News

Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. is planning for a return to production in North America on May 4, with a subsequent gradual increase in output as the industry recovers from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a top executive said on Wednesday.

Most U.S. states have stay-at-home orders in place through the end of April, but many automakers and suppliers hope evidence of an easing in the COVID-19 infection rate will lead to a reopening of factories. President Donald Trump has expressed a desire to get Americans back to work soon.

"As we stand today, we have everything in place as if the plants are coming back on May 4," Magna President Swamy Kotagiri said in a telephone interview.

The auto industry has already reopened in China, where Magna has some plants back at 80 percent capacity, and is just now restarting operations in Europe. In the U.S., General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and other companies are waiting for the go-ahe…

A dozen Ford Motor Co. workers are experimenting with wearable social-distancing devices that could be deployed more widely once the company reopens idled manufacturing plants.

The small group of volunteers at a Ford factory in Plymouth, Mich., are trying out wristbands that vibrate when employees come within six feet of each another, said Kelli Felker, a company spokeswoman. The aim is to keep workers from breaching the distance that health experts recommend to avoid spreading the coronavirus.

The social-distancing wearable could be part of a broader array of new safety protocols Ford deploys as it resumes production as early as next month after at least a roughly six-week shutdown.

The automaker is also expected to subject all workers entering a facility to a thermal-imaging scan to detect a fever. And it will provide staff with masks and, in some cases, plastic face shields, Felker said. The company is devising the measures along with the UAW.

…

Tesla Inc. must face an investor lawsuit over Elon Musk’s notorious 2018 tweet about taking the electric car maker private.

The ruling means Tesla will have to provide documents and other evidence to the plaintiffs as the case moves forward. Musk will probably have to submit to a deposition. The judge’s ruling also increases the plaintiffs’ leverage in settlement talks, as investors seek billions of dollars in damages to cover their losses.

The company claimed that Musk’s Twitter post on Aug. 7, 2018 -- “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured” -- was “aspirational,” not fraudulent. But a San Francisco federal judge ruled Wednesday that shareholders’ lawsuit claiming the tweet was an intentional deception that jolted Tesla’s stock price can go forward.

“Nothing in the statement suggested it was merely aspirational,” U.S. District Judge Edward Chen wrote. “It appears factual,” and according to the complaint, “was not true,” he added.<…

FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen Group said factories producing cars for its VW brand in Zwickau, Germany, and Bratislava, Slovakia, will resume production on April 20.

Other factories in Germany as well as plants in the U.S., Portugal, Spain, and Russia will resume production starting April 27, VW said on Wednesday.

Factories in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico will ramp up production in May, VW said.

"With the resolutions passed by the federal and state governments and the easing of measures in other European countries, the framework conditions have been created for gradually resuming production," VW brand COO Ralf Brandstaetter, said in a news release.

VW said it has prepared a 100-point plan to ensure safe workplaces and maximum health protection for employees.

"We are ramping up production and logistics in a staggered and well-ordered manner," VW production boss Andreas Tostmann said in the same release.

VW has been resta…

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly continues to self-isolate at his home in Butler, Pa., after testing positive for COVID-19 last month.

The Republican congressman described himself to the Erie Times-News this week as almost back to normal, but he is staying at home with his wife.

Automotive News has reached out to Kelly for additional comment.

Kelly — who also owns Mike Kelly Automotive, which retails Cadillac, Chevrolet, Kia, Hyundai and Toyota brands in Butler — announced his diagnosis on Twitter and in a press release March 27, the same day the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package was signed into law by President Donald Trump. Kelly was not in Washington for the House vote.

Kelly said in the release that he began experiencing "mild flu-like symptoms" and contacted his primary care physician, who ordered a COVID-19 test. He obtained the test through a drive-through site at Butler Memorial Hospital.

"My symptoms …

WASHINGTON --  Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it plans to furlough most U.S. salaried workers for two weeks and will extend a shutdown of its Mexican plants through April 30 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Honda began its suspension of operations in North America on March 23 and previously extended its shutdown in Canada and the United States through May 1.

The company said the majority of its "salaried and support associates at Honda operations in the U.S. will be furloughed for a two-week period."

For Honda employees in California, the first day of the furlough will be April 17 with a scheduled return to work on May 1. For U.S. salaried employees outside California, the first day of the furlough is April 19. with a scheduled return to work on May 4.

Last week, Honda said it would furlough factory workers at its U.S. plants.

Laurence Iliff contributed to this report.

BERLIN -- Germany will consider relaxing restrictions next week on shops introduced last month to slow the spread of the coronavirus while keeping social distancing rules in place until May 3, according to a government proposal seen by Reuters.

Chancellor Angela Merkel began discussing the draft during talks with the governors of Germany's 16 states from 2 p.m. on Wednesday to agree whether and how to loosen some of the restrictions given an improvement in the situation.

The proposals include reopening schools gradually starting May 4 with priority given to primary and secondary pupils in final years, while day-care centers will remain shut. Schools must prepare a hygiene plan before they reopen their doors.

Religious gatherings will remain banned and restaurants, bars, cafes, cinemas and music venues will remain shut.

But some retailers as well hairdressers, zoos, and public libraries will be allowed to open next week under strict social distanci…

Aggressive incentives didn't prevent new-vehicle demand from falling by double digits in March, but J.D. Power believes they allowed the Detroit 3 to take their largest slice of new-vehicle sales since 2006.

Since launching a wave of incentives that includes 0 percent interest rates on seven-year loans, the Detroit 3 captives have seen their share of financed new vehicles skyrocket 60 percent.

Ford Motor Credit Co., GM Financial and Santander Consumer USA's Chrysler Capital business originated 31.8 percent of new-vehicle financing from mid-March to April 8, according to J.D. Power, up from 19.9 percent in the weeks prior. All other captives, which include banks' captivelike relationships, comprised 38.4 percent of the market.

Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power, said origination shares for the Detroit 3 may have been even higher had the automakers not offered to extend leases.

"Lease buyers are staying out of the marke…