News

Volkswagen ends production of the Karmann Ghia on July 21,1974, at a plant in Osnabruck, West Germany.

First sold as a 2+2 coupe, built from 1955–74, and later a convertible, 1957–74, the Karmann Ghia combined the chassis and mechanicals of the Beetle. It was styled by Luigi Segre of the Italian design house Ghia and hand built by German coach builder Karmann.

Noted American industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague called the Karmann Ghia one of the world's most beautifully designed products.

More recently, Hagerty, in a 2019 assessment of the car, was more succinct: "While most classic VWs are charming in their ugliness, the Karmann Ghia is straight-up gorgeous. Never mind that it's essentially just a Beetle in an expensive suit."

The Karmann Ghia, known internally as the Type 14, was introduced at the Kasino Hotel in Westfalia, Germany, on July 14, 1955.

The car, positioned above the Beetle, was created t…

Joining the Kia lineup this summer is the fifth iteration of the Optima sedan, now known as the K5. The 2021 K5 shares much with the 2020 Hyundai Sonata from Kia's corporate sibling. But the K5 distinguishes itself through exterior design cues from the Stinger sports sedan, along with more subtle front and rear treatments. The standard engine is a 1.6-liter, four-cylinder turbo with 180 hp routed through an eight-speed automatic shifter. Here's a roundup of snippets of K5 reviews from the automotive media.

"The tires — always a compromise — were engineered for quiet, all-weather and a long life, so they tended to slide away a little earlier than you'd like in GT-Line trim level. And the soft suspension that had been so comfortable down in the city leaned, dove and squatted a little more up here than I had hoped it would. But the 1.6-liter's eight-speed tranny had a manual mode and with that you could stay in the wide-ish power and torque bands afforded by that engine…

STOCKHOLM -- Volvo Cars expects business to recover in the second half of the year after reporting on Tuesday an operating loss for the first six months as coronavirus lockdowns strained supply chains and forced plant closures.

The Swedish-based carmaker also said that its planned merger with sister company Geely Automobile Holdings had been temporarily put on hold due to Geely Auto's plans to list in China. The companies will resume talks in the autumn.

Volvo returned to solid growth in China during the second quarter and expects a similar upturn in the United States and Europe.

"If the market recovers as we expect, we anticipate sales volumes to return to the levels we saw in the second half of 2019 and it is also our ambition to return to similar profit levels and cash flow," CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement.

Market recovery has allowed the company to resume production in all factories, except the Charleston plant in Ridgeville, S,C., V…

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. will make 2 percent fewer vehicles globally in August than originally planned, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday, as output recovers gradually from a steep drop because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company said it aimed to make 15,000 fewer vehicles than its initial plan, which was around 750,000, according to Reuters' calculations. August's reduction is smaller than the cut of 10 percent seen in July, and June's 40 percent reduction.

Toyota said it would produce 6,000 fewer vehicles at home, and 9,000 less overseas.

As Japan fears a second wave of infections spreading from the capital, one Toyota employee working at its headquarters has tested positive for coronavirus since developing symptoms earlier this month, the company said Tuesday. Toyota added it disinfected the affected work sites on July 17 and restarted operation shortly afterwards.

In the midst of the pandemic, the company also plans to skip media bri…

Robert Bosch is combining its automotive software and electronics activities into a new division in an effort to reduce complexity and speed up development and time to market.

The unit, Cross-Domain Computing Solutions, will have 17,000 employees, drawn from Bosch's existing Multimedia, Powertrain Solutions, Chassis Systems Control and Automotive Electronics divisions. It will be operative at the start of next year.

Harald Kroeger, a member of Bosch's management board who now oversees those divisions, among others, will be responsible for the new division, which will fall under Bosch's Mobility Solutions business sector.

A typical new car now has 100 million lines of software code, Kroeger said in an interview with Automotive News Europe, because of the growing number of safety, performance and comfort features offered by automakers -- and expected by buyers.

By comparison, he said, a computer operating system such as Microsoft Word has up to 50 m…

NEW YORK -- Uber Technologies Inc. has quietly launched a service to give public health officials quick access to data on drivers and riders presumed to have come into contact with someone infected with COVID-19, company officials told Reuters.

The service, offered free of charge, could help burnish the image of the ride-hailing giant, which recently launched a new ad campaign spotlighting its “No Mask, No Ride” policy in the United States.

Now being promoted to government health officials in all the countries where it operates, the service provides health departments with data about who used Uber’s services and when and allows health agencies to urge affected users into quarantine, the company officials said.

Information on an individual can be accessed in a few hours, the officials said, with the company considering COVID-19 an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury.

Though Uber has provided the data for months now, it ha…

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.

Larry Burns, a former vice president of R&D at General Motors, discusses the emerging trends that he believes will bring autonomous vehicles to market sooner.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Dail…

More than four months after retiring as Ford Motor Co.'s automotive president, Joe Hinrichs has resurfaced on the board of a company pioneering a unique sensor for autonomous vehicles.

Hinrichs, 53, has joined the board of directors at WaveSense, of Boston, a startup that uses ground-penetrating radar to help self-driving vehicles better understand and navigate road environments.

"WaveSense is delivering the most precise and reliable vehicle positioning system at a cost that allows broad adoption," Hinrichs said in a statement. "Knowing where you are is fundamental to enabling the next-generation safety and performance features the automotive industry is looking for."

Two other veteran automotive executives are joining the startup's efforts to bolster its industry chops as it turns toward commercialization. Former General Motors CFO Chuck Stevens and former Continental Chief Technology Officer Kurt Lehmann have been appointed to WaveSense's advisory boar…

BEIJING  -- Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Motors, backed by Alibaba Group Holding, said on Monday it has raised around $500 million in a new of round of funding.

As enthusiasm builds for more climate-friendly vehicles, shares of EV makers, including Tesla Inc. and Nio Inc., have surged in recent months and automakers are looking to the markets for funds.

Li Auto, Xpeng's rival, filed for a U.S. initial public offering earlier this month.

Investors in Xpeng's C+ funding round include Aspex, Coatue, Hillhouse and Sequoia Capital China, six-year-old Xpeng said in a statement, without disclosing the company's valuation.

Xpeng, led by CEO He Xiaopeng, is making electric G3 crossovers and P7 sedans with autonomous driving capabilities in two Chinese plants.

The funding will enable Xpeng to further develop intelligent vehicle technologies. The company plans to have about 200 showrooms in China by the end of the year.

Xpen…