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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.

Automotive News reporter Mike Martinez explains what's at stake for Ford as it prepares to debut the next-generation F-150 pickup. The F-Series line of pickups, of which F-150 is a part, has been the bestselling vehicle line in the U.S. for 38 straight years.

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BEIJING -- China's industry ministry said on Monday it might temporarily ease quotas designed to boost production of electric cars, in an attempt to help automakers in the world's biggest market revive sales badly bruised by the coronavirus pandemic.

China has some of the world's strictest rules regarding the production of fossil-fuel vehicles, as it battles unhealthy levels of air pollution in crowded cities.

Automakers in China are obliged to manufacture new energy vehicles, including electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, to win "points" to make up for a portion of the negative points they incur when they produce internal combustion engine vehicles.

Depending on the present situation, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a policy that it might temporarily adjust the quotas and allow automakers to use the green points they generate next year to offset their negative points this year.

Industry officials c…

Beginning this week, Manheim is bringing back in-lane bidders at five pilot locations, with three additional sites to follow next week.

The pilot locations include Manheim Darlington in South Carolina, Manheim Tulsa, Manheim Kansas City, Manheim Dallas and Manheim Dallas-Fort Worth.

Although buyers will be in lanes, vehicles still will not be running through and instead will be displayed on large screens.

Manheim President Grace Huang said the company remains committed to developing its digital platforms while balancing that with what its dealer customers want. Huang said the company has been gathering feedback and "then matching it with what we what we see in the data from a safety perspective."

It's led to a phased-in, "methodical" plan for reopening aspects of the company's auctions, she said. Sellers were allowed to come back on auction blocks to represent vehicles on June 8, for example.

Both Manheim and KAR Global's ADESA announced th…

TOKYO — Mitsubishi Motors Corp. may be preparing to scale back its efforts in the U.S.

CEO Takao Kato says the Japanese carmaker's new strategy will focus less on huge global markets where the brand is merely an also-ran.

Addressing investors during Mitsubishi's annual shareholders meeting last week, Kato said the automaker will dial down business in megamarkets such as Europe and China. He didn't mention North America or the U.S. by name. But the company later confirmed that it indeed considers the U.S. a megamarket.

The company's new plan is called Selection and Concentration. Under Mitsubishi's previous business plan, Drive for Growth, the carmaker had specifically flagged North America and China as two regions of focus.

"Even though we increased sales volume in the megamarkets, we have not yet achieved the level of profit we expected," Kato said. "We aim to increase sales in the regions where we can offer our core products. We will gradually …

DETROIT — The F-150 redesign that Ford Motor Co. plans to unveil this week isn't as risky as the switch to an aluminum body for the current generation. But the new pickup nonetheless will determine the automaker's fortunes in a segment that's increasingly volatile and soon to be invaded by electric vehicle makers.

The gamble Ford took in switching to a more expensive material on its most important vehicle has largely paid off, though perhaps less conspicuously than Ford had hoped.

Since the pickup was redesigned in 2014, sales, market share and average transaction prices have risen, and studies have shown that repair and insurance costs — a major question mark at launch — have largely remained flat. The rest of the industry, however, declined to follow Ford's aluminum gambit, choosing other routes to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency.

Still, Ford sold more pickups in 2018 than any other year besides 2001 and 2004. It end…

Tesla Inc. will postpone its annual shareholder meeting because large gatherings won’t be allowed because of COVID-19 restrictions, company CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet.

Tesla’s shareholder meeting had been scheduled slated for July 7.

Musk said in response to questions on Twitter that he’s not sure of a new date, but guessed it may be “a month or so later,” he tweeted.

The annual meeting probably will be held in Fremont, Calif., and may also be combined with Tesla’s battery day, Musk added. 

Nissan's redesign of its flagship Rogue model delivers an improved portfolio of family-friendly technologies expected of a crossover.

But also notable is what Nissan's volume-leading nameplate will not offer — a hybrid powertrain.

When the new 2021 Rogue launches this fall, it will offer a single powertrain: a 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine. That's in contrast to Nissan's competitors in the critical compact crossover segment that are doubling down on fuel-sipping electrified vehicles.

Three of the Rogue's biggest rivals — the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V — are available with hybrid powertrains. At times, Nissan's Rogue has outsold all of them.

But the market is changing.

Hybrid variants give automakers a differentiator in a crowded segment, said Conrad Layson, researcher with AutoForecast Solutions.

"The RAV4 turned the virtue of a hybrid's fuel savings into a performance s…

Poor people stand to gain substantial health benefits from the arrival of autonomous vehicles. But a new study finds they're least likely to afford the rides.

Affordability concerns surrounding self-driving technology mean low-income citizens will largely miss out on improved access to transportation and the chance to buy cars equipped with systems that prevent collisions.

The study, published this month by the American Journal of Public Health, deflates some longstanding optimism from industry executives and government leaders who have touted autonomous vehicles as a means for improving the health of U.S. residents.

Self-driving vehicles have been expected to add those benefits, at least in part, by providing more efficient links between poor people and their medical appointments. More than 3.6 million patients miss or delay non-emergency treatment each year in the U.S. because of a lack of transportation, according to the report.

"Even with univ…

Jaguar Land Rover is truly a tale of two brands. On one hand, Land Rover, the sole brand that sells only premium SUVs, is in the sweet spot of having an array of vehicles that customers want to buy. SUVs, pickups and crossovers account for almost 70 percent of the U.S. new-vehicle market.

Jaguar, on the other hand, despite having three crossovers in its lineup, is still best known for its sports sedans and sports cars. The transition to crossovers and electric powertrains has not been a smooth one.

The battery electric I-Pace crossover has won a trophy case of awards but has been a slow seller and is a vehicle many dealers can't move at a profit. The entry level E-Pace crossover has also posted low sales compared with its main competitors.

With the Land Rover Defender back in the lineup, the redesigned Range Rover Evoque flying off dealership lots and the evergreen Range Rover racking up huge sales and profits, Land Rover is carrying the company as Jagu…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is postponing the reveal of its Bronco SUV by four days amid concerns that its previous unveiling coincided with the birthday of O.J. Simpson.

In 1994, Simpson was infamously riding in a white Bronco along Los Angeles freeways being driven by his longtime friend Al Cowlings. Simpson was attempting to flee police as he faced charges of murdering his ex-wife and her friend. His birthday, July 9, happened to be the Bronco's planned reveal date.

That has now been moved to July 13.

"We wanted to be sensitive and respectful of this concern," Mark Truby, Ford's communications chief, wrote on Twitter.

The automaker was adamant the July 9 date was "purely coincidental."

The Bronco originally was expected to be revealed this spring, but those plans were halted by the coronavirus pandemic.