News

JOHANNESBURG -- Ford Motor Co. will invest $1.05 billion in its South African manufacturing operations, including upgrades to expand production of its Ranger pickup truck, the automaker said Tuesday.

The investments aim to increase Ford's annual capacity in South Africa from 168,000 to 200,000 vehicles, said Andrea Cavallaro, operations director of Ford's International Market Group.

"It's the biggest investment in Ford's 97-year history in South Africa and one of the largest ever in the local automotive industry," he told an announcement event.

The move comes after Ford said last month it will cease production in Brazil after a century of building cars there, closing three factories and cutting 5,000 workers. The company has also eliminated thousands of positions in Europe as part of a sweeping $11 billion global reorganization.

The South Africa investment includes $683 million for technology upgrades and new facilities at its plant in Silverton…

Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess provided an upbeat outlook for the second half even as COVID-19 and a global shortage of semiconductors is poised to hit first-quarter results.

"I am looking forward to 2021 and I expect that the global economy will see an upturn in the second half of the year, by which time we should see ongoing vaccination programs take effect," Diess told executives in an internal webcast on Monday, according to remarks seen by Bloomberg News.

"Then I expect people to buy more cars. We should prepare for a significant upturn," Diess said.

The webcast was Diess's first with top managers this year and was attended by new VW group management board members Murat Aksel, who heads purchasing, and Thomas Schmall, the group's new technology boss. The two executives were appointed to the roles after an internal power struggle between Diess and labor leaders was defused in December.

VW lost the top spot in global sales to Toyota last y…

DETROIT — Even without the high-performance Blackwing engine that powered the defunct Cadillac CT6, the 2022 CT5 V-Series Blackwing is the most powerful vehicle the luxury brand has ever built, Cadillac says.

"Everything new and unique on these vehicles was only included if it served a functional purpose, while simultaneously creating a powerful signature look," Andrew Smith, executive director of global Cadillac design, said in a statement.

The track-capable CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing, which Cadillac revealed virtually late Monday, come standard with a manual six-speed transmission but also offer a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Cadillac planned to begin taking reservations for 500 vehicles after the reveal, with deliveries happening late this summer. Pricing starts at $59,990 for the CT4-V Blackwing and $84,990 for the CT5-V Blackwing including shipping.

The CT5-V Blackwing has a 6.2-liter supercharged 668-h…

The Levels of Automation were supposed to be for engineers.

But the numeric scale that describes the capabilities of various driver-assistance and autonomous-driving systems — which runs from Level 0 to Level 5 automation — has spread beyond its initial audience. Created by SAE International, it's now referenced far and wide by industry executives, government officials and others.

Trouble is, the Levels of Automation are pretty wonky. For ordinary motorists, they can cause confusion.

The time has come for a consumer-friendly counterpart, says Phil Koopman, co-founder and chief technology officer at Pittsburgh-based Edge Case Research, which advises companies on autonomous-vehicle testing and safety validation.

"The SAE levels are very actionable for engineers, but not particularly actionable for normal, everyday drivers," he tells Automotive News. "If we want to communicate clearly so people don't take their eyes off the road when they're not sup…

Israeli automotive data startup Otonomo said Monday it would merge with a special-purpose acquisition company to go public at a valuation of $1.4 billion.

The deal with Software Acquisition Group Inc. II is expected to fetch Otonomo $307 million in cash, including a $172.5 million private investment from investors such as Fidelity Management & Research Co. and BNP Paribas Asset Management Energy.

The combined company would be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol "OTMO".

The startup sources data from more than 20 million vehicles, according to its website. Companies can use the data to develop apps and services for fleets, smart cities and individual consumers. Otonomo's partners include Daimler, Mitsubishi, BMW and Avis Budget Group.

Otonomo raised $46 million in a funding round in April last year. The funding included investments from Avis Budget Group, South Korean conglomerate SK Holdings, Alliance Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners.

TOKYO -- Japanese companies including auto supplier Denso Corp. scrambled to assess the turmoil in Myanmar on Monday after a coup in the country once feted as Southeast Asia's last big frontier.

The Myanmar military seized power against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her party in early morning raids.

Major Japanese companies have pushed into Myanmar since Suu Kyi's party won a landslide election in 2015 and established the first civilian government in half a century.

Although some investors have grown wary over the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority, hundreds of Japanese companies have remained in Myanmar, drawn by an emerging market of more than 50 million people.

One of those companies, Denso, said it was struggling to reach staff after phone and internet connections were disrupted.

"We haven't been able to establish contact with them, so we don't know what …

Ferrari Chairman and Agnelli family scion John Elkann may reveal the type of person he thinks should lead the supercar maker on Tuesday.

Elkann -- who as interim CEO will unveil Ferrari's full-year results -- is likely to provide details on the ideal profile for the permanent CEO and discuss timing of when the job will be filled, people familiar with the matter said.

Headhunters have started to assemble a preliminary list of luxury industry heavyweights including Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri, although no one is excluding auto-industry entries, said the people, who asked not to be named since the process is not public. The company has not started interviewing candidates yet, the people said.

Ferrari was thrown into its second leadership crisis in just a few years after Louis Camilleri abruptly resigned in December. The maker of cars including the Monza, with a price tag starting at 1.5 million euros ($1.82 million), is going through a complicated process of …

TOKYO -- Lexus will unveil an overhauled "brand vision" this spring, underpinning a new model that arrives later in the year and kicks off the premium brand's "next generation" of product.

Lexus offered a peek at the new look with a teaser photo of a concept vehicle that will also debut this spring. The vehicle, obscured in shadow, is shot from either the front or rear, with the brand name printed in all caps across the width of the car, replacing the oval L-badge.

The windshield seems to be semi-divided with a scoop going down the middle between the passenger and driver's seats. The vehicle has a wide, low stance, hinting at something sporty.

Toyota's premium brand offered scant details about the upcoming makeover.

"This spring, we will unveil our new brand vision, along with a new concept, which illustrates our intentions for the future and marking the beginning of the next generation of Lexus," Lexus said in a statement on Monday. "Furthermore,…

Organizers of Germany's top auto show, the IAA, plan to stage digital and real-world activities as the event continues to struggle to attract foreign automakers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

German automakers Volkswagen Group, BMW and Daimler will take part in the show, which takes place in Munich from Sept. 7 to Sept. 12.

Frankfurt was the IAA's host city for almost 70 years but the VDA has picked Munich for this year's event.

So far only a handful of non-German automakers, including Ford, Hyundai and Chinese brands, have said they will be present. Other major car companies including Toyota, Renault and Stellantis, which includes PSA Group and its Germany-based Opel brand as well as Fiat Chrysler, have not committed to being present.

This means that time is running out to make the show a truly international event with global appeal.

Organizers will place more emphasis on digital activities in case travel is still disrupted in September by me…

After significant product launches and redesigns in 2020, Buick-GMC dealers are eager for this year's wave of big-ticket vehicles: GMC's electric Hummer pickup and Buick's redesigned Envision compact crossover.

When GMC unveiled the Hummer supertruck, "people were blown away," said Todd Ingersoll, chairman of the Buick-GMC National Dealer Council and CEO of Ingersoll Automotive.

Reservations for the pickup filled up within minutes, GMC has said. The pickup is slated to go on sale late this year.

"It's great to be at the forefront of the first supertruck ever to come to market," Ingersoll said.

The Envision compact crossover, imported from China, has started to arrive at dealerships. The Envision, which is available in the Avenir trim for the first time, is larger than the previous generation and offers more safety features and infotainment options.

Last year, dealers were excited about the redesigned GMC Yukon SUV and the new Buick Encore …

In the early days of the pandemic, the technicians at John Hiester's four North Carolina dealerships had only enough work to last till about lunch.

As business slowed the techs became increasingly worried about layoffs or furloughs. Hiester called a meeting to soothe concerns but admits he might have just added to the discomfort.

"I told them we're gonna do everything we can to get as much work in here as possible and we'll just have to play it by ear," recalled Hiester, who owns two Chevrolet dealerships and two Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram stores scattered south of the Research Triangle. "I knew that was a bad answer. I went home and thought about it.

"I said, 'We gotta come up with something.' "

His first thought was of a past love — tinkering on classic cars. He wondered if his techs, when things got slow in the afternoon, would want to pass the time turning wrenches on old cars. He bounced the idea off his managers, who loved it. Soon, it snowbal…