News

In a two-year search for a partner, Stephen Girsky and his VectoIQ Acquisition Corp. made a merger deal with Nikola Corp. — energizing Nikola's plans for battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell EVs along with a hydrogen fueling station infrastructure.

The two companies are merging under the name Nikola Corp. and will be listed on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol NKLA. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter, according to a statement released Tuesday.

Girsky, VectoIQ's CEO and a former General Motors vice chairman, was searching for the right company with the ability to grow,

"Nikola was the clear winner," Girsky said in the statement. "Nikola's vision of a zero-emission future and ability to execute were key drivers in our decision."

Nikola CEO and founder Trevor Milton told Automotive News that Nikola was the perfect company for VectoIQ as a full zero-emission truck manufacturer.

"We are on a roll," Milton said in th…

Toyota Europe will delay the unveiling of its new small crossover for Europe by “weeks or months” after the cancellation of the Geneva auto show this week because of the coronavirus.

Toyota was due to unveil the car at the Geneva show, but in contrast to other automakers such as BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler the Japanese automaker decided not to stage a digital reveal this week, a source close to the company said.

The reveal will happen “in the coming weeks or months," the source added.

The Geneva show organizers canceled the event last Friday after the Swiss government banned gatherings of 1,000 or more people in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Automakers were forced at very short notice to make alternative arrangements for revealing their cars, with many choosing livestreams on Tuesday this week.

Toyota had already reduced its Geneva activities after moving its traditional media briefing event involving senior executives fr…

TOKYO – Didier Leroy, the French chief competitive officer at Toyota, is stepping back from his role as the top non-Japanese executive at the automaker.

Under a management shuffle announced on Tuesday, Leroy will resign his post as executive vice president effective April 1 but continue to serve on Toyota’s board of directors.

Leroy will also remain chairman of Toyota’s European operations. Leroy, 62, however, will hand off his duties as chief competitive officer, a position he has held since 2016, as well as those as president of business planning and operations.

Leroy’s broad portfolio made him one of Toyota’s most influential executives, earning him a place among the so-called Seven Samurai, a group of President Akio Toyoda’s closest confidants.

An engineer by training, Leroy started his career at Renault and joined Toyota in 1998.

Shigeki Terashi, another of Toyoda’s Seven Samurai, will assume Leroy’s work as chief competitive officer in add…

Three years after introducing the 720S nameplate at the 2017 Geneva auto show, McLaren Automotive has rolled out a lighter, more powerful variant.

Under the British exotic's Longtail nomenclature, the 765LT is powered by a twin-turbo V-8 engine with 755 hp and 590 pound-feet of torque, compared with the standard 720S's 710 hp and 537 pound-feet of torque.

The 765LT was scheduled to debut at the Geneva auto show before the event was canceled last week. It joins the 720S coupe and convertible in the brand's Super Series of models.

Keeping in line with recent LT variants such as the 600LT and 600LT Spider convertible, the 765LT sheds weight off the car it is based on.

McLaren says it shaved 176 pounds off the 720S coupe to bring the 765LT's weight to 2,952 pounds. Design elements such as a titanium exhaust system, a thinner windshield and thinner side window glass all contributed to weight savings.

Additiona…

Bentley, in a move that follows the footsteps of fellow Volkswagen Group brands Bugatti and Lamborghini, has brought out a limited-run, highly bespoke model of its own in the Bacalar.

The striking open-top model is all about exclusivity and personalization inside and out. Bentley said just 12 vehicles are scheduled for production.

In terms of exterior design, the Bacalar borrows much of its style from the EXP 100 GT concept that Bentley brought out last year for its 100th anniversary year. This is especially apparent in the front and rear of the Bacalar.

But unlike the EXP 100 GT, the Bacalar does not have an electric powertrain. Instead, a 6.0-liter W-12 engine with 650 hp and 667 pound-feet of torque is found under the hood. It has an eight-speed transmission and all-wheel drive.

Inside, Bentley included sustainable materials such as wool on the seat inserts, seatbacks and the side of the head restraints. There's also a wraparound dashboard cut …

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. vehicle fleet hit a record for fuel efficiency in 2018 averaging 25.1 miles mpg in real-world driving as it rose 0.2 mpg, the EPA said.

The fleet is also preliminarily anticipated to jump to 25.5 mpg for the 2019 model year.

The EPA and NHTSA are working to finalize rules to rollback Obama-era requirements through the 2026 model year. Officials hope to finalize the new rules by April 1 but are still working to address remaining issues.

The report also showed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles purchased a significant number of vehicle emissions credits, while Tesla Inc., Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. sold credits. Daimler, Volkswagen Group and BMW also bought credits.

Among the 13 largest automakers, only VW and Hyundai Motor Co. saw average fuel economy fall in 2018, as they sold more utility vehicles and fewer cars.

Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, said automakers were …

In a development that perhaps illustrates the high cost of transforming self-driving technology into a polished product, Waymo said Monday it has raised $2.25 billion in its first external funding round.

Further investment is expected soon.

Waymo CEO John Krafcik said the money is just the initial part of its first funding round, and that more external investments will be made soon.

“We’ve had some additional inbound interest and will be evaluating other future potential external investors as well,” he said.

Waymo did not disclose the valuation of the company. Investment bank Morgan Stanley estimated its value was $105 billion in September 2019. A year earlier, the firm had said Waymo was worth $175 billion, but the cut came amid broader industry headwinds on the readiness of self-driving technology.

More than a decade into developing its self-driving system, Google-backed Waymo has largely been considered a frontrunner in developing and co…

DETROIT — Edward Robinson, a top aide to former UAW President Gary Jones, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to conspiring to embezzle more than $1 million in union funds and conspiring to defraud the U.S.

Robinson, who was charged in October, agreed to cooperate in the federal government's investigation, which also targets Jones and his predecessor, Dennis Williams. Coupled with the cooperation of former UAW Regional Director Vance Pearson secured last month, the Robinson plea indicates prosecutors could be closing in on the two former union leaders, although neither has been charged with a crime.

Robinson, 72, will be back in court on June 30 for sentencing. He faces up to five years in prison, although as part of the plea agreement prosecutors recommened his sentence be between 30-37 months. It could be further reduced if he provides significant help in their ongoing probe. 

He also has been ordered to pay up to $42,000 in restitut…

Honda Motor Co. said on Tuesday it will temporarily cut back production in Japan due to difficulty in sourcing parts amid the coronavirus outbreak.

"Honda has slightly adjusted its production plan at the (two) plants in Saitama. The overall impact is limited," a company spokesman told Reuters.

"For certain models, we are swapping originally intended trims to others and adjusting production to other models as needed," the spokesman added, without providing further details.

Japan's third-largest automaker has seen its profitability decline by more than half in the past two years, led by a series of quality-related issues.

The cutbacks, which will last for a few days beginning early March, will see a reduction in output by a few hundred vehicles at two plants in Saitama Prefecture, the Nikkei reported on Monday. 

The facilities produce the Vezel utility vehicle and the Odyssey minivan, Nikkei reported. In recent weeks, "components fo…

SHANGHAI — Here in China's biggest city, spring has arrived and the weather is getting warm. But the chill of the coronavirus epidemic is still wreaking havoc with the city's car dealerships.

While automakers around the world worry about factory production and the supply line of Chinese parts, China's retail market — the world's biggest — has fallen catastrophically. New-vehicle sales for the first two weeks of February were down 92 percent as citizens were instructed to stay home. Many continue to stay home, or at least stay out of dealerships.

A visitor stepping into the Volkswagen dealership on Wuzhong Road in southwest Shanghai last week might have thought he had mistakenly walked into a clinic.

The scene: Everybody was wearing face masks. A desk was set up at the gate where visitors are required to fill out a form with their contact details. All customers must have their temperature taken before being allowed into the store.…