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Canada's Ontario province has deemed new-vehicle dealerships “essential workplaces” as the province grapples with gaining control of the novel coronavirus outbreak  that is threatening to overwhelm the health-care system.

Premier Doug Ford on Monday afternoon ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses in the province in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.

The order takes effect Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. ET and will last for 14 days.  A full list of businesses that are permitted to stay open was released Monday night, early than the province promised.

“Yes, dealerships can stay open,” Ford’s press secretary, Ivana Yelich, confirmed in an email to Automotive News Canada.

The list officially includes “motor vehicle, auto-supply, auto and motor-vehicle-repair, including bicycle repair, aircraft repair, heavy equipment repair, watercraft/marine craft repairs, car and truck dealerships and related facilities.”

While vehicle and component production has slowed to a trickle in Europe because of the coronavirus outbreak, Daimler, Volvo and suppliers say their factories in China are coming back online.

Daimler has reopened its factory in China, where demand for vehicles is recovering, CEO Ola Kallenius told a German newspaper.

"The vast majority of our dealerships have reopened, the customers are returning," Kallenius told Handelsblatt. "Every day more people come to the car dealerships. Demand is picking up, which makes us optimistic."

Earlier this month Volvo Cars reopened its four manufacturing plants in China after an extended closure period to cope with the virus outbreak.

The automaker said that current showroom traffic indicates a return to normal in China’s car market. Volvo makes vehicles in Chengdu, Luqiao and Daqing and builds engines in Zhangjiakou.

Another positive sign is that Volvo subsidiary Polestar started production Tuesday of its…

TOKYO -- Toyota and NTT, Japan's biggest automaker and the country's top telecom company, will form a capital tie-up to team on commercializing a smart city business that leverages the widespread integration of such next-generation technologies as big data, cloud services, robotics, automated mobility and artificial technology. The new systems will be deployed in real world test beds, such as the Woven City that Toyota is planning to build in Japan, and they will revolve around connected vehicles that are part of the social infrastructure, Toyota said on Tuesday in a statement. To cement the partnership, the companies said each will buy a 200 billion yen ($1.81 billion) stake in the other through the purchase of treasury shares in April. The investments amount to a 2.07 percent stake in NTT for Toyota and a 0.9 percent stake in the automaker for NTT. Toyota's announced its Woven City in January, describing it as a 175-acre futuristic community at the base of M…

TOKYO -- Mazda has become the latest Japanese automaker to suspend operations in Japan and overseas as it reacts to worldwide interruptions of demand and supply triggered by Covid-19.

The Hiroshima-based automaker said it would completely suspend operations at its two plants in Japan for 13 days and run them on day shifts only for eight days, between March 28 and April 30.

In announcing the move on Tuesday, Mazda said it hoped to make up the lost production in the July-September quarter. The company said it needed to dial back production to adjust to difficulties in sourcing parts, a sudden plunge in sales and uncertainty about the future.

Mazda also said it would shut down its Mexico assembly plant for 10 days from March 25 and suspend work at its Thailand factory for about 10 days starting March 30.

"Many countries have been quickly and extensively reinforcing their infection prevention measures including implementing curfews, retail business su…

A coalition of trade groups representing the nation's automobile dealers has asked President Donald Trump to clarify that certain sales and leasing activities at franchised dealerships are considered essential services during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter sent to the White House on Monday, the group — consisting of the National Automobile Dealers Association, American International Automobile Dealers, National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers and American Truck Dealers — expressed its appreciation for federal guidance on March 19 that listed vehicle manufacturing, supply manufacturing, maintenance and repair facilities as essential services.

However, "The guidance made no reference to vehicle sales and lease operations that are typically conducted by franchised new-car and -truck dealers in conjunction with their service and maintenance operations," the letter said. "As a result, some states and other jurisdictions have prohibited vehicle sal…

The current national emergency is not like those the country has managed through before.

The auto industry is rightfully proud of its role in World War II — and even in the wake of 9/11. But this is a different kind of battle against a different kind of enemy. The front lines are in hospitals and clinics, where nurses and doctors and other staffers bravely tend to those who are or may be infected with this deadly, flu-like virus. And many face a shortage of basic gear such as masks and gloves.

Just as it has in other calamities, the auto industry can and will help. General Motors, Ford and others are already preparing to aid in the manufacture of much-needed ventilators vital to keeping alive those suffering the harshest effects from coronavirus infection.

This "Arsenal of Health" response, as some have taken to calling it, harks back to the vital role the American auto industry played in helping the Allies to victory in World War II. Tooling up and spoo…

Amid coronavirus and contamination concerns in China, new-vehicle sales volume there dropped more than 80 percent in February. As the virus gains traction in the U.S., genuine concerns arise related to the potential disruption here and what this could mean for dealers.

Having faced some adversity early in my life, my personality type has always been to focus more on the potential opportunity of a given set of circumstances. Operating with a philosophy that "the calvary isn't coming" to save me has always provided me with greater clarity in confusing times.

Even before the rise of the coronavirus, one of the largest risks facing conventional auto dealers has been their ability — or should I say inability — to successfully engage and transact with customers online. The general inaccessibility to fully transact virtually by most dealers has paved the way for providers such as Carvana and Tesla to provide a refreshing alternative buying experience…

Hyundai and Kia say they have developed a predictive shift technology that uses information from navigation software, front-facing cameras and radar to change gears — or even shift into neutral — based on road and traffic conditions ahead of the vehicle, rather than just relying on speed and acceleration data. The result is better mileage and smoother driving.

The automakers are not yet revealing where the technology will appear first.

The company has 40 patent applications stemming from the new system, known as the Information and Communication Technology Connected Shift System. It uses three-dimensional navigation data to determine road elevation, gradient and curvature, along with traffic conditions. Radar information gives speed and distance between vehicles, while cameras provide forward lane information.

"When Hyundai and Kia tested a vehicle with an ICT Connected Shift System on a heavily curved road, the frequency of shift…

The Automotive News Shift mobility team is joined by Automotive News publisher Jason Stein in a discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on the future of the mobility industry, as well as automakers, car dealers and suppliers.

Apple Podcasts: “Shift: A podcast about mobility” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe.

Spotify: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" can be streamed through Spotify on your desktop, tablet or mobile device. Click here to subscribe.

Google Play: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" is available on Android devices through the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe.

Lincoln's VisioBlade window-cleaning system is designed to increase safety by preventing ice from forming underneath a vehicle's rubber windshield wiper blades.

That's a technological step forward for an ever-present cold-weather problem. Some vehicles in the past have offered systems that sprayed heated washer fluid on the windshield to quickly clear iced-over glass. Those didn't catch on.

On the Lincoln Aviator SUV with the Elements Package Plus option, VisioBlade takes a new swipe at clearing off the ice and snow with two changes.

First, the blades themselves are heated, which prevents ice from forming under the rubber strips. Lincoln says its blades can reach 86 degrees in about four minutes. Some vehicles need as much as 15 minutes to use hot air blown at the inside of the windshield from the vehicle's HVAC system to defrost the glass.

Second, the design improves the application of washer fluid.

Most…

Automakers will release their U.S. sales results next week. And the entire automotive world will be hungering for information on how the industry fared through the escalating COVID-19 outbreak.

But we won't know. That's because a big chunk of the industry has moved to quarterly sales reports. So when the numbers come out April 1, all we'll get from most of the big players is a combined figure for January, February and March.

Anyone outside the federal government and a few privileged data houses might as well read tea leaves to guess how things went in the most pivotal month this industry has seen since at least 2008.

This started two years ago, when General Motors ended a long-standing practice. Its last monthly report, oddly enough, was a winner: double-digit gains for each brand in March 2018, up 16 percent overall.

"Thirty days is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations in a very …