News

Tesla Inc. has stepped up its U.S. sales incentives to move new inventory of its high-end Model S sedan and Model X crossover, with discounts reaching $7,500 plus free use of its Supercharging network for three years, according to the company's website.

The EV maker typically rolls out incentives in the last month of each quarter. Tesla also slashed sticker prices in January across its four-vehicle lineup amid slowing sales. CEO Elon Musk has said he's willing to trade profit for volume with a global target of 50 percent sales growth.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, where Tesla's Fremont factory is located, a base Model S with all-wheel drive was available on Sunday for $84,380 with shipping, compared with the full price of $91,880 with shipping. Deliveries must take place by June 30, Tesla said.

Websites tracking Tesla's constantly changing prices, such as InsideEVs, noted that inventory of the Model S and Model X already had incentives of $5,000 from a…

WASHINGTON — The nation's top auto safety regulator has opened an investigation into the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 after receiving more than two dozen consumer complaints alleging loss of motive power in the electric compact crossover.

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation said it received 30 complaints about the problem from U.S. vehicle owners, many of which reported a "loud pop noise followed by a warning displayed in their dashboard" and immediately experienced a reduced or total loss of motive power.

NHTSA has opened a preliminary evaluation to assess the scope and severity of the potential safety defect, which could affect more than 39,500 Ioniq 5 EVs.

In a report made public this month, Hyundai told NHTSA investigators that the issue is related to the Integrated Control Charging Unit that powers the vehicle batteries. An initial review indicated that overcurrent within the charging unit can damage transistors, preventing the 12-volt battery from rec…

Åsa Borg remembers her first meeting with Polestar CEO and design guru Thomas Ingenlath to talk about a position at the new electric vehicle company.

 “It was a chance to see the beautiful cars the brand had coming,” Borg said. “The cars are just amazing. It felt like a great challenge to work on such a relevant brand. It was not only the beautiful design but the whole sustainability aspect —Polestar was so different. It felt very important to me personally.”

But it was also June of 2020. Borg took the job as Polestar’s chief marketing officer, aware of the challenges that faced her: “It was a big journey,” she said. “We were introducing a brand and product in the middle of COVID-19, with a war in Europe and an energy crisis, while all working remotely.”

The all-electric Polestar 2 performance vehicle has been a hit with car aficionados and European buyers—and an ad in the 2023 Super Bowl telecast piqued interest in the U.S., where the brand has been e…

Deciphering the levels of automated driving

The SAE Levels of Driving Automation have been a standard that automakers and tech providers use to describe and categorize the capabilities and limitations of automated driving systems. They help clarify who or what is responsible for driving at a given time. Here are those levels and examples of some systems.

Level 0: A human is driving at all times. Features are limited to warnings and momentary active assistance, such as automated emergency braking. Level 1: A human is driving at all times. Features support steering, braking or throttle inputs. Adaptive cruise control is an example. Level 2: A human is responsible for driving, even if the system is sustaining active control of the vehicle. Features provide steering and throttle control, such as lane-centering and adaptive cruise control, at the same time. General Motors' Super Cruise system and Tesla's Autopilot are in this category. Level 3: An automated system dr…

GM and Toyota flip the script

Just when you think you have them all figured out, they find a way to surprise you.

Toyota and General Motors, the two top-selling automakers in the U.S., each has its own ideas about electrification. The Detroit stalwart aims to field an all-electric vehicle lineup by 2035 while its Japanese rival takes a more gradual approach with a mix of across-the-board hybridization and a handful of EVs in the near term acting as a bridge to an expanded EV fleet at some point down the road.

However, recent events deviate from those narratives, which we cover in this week's issue of Automotive News.

Toyota Motor Corp. has defended itself against considerable criticism from investors, environmental activists and EV enthusiasts over the perception that the world's largest automaker is lagging behind the rest of the industry, even after it pledged in late 2021 to sell 3.5 million EVs annually across the globe by 2030.

With …

Just when you think you have them all figured out, they find a way to surprise you.

Toyota and General Motors, the two top-selling automakers in the U.S., each has its own ideas about electrification. The Detroit stalwart aims to field an all-electric vehicle lineup by 2035 while its Japanese rival takes a more gradual approach with a mix of across-the-board hybridization and a handful of EVs in the near term acting as a bridge to an expanded EV fleet at some point down the road.

However, recent events deviate from those narratives, which we cover in this week's issue of Automotive News.

Toyota Motor Corp. has defended itself against considerable criticism from investors, environmental activists and EV enthusiasts over the perception that the world's largest automaker is lagging behind the rest of the industry, even after it pledged in late 2021 to sell 3.5 million EVs annually across the globe by 2030.

With that criticism as a backdrop, Asia Edit…

The CEO and co-founder of TeraWatt infrastructure discusses the upcoming launch of a fleet-focused charging network, working with utility companies to meet power needs, and raising $1.1 billion to accelerate electrification efforts.

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Digital retail platforms have mushroomed as car shopping steers online.

But the trend could stall a profit engine for auto dealerships — finance and insurance income.

About 70 percent of in-store car sales at Tim Dahle Nissan Southtowne carry an extended service agreement, said Tyler Slade, operating partner at the suburban Salt Lake City store.

"We're not even half that on vehicle sales via the [email protected] digital platform," Slade told Automotive News.

Nissan's digital tool, launched in 2021, allows customers to shop for vehicles, schedule test drives, complete purchase paperwork and take delivery without stepping inside a brick-and-mortar store.

Slade echoes an industrywide concern that dealerships could leave F&I money on the table without face-to-face discussions with the customer.

It's easier for customers to click away or decline F&I products online than in the store. Read more

About $2,500 in Ford Motor Co. stock is among the ethical concerns prompting a Republican senator to call for an investigation of U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Granholm told the U.S. Senate's energy committee that she recently learned her husband owned the Ford shares, which he sold in May. She testified in an April budget hearing that she did not own any individual stocks.

In a June 9 letter to the committee's chairman, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Granholm said she also should have disclosed stock she owned in six companies that agency ethics officials had determined to be "nonconflicting assets."

"I should have said that I did not own any conflicting stocks," Granholm wrote.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., responded by asking the Department of Energy's inspector general to examine "multiple instances of questionable ethical conduct since the start of her tenure" in 2021.

Granholm championed Ford and other Michigan automotive compani…

Lithia Motors Inc. last week took a significant step toward reaching its expectation to add $4 billion in revenue in 2023 via acquisitions, with the purchase of 14 franchised dealerships from Dennis Ellmer of Priority Auto Group in Virginia.

The June 12 Priority Auto acquisition, which included domestic, import and luxury brands, is expected to add $1.2 billion in annual revenue, Lithia said. The auto retail giant said it has acquired dealerships representing $3.2 billion in annual revenue so far in 2023, most of which stems from its March purchase of Jardine Motors Group in the United Kingdom.

Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer told Automotive News this month that the auto retailer "should come in around $4 billion" of added revenue in 2023 and that its acquisitions under contract were all in the U.S.

That would mean Lithia has to acquire dealerships representing about $800 million more in revenue this year.

"This deal seems in line with management's stra…