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FLINT, Mich. — As General Motors transitions its vehicle lineup away from internal combustion engines, it isn't planning to build or close any plants, the automaker's top manufacturing executive said.

Instead, GM plans to use its existing manufacturing footprint as it shifts to electric vehicles — converting some plants to build only EVs and others to build both electric and gasoline vehicles, Gerald Johnson, GM's executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability, told Automotive News.

GM will add more EVs to its lineup this year while also maintaining production of combustion models. This week, GM committed to invest more than $1 billion at two plants in Flint, Mich., for the next generation of its gasoline-powered heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.

It previously converted its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in Michigan into Factory Zero, its first all-EV plant, to build the GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV and soon …

The Ram brand is getting a new leader.

Stellantis on Tuesday said Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis will also be Ram's CEO starting July 1. He replaces Mike Koval Jr., who will head the Mopar North America parts unit instead.

The change in leadership for Ram, which is Stellantis' second-largest U.S. brand after Jeep, comes as it prepares to launch an electric van this year followed by the electric 1500 REV pickup in 2024.

The moves are part of a shuffle that involves several other Stellantis executives as well.

"These changes demonstrate that the diversity of talent and experience inside Stellantis' Top Executive Team make it possible to adapt our leadership team to address the challenging business environment while continuing the success story that this team has built over the past two and a half years with the focused execution of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan," Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement.

Olivier Francois, the automake…

Bridgewater Interiors CEO Ron Hall talks about how suppliers like him are faring in 2023 as well as persistent challenges for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the sector. Ford hires a new supply chain chief to tackle surging costs. And a racism lawsuit against Tesla draws almost 240 Black workers.

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Tesla Inc.’s $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity in 2016 was “entirely fair” to shareholders, Delaware’s top court ruled, upholding the dismissal of an investor lawsuit and sparing Elon Musk from a potential multibillion-dollar hit. 

The Delaware Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that negotiations over the deal “were conducted at arm’s-length, in good faith, with the advice of independent financial and legal advisors, led by an indisputably independent director, and, thus, constituted a fair process that led to a fair price.” 

Tesla shares rose as much as 1.5 percent after the news and were up 1.2 percent at $220.30 at 2:15 p.m. in New York. 

Randy Baron, a lawyer for the investors, declined to comment on the decision. Tesla didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The investors who sued in 2016 over the buyout of the struggling solar power provider alleged that Tesla co-founder Musk was too involved in the buyout fo…

General Motors will spend $209 million to retool its Oshawa Assembly Plant northeast of Toronto to build the next generation of internal combustion engine (ICE) full-size trucks. However, the automaker said Tuesday that product details and timing related to GM’s future trucks are not being released at this time.

This investment builds on GM’s commitment to Canadian manufacturing, which includes more than $903 million invested in the Oshawa plant in 2020, less than a year after it ceased assembly at the facility.

GM agreed to maintain the integrity of the plant even as it launched an aftermarket parts operation there, leaving the door open for potential investment down the line.

The automaker then agreed to invest the $903 million as part of a collective bargaining agreement, negotiated with Unifor in 2020.

“When people said auto-making was finished in Oshawa back in 2018, we said 'no chance.' Not only has this facility risen from the proverbi…

The Biden administration will abandon a proposal to include the EV industry in the U.S. biofuel blending program and withdraw potentially billions of dollars worth of tradable credits that had been attributed to the scheme, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Reuters had first reported in early May that the EPA was considering delaying the EV program over concerns the plan could trigger lawsuits. A final rule is set to be released later this month after review by the White House.

Scrapping the plan pushes the administration further away from allowing EVs to generate nearly 2 billion credits under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard over the next two years, something companies such as Tesla Inc. have pushed for. The EV program would have been a boost to President Joe Biden's goal of electrifying the motor vehicle industry to fight climate change.

The EPA, which administers the RFS, said it was considering comments for a final rulemaking on …

U.S. franchised dealerships polled in April and May saw a favorable market and expected it to continue next quarter. But their optimism has been tempered by economic uncertainty and the issue of interest rates, according to the latest quarterly index survey from Cox Automotive.

The April 24-May 7 Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index survey of 568 franchised dealer representatives and 492 independent dealer personnel revealed franchisees score the current market a 56, up two points from the first quarter, and rated the market three months ahead a 57, up a point.

Scores greater than 50 indicate dealers view conditions as positive or improving.

Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke told Automotive News on Monday the new-vehicle market is getting better, which despite modestly declining profitability has kept franchised dealerships bullish during a time independent retailers have grown more pessimistic.

"Summertime is always strong for busin…

Ford Motor Co. said it has hired Liz Door, a sourcing executive at appliance maker Whirlpool, to be the company's chief supply chain officer as it looks to reset supplier relations amid quality woes and cost concerns.

The move comes nine months after Ford warned Wall Street about surging parts costs and put its CFO in charge of supply chain efforts on an interim basis while it searched for someone to take on the newly created role.

Door's hiring is part of a minor executive team shakeup announced Tuesday by Ford. Two executives are retiring: Kiersten Robinson, general manager of family vehicles and president of Mexico and Canada for Ford Blue, on July 1; and Jonathan Jennings, vice president of supply chain, as of Aug. 1.

Additionally, Dave Bozeman, head of Ford Blue's enthusiast vehicles and the Ford Customer Service Division, is leaving the company to become CEO of global transportation and logistics company C.H. Robinson next week. And Tim Slatter, f…

Group 1 Automotive's acquisitive year continued with the June 1 purchase of Beck & Masten Kia in Tomball, Texas, a few weeks after the Houston company bought three high-volume Buick-GMC stores in Texas, all owned by retiring John Beck and James Masten.

The auto retailer now has purchased dealerships that are expected to add about $1 billion in revenues this year, with the Houston-area Kia store, which will retain its name, projected to bring in $85 million.

"Kia is a new brand for our Houston platform," Group 1 CEO Daryl Kenningham said in a statement. "Kia America experienced the best first-quarter sales performance in the company's history and Houston is the second-fastest growing major metropolitan area in the U.S."

Interest in Kia stores is rising across the country, according to Ryan Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors, a dealership sell-side firm in Incline Village, Nev.

"That franchise has had a really good run of product…

Chevrolet is ending output of the sixth-generation Camaro by going back to its origins.

Before production of the sports car ends in January, Chevy said it will release a Collector's Edition package on multiple trims that incorporates the Panther name, the Camaro's early code name dating to the 1960s.

The Collector's Edition offered on the LT/RS, LT1 and SS trims will feature Panther Black Metallic Tintcoat paint, accent stripes in Satin Black and 20-inch wheels in Satin Black or the optional Polished Forge, Chevy said. The package includes the front splitter from the Camaro 1LE package and, for coupes, the rear spoiler from the ZL1.

The Camaro ZL1 will receive a limited-run Collector's Edition with Panther Black Matte exterior paint, which Chevrolet said is the first factory-offered matte paint for Camaro. The ZL1 Collector's Edition also will offer a Black Metallic ZL1 stripe, red brake calipers and black lugnuts. Just 350 vehicles…

Vehicle battery manufacturer Clarios is shifting some production out of a striking plant near Toledo, Ohio. More than 400 members of UAW Local 12 have been on strike at the plant since May 8.

Beginning this week, the Ford and General Motors supplier is shifting some production from the Holland, Ohio, plant to a factory in St. Joseph, Mo., according to a representative of the Missouri plant's union local, IUE-CWA Local 86116. Union members there plan to accept the work.

The UAW has been in touch with IUE-CWA Local 86116 "since day one," UAW Region 2B Director David Green told Automotive News. But, according to the representative in Missouri, the UAW has not asked the IUE-CWA to reject the shifted production. The representative said he did not know how much production will be shifted to the St. Joseph plant. Before the strike, the Holland plant was producing 125,000 to 150,000 batteries a week.

The two plants are both sites where former owner Johnson Cont…