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NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation has launched a new early-warning reporting Web portal for manufacturers to submit data required by law for possible safety-related defects, product noncompliance, recalls and safety campaigns conducted outside of the United States.

The early-warning reporting rule requires automakers and parts suppliers to submit certain information to the agency that could help with identifying safety-related defects. Reporting requirements vary depending on the product and manufacturer's annual production volume.

The online portal is designed to simplify and improve the process of submitting early warning reporting information to the agency as required by the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act. It is also part of NHTSA's efforts to streamline and modernize IT systems that support the Office of Enforcement, the agency said Wednesday.

The portal allows manufacturers to upload files directly to N…

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is recalling 27,634 hybrid minivans globally — about 22,580 of them in the U.S. — because a 12-volt battery connection might pose fire risk.

The automaker said in a statement that it’s aware of “a small number of fires.” It didn’t say exactly how many but said all but one occurred in Canada. The other was in Minnesota. FCA is aware of one injury but didn’t say where it occurred.

The recall is limited to Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans from the 2017-20 model years. Neither the model’s high-voltage battery, nor its electrified propulsion system, is associated with the defect. Gasoline-powered Pacifica minivans are unaffected.

"Out of an abundance of caution," FCA said it is asking customers to avoid parking their vehicles inside buildings or structures. It’s also advising customers to not park near other vehicles or place wet items or liquids that may spill in the second-row seating area.

Twelve-volt b…

When NBA legend Larry Bird would enter the league's three-point shooting contest, he'd confidently ask: Who's playing for second place?

According to Experian, when it comes to new-vehicle auto originations right now, captive lenders are Bird and banks and credit unions are playing for second place.

Efforts to slow the COVID-19 outbreak and shield the economy are shifting the playing field for major automotive lenders, creating a lending environment that's a slam dunk for the auto industry's captive finance arms.

"When we look just at April ... whether it's total new or used, we actually have the captives really being the one to pick up market share and the bank share really steadily dropping," said Melinda Zabritski, Experian's senior director of automotive financial solutions.

For comparison sake, before the pandemic largely took hold, banks boosted their market share in the first quarter to 33.4 percent, up 1 percen…

General Motors' self-driving subsidiary, Cruise, has hired Louise Zhang, a top engineer at Lucid Motors who helped build Tesla's safety team, as its first dedicated safety chief.

Zhang oversaw vehicle safety and regulatory compliance for Lucid since 2015 after spending nearly six years at Tesla. She was responsible for overall safety of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV, which received five-star ratings in government crash testing.

Zhang also previously worked as an engineer at Delphi Automotive, leading safety system integration projects with Chinese automakers in Shanghai.

"Louise has dedicated her career to making cars and roads safer, and as we continue on our mission to build the safest self-driving service, she will play a critical role overseeing our validation capabilities and the development of innovative safety solutions and best practices across hardware and software," Cruise said in a statement.

Zhang's position, vice president of prod…

SHANGHAI -- Tesla Inc.'s stock jumped above $1,000 a share on Wednesday after CEO Elon Musk told his staff it was time to bring the Tesla Semi commercial truck to "volume production."

Musk, in an email seen by Reuters on Wednesday, did not specify a time frame for ramping up production of the Semi. Musk on Wednesday tweeted "Yes" to a question on Twitter about whether the report of the leaked Semi truck production email was accurate.

Tesla's shares rose more than 6 percent to hit $1,000 on Wednesday after Reuters reported Musk's email, making the Silicon Valley company the second-most valuable automaker in the world, behind Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. Tesla's share surge could position Musk for another payout from a stock compensation plan tied to the company's market capitalization.

The company's shares closed Wednesday's trading up nearly 9 percent to $1,025.05.

The stock also got a boost from a bullish call by Wedbush, which lifted i…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will offer battery-electric versions of its F-150 pickup and Transit van by mid-2022, COO Jim Farley said Wednesday.

It's the most detailed timeline yet for the company's electric vehicle plans and comes as Ford faces increasing competition in the EV space. The automaker previously said only that the Transit EV would be a 2022 model year vehicle and that the F-150 EV would be available in "the next couple years."

Both products are key to Ford's strategy of increasing its focus on high-margin, commercial vehicles. They face challengers on all sides, including electric startups such as Rivian and Bollinger Motors as well as traditional rivals such as General Motors, which is planning its own electric van, according to Reuters.

"With our knowledge and know-how, I like our chances against all comers as we go all-electric," Farley said at the Deutsche Bank 2020 Global Auto Industry Conference.

Farley and Ford CEO Jim Hackett u…

LOS ANGELES — Honda has resumed production at most of its plants after suffering a crippling cyberattack on its global computer network over the weekend, but it is still working to restart some manufacturing operations in Ohio, the company said Tuesday.

The automaker has not offered details on the factories at which it was forced to suspend production after the network disruption began on Sunday. American Honda, the U.S. sales arm, said some factories were forced to shut down in North America because of a loss of computer connectivity.

The company acknowledged Tuesday that the IT disruption was an outside attack.

"Honda has experienced a cyberattack that has affected production operations at some U.S. plants," the company said in a statement. "However, there is no current evidence of loss of personally identifiable information. We have resumed production in most plants and are currently working toward the return to production of our auto and engine plant…

As Rivian edges closer to completing its manufacturing plant in Illinois and launching three electric vehicles next year, the company has added senior executives — including a new COO — to fill new roles and replace people who have departed.

The company, whose engineering and design center is in suburban Detroit, has recruited executives from the motorcycle industry, Tesla, Lucid and elsewhere since March.

Rod Copes replaces Jim Morgan as COO. Copes, a motorcycle industry veteran, most recently worked for Indian-owned motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield. As president of the company's U.S. arm, Copes built the team that returned the former British-made motorcycle to the U.S. after a long absence. Copes also put in 19 years at Harley-Davidson, where he was senior vice president of global sales and customer service.

The Verge website reported that Morgan will remain as an adviser and was only in the COO position as a placeholder until the job was filled p…

Ben Volkow's first attempts to play matchmaker between two reluctant partners were a lonely endeavor.

The founder of Otonomo sought to connect automakers holding troves of new vehicular data with third parties that could buy the information on the company's new platform and find novel uses for it. Early on, it was difficult to find companies willing to take the first step.

"With a marketplace, it's very hard to start," said Volkow, CEO of the Israeli startup, which he founded in 2015. "It's like starting a tango. The OEMs wanted to know which companies had signed up, and the other guys wanted to know what OEMs were signed up and supplying data. It was two steps forward, one step back for a long while."

Not anymore. As the number of connected vehicles reaching roads worldwide has increased, the company has gained traction on both sides of its marketplace. The latest development came Tuesday, when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles signed an agreement to use the co…

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.

Randy Parker, vice president of national sales for Hyundai Motor America, says the automaker is positioned for a stronger sales rebound after getting dealers to load up on existing inventory during the early days of the pandemic.

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