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Automakers might seem unlikely candidates to build ventilators for coronavirus victims. But in fact they may be quite well-suited to churn out the highly intricate medical devices that are in critically short supply.

Consider: They have vast supply chains, are staffed with skilled engineers used to building to exacting standards and sometimes use “clean rooms” in their factories. There’s even a similarity between some components of ventilators and cars, such as hoses.

While the companies face a huge challenge to show they can meet the overwhelming demand, they likely represent the best hope for President Donald Trump and other world leaders. And now the carmakers have no choice, anyway. Days after Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. said they would help produce the life-saving equipment, Trump stepped up a pressure campaign and on Friday invoked federal authority to accelerate output.

The unprecedented turn to carmakers underscores the powerful role th…

KAR Global will temporarily furlough a "significant portion" of its work force and company executives will cut their salaries as the wholesale vehicle-auction company works to counter the financial impact of the COVID-19 virus outbreak, it said Friday.

KAR also will prohibit all business travel through April 17, terminated nonessential third-party services and delayed or canceled all capital projects at physical auction locations, CEO Jim Hallett said Friday on a conference call. Those actions should lower the company's cash outflows by $10 million per week, he said.

"It goes without saying that we're facing an unprecedented situation throughout the world," Hallett said.

Hallett said he, President Peter Kelly and Eric Loughmiller, executive vice president and CFO, will work without pay through at least the second quarter. In addition, the rest of KAR Global's executive leadership team will receive half of their current salaries through the second quarter…

President Donald Trump signed into law the largest stimulus package in U.S. history Friday as part of the response to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“This will deliver urgently needed relief,” Trump told reporters at the White House, as he was joined by GOP leaders but no Democrats. “We’re going to keep our small businesses strong and our big businesses strong.”

The House passed the $2 trillion package by voice vote earlier Friday, after the Senate’s 96-0 vote Wednesday to approve the measure.

“Our nation faces an economic and health emergency of historic proportions,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote. “We do know that we must do more.”

The auto industry has not sought specific aid in the package, but rather would benefit from the overall economic support promised by the legislation. Dealers stand to get aid through small business loans and other incentives.

The National Independent Automobile De…

Hyundai Motor Co. has created a new cross-affiliate committee to examine its costs in North America and has picked Genesis Motors America COO Erwin Raphael to lead it.

Raphael's new role will be chief cost optimization officer for Hyundai Motor North America. He will report to the unit's CEO, Jose Muñoz.

The Cost Optimization Committee will have members from:

Hyundai Motor North America Hyundai Motor America Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama Genesis Motor America Hyundai Auto Canada Hyundai Motor Mexico Hyundai America Technical Center Inc. Hyundai Mobis Hyundai Glovis

Among the group's duties will be benchmarking and implementing best practices for localization, supplier assessments, cost optimization and analysis, and other initiatives to improve efficiency across Hyundai's businesses, the company said in a statement Friday.

"I can't think of anyone better suited to serve in this position and create a new level of integration across all of H…

Canada’s three biggest auto suppliers have agreed to assist in the production of much-needed ventilators during the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19.

Magna International Inc., Linamar Corp., Martinrea International, the government of Ontario and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association met earlier in the week and agreed that the trio of suppliers will focus their efforts on helping manufacture ventilators.

Flavio Volpe, the head of the APMA, two weeks ago called on Canada’s suppliers to assist in the production of needed personal protective gear and medical equipment as health officials warned about a shortage of both. He likened the need for the auto industry to retool to that of the industry’s efforts during the Second World War.

Volpe has been a liaison between industry and government during the pandemic.

The suppliers will work with three manufacturers in the health-care field.

They will work with Toronto-based Thornhi…

TOKYO -- Kia has tapped Ho-sung Song, the current head of its global operations division, as its new president to lead the South Korean automaker's new mid-term plan. Song, 57, takes the reins April 1 from Han-woo Park, who will stay on in an advisory role, Kia said in a statement on Friday.

Park, 62, currently holds the title of president and CEO. A Kia spokeswoman said the board of directors would decide later about a possible CEO appointment. Song's extensive overseas experience gives him a good foundation for spearheading the next phase of Kia's business plan, Kia said. Before leading the company's global operations division as executive vice president, Song was president of Kia Motors Europe, head of the company's export planning group and president of Kia Motors France.

Kia said Song's first task will be leading its Plan S unveiled in January. Plan S targets a shift from internal combustion technology toward electric and autonomous v…

Tesla Inc. plans to cut on-site staff at its Nevada battery plant by about 75 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic, the local county manager said on Thursday.

The move comes after its battery partner Panasonic said it would scale down operations at the Nevada factory this week before closing it for 14 days.

The factory produces electric motors and battery packs for Tesla's Model 3 sedans.

"Tesla has informed us that the Gigafactory in Storey County is reducing on-site staff by roughly 75 percent in the coming days," Austin Osborne said in a post on the county's website.

No further details were available, and it was not clear how many employees work in the factory. Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Reno Gazette Journal, which earlier reported the planned suspension, said Panasonic has about 3,500 employees at the Nevada plant.

Tesla said last week it would temporarily suspend production at its …

TOKYO -- Toyota is seeking a 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) line of credit from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and MUFG Bank Ltd., people familiar with the matter said, as the automaker ensures it has ample funding if necessary with the coronavirus pandemic intensifying across the world.

Although Japan’s biggest automaker has the strongest credit profile among the country’s car manufacturers, its cost of credit is going up.

On Thursday, Moody’s Investors Service cut Toyota’s credit rating to A1 from Aa3, and put it under review for a further downgrade. The rating firm also downgraded the ratings of other global auto giants.

Representatives for the banks weren’t immediately available for comment. Kyodo News reported on the credit line earlier on Friday.

“We continually evaluate our funding needs,” said Kensuke Ko, a spokesman for Toyota. “At this moment nothing has been decided regarding the report.”

Toyota is planning to halt output at seven pr…

Canadian auto supply giant Magna International has withdrawn its 2020 forecast amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, but it’s reassuring investors that it has $1 billion in cash and $3 billion in readily available credit.

“A number of our OEM customers, particularly in North America and Europe, have initiated production downtime or have reduced production rates,” the company said in a statement Thursday evening. “It is uncertain whether OEMs will extend production downtime or further lower production rates as circumstances evolve.”

Ford Motor Co., FCA, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., on Thursday updated plans to resume North American light-vehicle output. Their restart times vary anywhere from some plants resuming operation April 6 to others not coming online until April 20.

“Many of our facilities have reduced or suspended operations for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including as a result of government-ordered restrictions,”…

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has lost another worker to COVID-19, the UAW said Thursday.

The death of a man employed at FCA Transport in Sterling Heights, Mich., marks the fourth of an FCA union worker linked to the new coronavirus.

"As this crisis continues, each day we get news of another brother or sister who has fallen to this terrible virus," UAW President Rory Gamble said in a statement.

One of the employees worked at FCA's Ram pickup factory in Sterling Heights, Mich. Another was employed at a plant in Kokomo, Ind. In addition, a worker at FCA's Warren Truck Assembly Plant near Detroit died Wednesday. The UAW has attributed all of the deaths to the virus in several public statements by Gamble.

The automaker on Sunday said it was postponing work associated with test laboratories and pilot plants at its Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters after a non-union technical support worker there died following a positive test, two Detroit newspapers report…

UAW leadership is open to meeting with federal investigators after the U.S. attorney overseeing an ongoing corruption probe spent months downplaying the union's recent reform efforts and calling for more cooperation.

UAW President Rory Gamble "would welcome the opportunity to personally meet with U.S. Attorney [Matthew] Schneider and his team to discuss the investigation and the reform efforts and new ethics programs the UAW has undertaken," union spokesman Brian Rothenberg said in a statement on Thursday. Rothenberg said Gamble planned to announce "major progress" on ethics reforms by the end of the month.

The Detroit News reported the two sides' willingness to meet earlier Thursday. 

“I am looking forward to the possibility of meeting personally with UAW President Gamble,” Schneider said in a statement. “I believe we have a mutual interest in making sure the union is free of corruption. I also hope we have a mutual interest in making sure that, m…