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Dodge is killing two nameplates that account for nearly half of its U.S. sales in the coming months to complete its transformation from a collection of pleasant people haulers into an army of asphalt-eating muscle machines.

A limited-run Hellcat version of the Durango and an 807-hp Challenger are on the way as the brand loses the last of the relics from its former life: the Journey crossover and the venerable Grand Caravan minivan.

With the demise of those vehicles, which accounted for 47 percent of the brand's U.S. sales in 2019 and helped it become the first domestic brand to top J.D. Power's annual initial-quality survey last month, Dodge will be carried by what it calls the "Brotherhood of Muscle."

"We've been saying for the last couple of years that we want to distill the Dodge brand to our core performance vehicles," said Tim Kuniskis, head of passenger cars in North America for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, during a media briefing last month. "I've …

BEIJING -- General Motors Co.'s vehicle sales in China dropped 5.3 percent between April and June, underperforming the industry average amid a recovery from the coronavirus fallout in the world's biggest auto market.

China's light-vehicle sales, which include passenger and commercial vehicles, rose 4.4 percent in April and 15 percent in May, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said, adding that it expects auto sales to grow 11 percent in June.

GM, China's second-biggest foreign automaker after Volkswagen Group, delivered 713,600 vehicles in the country in the second quarter, the company said in a statement, after reporting a drop of 43 percent in sales in the first quarter, because of the pandemic.

GM operates a Shanghai-based joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. which makes Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles. It has another venture, SGMW, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group that produces no-frills minivans and has started making high…

FRANKFURT -- Daimler on Friday said it will deepen a strategic partnership with Farasis Energy, a pact which includes taking an equity stake of about 3 percent in the Chinese battery cell manufacturer.

The alliance aims to develop highly advanced cell technologies to increase vehicle range and cut charging times.

Farasis will build a plant for battery cells in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany, and Daimler Greater China will invest a multi-million-euro amount as part of Farasis' IPO, Daimler said.

This will give Daimler the option of nominating a representative for a seat on the supervisory board of the battery cell manufacturer, the automaker said in a statement.

MILAN -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said the terms of its merger with PSA Group had not changed after a newspaper reported that it was looking to spin off assets to reduce a planned 5.5 billion euro ($6.2 billion) cash pay-out to its shareholders.

Italian business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore said that FCA could conserve cash by reducing the special dividend, possibly by handing shareholders assets as compensation.

Talks were at a very early stage and no decision had been taken, the paper said, adding the that aim was to keep the 5.5 billion euro value of the special dividend but to turn its "nature" from cash to assets.

FCA, has just agreed a 6.3 billion euro state-backed loan to help its Italian unit and the whole country's automotive industry to weather the crisis. Although this does not bar FCA from paying the dividend, as it is not due until 2021 and would be paid by Dutch parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Italian politicians have called into…

Recovering from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic just got a little harder for some automakers.

Ford Motor Co., Honda North America Inc. and Volkswagen Group of America all vowed last month to drop paid Facebook advertisements for about 30 days, voluntarily giving up a key piece of their digital ad strategies as they try to bounce back from dismal second-quarter sales. The trio of automakers is among dozens of advertisers across multiple industries that have said they are boycotting the social media giant for failing to prevent the spread of disinformation and hate speech.

Honda and VW specifically called out Facebook and Instagram, saying they would drop advertising for the month of July. Ford said it would halt paid advertising on all social media channels for 30 days, starting Tuesday, June 30, even as it prepares to launch the Bronco SUV and Bronco Sport crossover in a few weeks.

Lara Koslow, managing director a…

BOSTON -- Japan has formally asked the United States to extradite a former Green Beret and his son accused of helping former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flee the country while he was awaiting trial on financial charges.

Japan submitted a request to the U.S. State Department to extradite Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, after they were provisionally arrested in Massachusetts in May, the U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing on Thursday.

Lawyers for the Taylors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Their lawyers have argued that they have not been charged in Japan with an offense for which extradition is possible under the U.S-Japan treaty.

The Japanese embassy in Washington and U.S. Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.

The Taylors were arrested in Harvard, Mass., on May 20 at Japan's request after authorities there in January accused them of helping smuggle Ghosn, Nissan's former chairman, out of…

LOS ANGELES — Hyundai Motor America COO Brian Smith is leaving the automaker just short of three years on the job. His exit is effective Monday.

"The position of Hyundai Motor America COO will not be replaced at this time as the company continues to prioritize and consolidate its regional management structure around the world," Hyundai said in a statement Thursday.

Smith joined Hyundai in October 2017 and led several major product launches, including the Palisade three-row crossover and the redesigned Sonata sedan. He spent much of his career at Toyota and Lexus.

"Brian is an admired leader who helped Hyundai at a critical time for the organization, and I would like to thank him for his hard work and dedication to the brand," said Jose Muñoz, CEO of Hyundai Motor North America.

Muñoz took over the top North America job for the Korean automaker 14 months ago. Since then, several prominent executives have left the company and new ones have joined as…

Michigan launched its Office of Future Mobility and Electrification on Thursday and appointed economic development official Trevor Pawl as the state's chief mobility officer.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in February announced the creation of the office, which will focus on developing a work force for self-driving vehicle development and "placing a greater emphasis on the importance of electrification and electric vehicle infrastructure and overall state strategy around mobility," Whitmer said at the MichAuto Summit in Detroit, where she made the announcement.

The office was established through the state's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and will be housed within the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Pawl, 38, was senior vice president of business innovation at the economic development agency, where he oversaw PlanetM, its mobility arm.

The mobility office "will leverage our competitive advantages to make sure our…

Velodyne Lidar Inc., a maker of sensors for self-driving vehicles backed by Ford Motor Co., has agreed to merge with special-purpose acquisition company Graf Industrial Corp., according to a statement Thursday.

The market value of the combined company will be about $1.8 billion, according to the statement, which confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. New institutional investors and existing Graf Industrial shareholders have committed $150 million to fund the transaction.

Velodyne backers including Ford, Baidu Inc., Nikon Corp. and Hyundai Mobis will retain an 80 percent stake in the combined company. The San Jose, Calif.,-based company will have about $200 million in cash on its balance sheet, and David Hall, Velodyne’s founder, will become executive chairman. Velodyne CEO Anand Gopalan will continue to lead the company.

Velodyne creates radar-like systems for self-driving vehicles that use lasers to generate three-dimensional images of a surroundin…

The 50 percent cap on foreign automakers’ interest in commercial vehicle joint ventures in China will be lifted July 23, the country's commerce ministry said this week. 

The move is the second step Beijing pledged in 2018 to deregulate controls on foreign auto manufacturers that produce and sell in China. 

Only a small number of foreign automakers, including Daimler, Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Hyundai Motor Group, operate commercial vehicle JVs in China.

Hyundai last year disclosed plans to turn its JV with private Chinese truckmaker Nanjun Automotive Group into a wholly owned subsidiary in 2020. 

If the plan is implemented, Hyundai likely will become the first foreign automaker to gain full ownership of its commercial vehicle business in China.

The Chinese government, pressured by the Trump administration, announced in April 2018 plans to phase out restrictions on foreign ownership in joint ventures established …

SHANGHAI -- Inspired by Tesla Inc.’s success in the capital markets and enticed by Beijing’s generous subsidies, electric vehicle startups have proliferated in China over the past few years.

Many of them flamed out without ever rolling out a product. 

The coronavirus epidemic, largely kept under control since April in the country, has further weakened the economy and made it far more difficult for remaining EV startups to raise capital. 

In June alone, at least three startups ceased operations. Among them, two were considered legitimate hopefuls among all the prospects.

One is Bordrin, a company established in Shanghai in 2016 by Huang Ximing, a former senior engineer at Ford Motor Co. 

Bordrin unveiled its first product, an electric crossover, at the Shanghai auto show in April 2019. It was expected to launch production late last year and begin sales in early 2020.

But on June 15, Huang warned in an open letter posted…