as much lost production as possible.

"Semiconductor supply remains an issue that is facing the entire industry. GM’s plan is to leverage every available semiconductor to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products," GM spokesman David Barnas said.

GM said it was extending downtime at plants in Fairfax, Kansas; Ingersoll, Ontario; and San Luis Petosi, Mexico, through mid-March, when it will reassess the situation, …

New-vehicle sales spiked 30 percent to top 2.5 million last month, easily outpacing January 2020 when the coronavirus outbreak emerged and the lunar Chinese New Year holiday resulted in fewer working days, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.

It was the tenth consecutive monthly increase as the market continues to power past the pandemic, though CAAM warned Tuesday that tight global supplies of microchips could undermine the recovery.

New-vehicle production in China slumped 16 percent to below 2.39 million in January from December, the trade group said.

January deliveries of new light vehicles -- sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses -- advanced 27 percent to nearly 2.05 million.

Demand for new commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses surged 43 percent to some 458,000.

And sales of electrified vehicles shot up 239 percent to exceed 179,000. The tally includes roughly 151,000 electric vehicles, …

HAMBURG -- Volkswagen Group is conducting a feasibility study in China about flying cars, the automaker said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of companies looking into the potential technology.

"Beyond autonomous driving the concept of vertical mobility could be a next step to take our mobility approach into the future, especially in the technically affine Chinese market," the automaker said.

"Therefore, we are investigating potential concepts and partners in a feasibility study to identify the possibility to industrialize this approach."

In an interview with Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess on Linkedin, the automaker's China head Stephan Woellenstein said the company wanted to develop a drone that could be licensed, giving it a way to participate in this future market.

China is the world's biggest light vehicle market, and also accounts for the largest part of VW's sales.

The news comes as companies from startups to other global automakers…