News

TOKYO — Osamu Masuko, the long-serving, soft-spoken chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. who hammered out his company's partnership with Nissan Motor Co., leaves behind a stronger carmaker but one that is still a work in progress after several fitful revival attempts.

Masuko died of heart failure Aug. 27, three weeks after stepping down over health concerns. He was 71. At the time of his retirement, when he took a "special adviser" role, Masuko was one of Japan's oldest and longest-serving automotive chiefs. He led Mitsubishi for 15 years.

Masuko became president of Mitsubishi Motors in 2005 and cycled through various positions at the top, including the CEO and chairman posts, during a pivotal period at the small Japanese player. Masuko hatched numerous plans to reboot the brand's flagging fortunes, oversaw its foray into electrified vehicles and helped pen its 2016 partnership with Nissan.

With Mitsubishi then part of the Renault-N…

SHANGHAI — Delayed from late April, the Beijing auto show is set to begin on Sept. 26, making it the sole survivor, so far, of all the major international auto exhibitions canceled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Whether anyone attends is another matter.

The pandemic has remained largely contained inside China since mid-March, and no new domestic infections had been reported for 18 consecutive days as of Wednesday, Sept. 2.

But there is no way for the Beijing show to escape its impact.

Because of the pandemic and travel restrictions China has imposed, most international automakers have chosen not to send executives to the show, according to a survey of companies by Automotive News.

Among the companies to pass on attending are China's two largest players, Volkswagen Group and General Motors. Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and PSA Group also do not plan …

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ The legacy of Sergio's failed pursuit of GM

It's hard to fathom, but at this time in 2015, the big story in Automotive News was Sergio Marchionne's persistent — and fruitless — pursuit of a merger with General Motors.

We were in the midst of publishing a six-part series called "Industry on Trial." In it, we explored the Fiat Chrysler CEO's case that the auto industry as structured was a cash guzzler and that consolidation among its players was the answer.

The series stuck a chord with the boss himself. Amid it all, he invited Automotive News into his secondary offices in downtown Detroit to share his vision. As my now-retired colleague Richard Johnson would later write, it was the "weirdest, wildest, most entertaining interview of my Automotive News life."

In that session, Marchionne laid out his case for why a merger made so much sense. Leo Michael's cartoon at the top of this column — published five years ago tomorr…

Hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate in southern Japan, and companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc. are planning to shutter factories as Typhoon Haishen approaches.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the typhoon may make landfall on Kagoshima prefecture in the southern Kyushu island on Sunday evening. More than 46,000 households were without power in Kagoshima prefecture as of 5 p.m. local time, according to Kyushu Electric Power Company Inc. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least 218,000 households have been ordered to evacuate to safety in Okinawa and five of the Kyushu prefectures.

Canon said it will suspend operations at four manufacturing units affecting seven factories in Kyushu on Monday, while Toyota decided to halt three plants in Fukuoka. Daihatsu Motor Co.’s factories in Oita and Fukuoka prefectures will be suspended during morning shift on Monday, company spokesman Kazuki Inoue said.

Son…

Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive engineering and industry relations, discusses the results of the auto club's recent study on advanced driver assistance systems, how the technology interacts with pedestrians, and the latest on driver monitoring.

How do I subscribe?

Apple Podcasts: “Shift: A podcast about mobility” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe.

Spotify: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" can be streamed through Spotify on your desktop, tablet or mobile device. Click here to subscribe.

Google Play: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" is available on Android devices through the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe.

MOSTAR, Bosnia -- A Bosnian fan of both Ford trucks and Elon Musk's Tesla could not just sit on his hands waiting for the electric carmaker to release its Cybertruck, expected in late 2021. Instead he came up with his own version of the futuristic vehicle.

It took eight months for IT specialists and engineers at Igor Krezic's Stark Solutions company to disassemble a rugged Ford Raptor F-150 into its smallest parts and then transform it into a gasoline-powered vehicle that resembles a Cybertruck.

The first drive through the streets of the southern town of Mostar drew a lot of attention, Mario Coric, the company manager, told Reuters.

"Everybody was watching and half of them thought we made a tank, because people don't know what the Cybertruck is. One girl even stopped and asked if this is the place where they are producing Tesla Cybertruck," Coric said on Friday.

Krezic declined to speak to Reuters.

Though it may not look identical to Cybert…

SINDELFINGEN, Germany — Mercedes-Benz's newly redesigned S-Class luxury sedan, revealed last week here, represents a big step forward in the automaker's eyes-off autonomous driving technology.

But the new S-Class faces a real dilemma: Major markets such as the United States are not ready for the technology yet.

Germany is.

Three years ago, government leaders enacted landmark legislation permitting motorists to hand over full driving control of their vehicle to its on-board autonomous systems if specific conditions are met. But virtually every other country in the world is still grappling with the question of how to safely roll out the technology on their roads.

Markus Schäfer, head of technical development at Mercedes-Benz Cars, said the carmaker has a lot of persuading to do, given the patchwork of legal jurisdictions both in Europe and abroad that are still evolving.

"It's trying to read a crystal ball…

Automakers are ready to take the field for one of the most uncertain National Football League seasons ever.

In normal times, the biggest question mark for the NFL, which kicks off Thursday, Sept. 10, would be about who's going to take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy in February. But the coronavirus pandemic threatens to disrupt the league and the games that have long been a key cog in many automakers' marketing strategies.

Major League Baseball already has had to postpone games because of COVID-19 outbreaks among teams.

The NFL, which drew $4.3 billion in advertising dollars last season, could face the same problem, said Kevin Krim, CEO of analytics firm EDO Inc.

" 'Sunday Night Football,' 'Monday Night Football' and 'Thursday Night Football' are all incredibly valuable franchises," Krim said. "If suddenly there's an outbreak the morning of one of those games, they're not going to be able to play. There is this risk that …

Tesla Inc. shares tumbled as much as 8 percent in postmarket trading Friday as investors who contributed to its jaw-dropping rally this year in anticipation it may join the S&P 500 Index will have to wait for another day.

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker was widely expected to be added to the prestigious benchmark after it reported a fourth consecutive quarterly profit in July, clearing the last major hurdle for consideration by S&P Dow Jones Indices, which oversees the gauge. Some, including Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy, said the move might be announced Friday in order for the stock to begin trading as an S&P component this month, although he added that there was no guarantee a decision was imminent.

Instead, online retailer Etsy Inc., semiconductor equipment manufacturer Teradyne Inc. and medical technology firm Catalent Inc. were added, replacing H&R Block Inc., Coty Inc. and Kohl’s Corp.

S&P Dow Jones Indices, which oversees t…

The U.S. and Europe's ambition to boost production of rare raw materials used in electric vehicles and reduce dependence on China will face obstacles, including higher costs and environmental concerns.

The European Union stepped up a push to become less reliant on imported raw materials, with the European Commission vowing to create a raw-materials alliance by the end of the year due to their importance in growing industries.

Two U.S. Congressmen this month introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at reducing dependence on China for rare earths, similar to what Senator Ted Cruz introduced in May.

Concern about the outsized influence of China gained more prominence as trade tensions increased between the U.S and China. Cost, access to the raw materials and environmental concerns may be the biggest stumbling blocks for creating an independent supply chain, according to analysts.

"It's very difficult to sustain, it's expensive to sustain," said Jennifer B…