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Tesla Inc. has issued back-to-back mea culpas in a matter of days in China, showing deference to government authorities in stark contrast with CEO Elon Musk’s years of combativeness in the U.S.

Shortly after state media broke the news Monday that five Chinese regulators had summoned Tesla representatives over several quality and safety issues, the company pledged to strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations and strengthen internal management. Last week, the carmaker said it was sorry that a staff member blamed the national grid for damaging a customer’s electric vehicle.

Musk, 49, has been much feistier back home.

When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the CEO over his 2018 tweets claiming to have “funding secured” to take Tesla private, Musk lashed out, calling it the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission” and saying he did not respect the agency.

He also hung up on the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board earlier…

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung -- central to the company’s transformation from conventional carmaker to mobility giant promoting flying cars and hydrogen-fuel cells -- had his first, very public, stumble this week.

On Monday, after a month of intense speculation around who may team with Apple Inc. to help develop its much-vaunted self-driving electric car, Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. were forced in separate exchange filings to say they weren’t in any talks with the tech behemoth, backing away from an earlier Hyundai statement that confirmed they were in discussions.

That Jan. 8 initial disclosure, along with other reports of talks, no doubt infuriated Apple, which keeps development projects secret for years and controls relationships with suppliers with ruthless efficiency. It’s unclear if -- or when -- discussions between the two might resume.

Hyundai “might have learned some lessons through this issue,” said Koh Tae…

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

Genesis Motors North America CEO Mark Del Rosso opens up about the arrival of the GV80, the luxury brand's first crossover for the U.S. market, and expectations for the upcoming GV70 compact CUV. Why he believes the brand is uniquely positioned amid the pandemic and when its still-secret electric vehicle will arrive.

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Tesla Inc. invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and signaled its intent to begin accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment, sending prices to a new record after the vote of confidence from the electric-vehicle market leader.

The automaker said in a filing Monday it made the bet on Bitcoin after updating its investment policy last month to allow the company to invest in digital assets as well as gold bullion and gold exchange-traded funds.

“We expect to begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis,” Tesla said in the securities filing.

The leading electric-vehicle maker’s embrace of Bitcoin lends increased legitimacy to electronic currencies, which have become more of a mainstream asset in recent years despite skepticism from some. The embrace of a digital currency fits the maverick image of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who upended the automotive industry with bat…

TAIPEI/SEOUL -- Asian chipmakers are rushing to expand their production capacity to meet a global shortage that has been acutely felt by carmakers, but the firms warn that the supply gap may take many months to plug as they struggle to keep up with strong demand.

Automakers from General Motors to Stellantis and Honda Motor Co. are shutting assembly lines due to the shortages, which in some cases have been exacerbated by the former U.S. administration's sanctions against Chinese chip factories. Some firms have also furloughed staff.

Eight-inch chip manufacturing plants owned mostly by Asian firms, which tend to make older, less sophisticated chips, are particularly under strain primarily due to under-investment in recent years. The majority of such factories are used to make auto chips.

Consumer demand in China, especially for cars, has snapped back unexpectedly quickly from the coronavirus crisis, and orders for products such as laptops and mobile phones…

LOS ANGELES — The global debut of the next-generation Mitsubishi Outlander crossover, which is seen as critical to the struggling brand's success or failure in the U.S. market, is set for Feb. 16 on the Amazon Live marketing platform.

The automaker said early Monday that the midsize 2022 Outlander will be the first new vehicle to be revealed on Amazon's livestream showcase.

"In the same way that Outlander will challenge conventions regarding both the brand and the segment, the launch will do the same," Mitsubishi Motors North America said in a statement.

"Through a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Amazon, the 2022 Outlander will be the first vehicle ever unveiled on Amazon Live. The debut will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m. EST," the company said.

Mitsubishi and Amazon released a teaser video on Monday that shows a camouflaged Outlander testing in off-road and track conditions.

"The debut of the all-new 2022…

BEIJING -- China's government officials met representatives from Tesla Inc. in response to growing reports from consumers about battery fires, unexpected accelerations and over-the-air software update failures.

China's State Administration for Market Regulation said in a social media post on Monday that its officials along with those from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Emergency Management, Cyberspace Administration and Ministry of Transportation had met Tesla "recently," without giving a date.

The regulators urged Tesla to operate according to China laws and protect customer rights.

In response, Tesla said it would thoroughly investigate the problems reported by consumers and step up inspections.

"We will strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations and always respect consumer rights," a company representative said in a text message, adding that Tesla accepted the guidance of the Chinese government departments.…

SHANGHAI -- Chinese electric-vehicle maker Byton is in talks to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Byton, whose key shareholders include China's state-owned automaker FAW Group and EV battery maker CATL, is in talks with potential SPAC companies and investors about the listing and plans to go public as early as this year, two sources, who declined to be named as the talks were private, said.

Byton, which is backed by Apple assembler Foxconn, was launched in 2017 by Future Mobility, a company co-founded by former BMW and Nissan executives. But it has been facing cash flow problems since 2019 as investors were cautious ploughing money in a crowded sector when EV sales growth was slowing in the world's biggest car market.

The embattled company was building a car factory in the eastern city of Nanjing but suspended the endeavor in July to conduct a reorganization of the compan…

SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it is not now in talks with Apple on autonomous electric cars, just a month after it confirmed early-stage talks with the tech giant, sending the automaker's shares falling.

Hyundai's stock fell 6 percent, wiping $3 billion off its market value. Shares in its affiliate Kia, which had been tipped in local media reports as the likely operational partner for Apple, tumbled 15 percent -- a $5.5 billion hit.

The announcement ends weeks of internal divisions at Hyundai Motor, parent to both automakers, about the potential tie-up, with some executives raising concerns about becoming a contract manufacturer for the U.S. tech giant in a partnership reminiscent of Foxconn's role in making devices for Apple such as the iPhone.

"We are receiving requests for cooperation in joint development of autonomous electric vehicles from various companies, but they are at early stage and nothing has been decided," the automakers said o…

Hyundai dealers weathered a difficult year for the U.S. auto market, with brand sales falling 9.7 percent. That outperformed the market overall and came with surprising gains in retail market share and dealer profitability.

The brand's performance benefited from some decisive moves by the manufacturer to provide dealers with financial support and generous vehicle incentives, as well as from a growing product portfolio.

For 2021, that game plan should help retailers post solid volume gains, with a new generation of the Tucson compact crossover coming to the biggest nonpickup segment in America. The highly anticipated Santa Cruz lifestyle pickup will also launch in 2021, as will the Ioniq 5 electric crossover, the first vehicle in the new Ioniq electric subbrand, with three models announced so far.

"There's a lot to be positive about being a Hyundai dealer, but if you had to put something No. 1 on the list, it's the product," said Kevin Reilly, the new c…

Content is still king in the Super Bowl.

While the spotlight could shine a little brighter on the few automakers who decided to make a pitch on advertising's biggest stage, brands shouldn't assume that just being there will be enough.

The four spots from General Motors, Jeep and Toyota will still need to deliver if they want to make an imprint on consumers.

In fact, with people social distancing due to the pandemic, the dynamics of how the game is viewed could change this year. With crowded Super Bowl parties out of the question for many, consumer attention on the ads could be even greater because they may not have "friends and distractions going on" that could take their focus off the screen, said Satya Menon, managing partner for the ROI practice at Kantar.

Kevin Krim, CEO at analytics firm EDO that can measure online search activity after ads air on TV, doesn't think the smaller number of auto brands will automatically translate into a larger-…