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DETROIT — Look out, Norway.

General Motors — with a little help from actor Will Ferrell — wants to bring the electric vehicle crown to the U.S.

But, first, Ferrell wants to give the Nordic country a piece of his mind in GM's Super Bowl spot, which touts the sleek, electric Cadillac Lyriq crossover, the hulking GMC Hummer EV and the automaker's Ultium battery platform that will power its electrified future.

Ferrell begins the ad in shock that Norway "sells way more electric cars per capita than the U.S."

That part isn't a joke.

All-electric models made up 54 percent of all new cars sold in Norway in 2020, and the country plans to become the first nation to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2025. Some forecast that EVs could account for 65 percent of Norway's new-vehicle market in 2021.

Armed with this knowledge, Ferrell begins his trek to Norway, saying GM is going to crush them with its Ultium batteries. Along the way…

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.

Motormindz CEO Jeff Van Dongen discusses the venture capital and consulting firm's efforts to help auto retailers transform and redefine the digital retail experience.

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Ree Automotive, an electric-vehicle technology startup, has agreed to go public through a merger a special-purpose acquisition company. with blank-check company.

The transaction with 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. includes a $300 million private investment in public equity and gives the combined entity an enterprise value of about $3.1 billion, according to a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News. Ree’s existing investors will own more than 80 percent of the combined company.

Ree, a Tel Aviv-based company led by co-founder Daniel Barel, makes technology to integrate all drive components into the arch of the wheel and flat, modular chassis for autonomous delivery trucks, shuttles and robotaxis. The company says its platform can be used for battery or fuel cell-powered vehicles.

“Merging with a SPAC and becoming public is an important gateway that gives us the ability to scale up and meet demand,” Barel said in an interview.…

TOKYO -- Mazda Motor Corp. is considering cutting its global output by a 34,000 vehicles over the next two months due to a chip shortage, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Last week, Mazda was considering cutting output of models that include its CX-5 and CX-30 crossovers, as well as the Mazda 3 sedan, due to a shortage in supplies of chips used for brake systems and safety components, said the sources, who declined to be identified.

The company plans to reduce its domestic output of the CX-5 by around 3,900 vehicles this month, they said. As of last week, it was considering reducing production of the crossover by about 6,000 vehicles in March, the sources said.

The semiconductor shortage, which in some cases has been exacerbated by the former U.S. administration's actions against chip factories in China, is now causing global automakers to curtail production and shut assembly lines.

Mazda is also considering an outpu…

TOKYO -- Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. plans record high global production of 9.2 million vehicles this year, up about 2 percent from 2019's pre-coronavirus output, the Nikkei newspaper reported Friday.

The automaker has informed its main suppliers of the plan, which reflects sales momentum in China and demand recovery in North America and Japan, the Nikkei said, without citing sources.

Toyota is expecting solid sales around the globe this year thanks to the release of coronavirus vaccines, the newspaper added.

A spokesperson for the company was not immediately available for comment.

Several states are reducing barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles by planning for charging infrastructure, offering vehicle-purchase incentives and setting lower electric rates during preferred charging times, according to a report issued Wednesday by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

California is the nation's leader in enabling the use of EVs, earning 91 out of 100 possible points, according to the nonpartisan group's State Transportation Electrification Scorecard.

By 2035, California — the nation's largest auto market and the world's fifth-largest economy — will require all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the state be zero-emission vehicles in an effort to transition away from fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in September.

According to the council's report, California is the only state to set deadlines for electrifying transit buses, heavy trucks and commer…

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden's administration has started discussions with the automobile and utility sectors about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, White House domestic climate change adviser Gina McCarthy told Reuters.

The talks are part of a broad effort by the Biden administration that McCarthy will spearhead to engage every federal agency to decarbonize the U.S. power sector by 2035 and the whole economy by 2050.

The United States is the world's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter behind China, with the power and transport sectors making up more than half of the emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

McCarthy's first major task will be to come up with a 2030 emission reduction target under the Paris climate agreement before Biden convenes world leaders for a climate summit on April 22.

"We're already having conversations with the utility world and we're having conversations with the car companies," McCarthy sa…

MILAN -- Ferrari said it was targeting a modest increase in core profit this year and gave no indication of who would take over as its new CEO from Louis Camilleri, who stepped down from the role in December.

Ferrari did not provide any details about the search for a new boss. The automaker is now led on an interim basis by Chairman John Elkann, the scion of the Agnelli family which controls Ferrari through its holding company EXOR.

The Ferrari board "will manage the ongoing process of identifying Louis Camilleri's successor," the company said on Tuesday.

Sources have previously said the process will take "the appropriate time."

The shortlist of potential candidates has been narrowed to three top managers, all from fashion, luxury and design sectors, the Italian business paper MF reported on Monday, citing the CEO of Gucci, Marco Bizzarri; the former CEO of Valentino, Stefano Sassi; and Hans Hoegstedt, current CEO of Tom Dixon.

In an earnin…

The Coalition for Sustainable Automotive Regulation, a group representing automakers and dealers, is withdrawing from a lawsuit between California and the federal government over the state's authority to set its own emissions standards, the group said Tuesday.

"We are aligned with the Biden Administration's goals to achieve year-over-year improvements in fuel economy standards that provide meaningful climate and national energy security benefits, reduce GHG emissions and promote advanced technologies," the coalition said. "In a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward, the CSAR has decided to withdraw from this lawsuit in order to unify the auto industry behind a single national program, with ambitious, achievable standards."

The action comes after President Joe Biden issued an executive order Jan. 20 directing the Department of Transportation and the EPA to reconsider the Trump administration's 2019 decision to revoke California's aut…

WASHINGTON -- Tesla Inc. has agreed to recall 134,951 Model S and Model X vehicles with touch screen displays that could fail after U.S. auto safety regulators sought the recall last month, according to a recall posted on a government website Tuesday.

NHTSA made the unusual recall request in a formal Jan. 13 letter to Tesla, saying it had tentatively concluded the 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles pose a safety issue. Automakers usually agree to voluntary fixes before the auto safety agency formally seeks a recall.

The agency said touch screen failures pose significant safety issues, including the loss of rearview/backup camera images and windshield defogging and defrosting systems that "may decrease the driver’s visibility in inclement weather."

NHTSA had required Tesla to respond to its recall demand by Jan. 27. Tesla agreed that same day to the recall, the company said.

Tesla said in its filing with NHTSA that "in the interest …

Hyundai’s U.S. sales rose two percent to 43,394 in January behind an 11 percent increase in retail demand for crossovers, signaling light trucks continue to fuel the market's recovery amid the pandemic.

Overall, retail deliveries edged up 1 percent and fleet volume increased 12 percent last month, Hyundai said Tuesday. Strong retail demand for Hyundai's expanded crossover was driven by the Santa Fe, up 45 percent; the Venue, up 34 percent, and the Kona, with retail sales up 9 percent.

The latest gains came even as Hyundai dials back on incentives, with TrueCar estimating the brand's January spiffs at $2,281 a vehicle, down 26 percent from a year earlier. (See chart below.)

“We are off to a strong start to the year and remain optimistic for continued sales and market share gains in 2021,” Randy Parker, senior vice president for national sales at Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement.

Other automakers

Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Kia, Gen…