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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Jeep brand will introduce plug-in hybrid versions of three models sold in China to comply with local rules requiring automakers to expand output of electrified vehicles, according to a Chinese media report. 

The automaker will market plug-in hybrid variants of the Renegade, Compass and Wrangler in the near future, Beijing-based car website Cheshi reported, citing information obtained from FCA Group’s joint venture with GAC Motor Co.

While the plug-in hybrid Renegade and Compass will be built at the joint venture, alongside gasoline-powered models, the plug-in Wrangler will be imported from the U.S., the website said. 

The move will increase the number of Jeep’s plug-in hybrid offerings to four in China following the locally produced plug-in variant of the Grand Commander, which went on sale in November. 

In addition to the gasoline and plug-in hybrid Grand Commander, Jeep assembles the gasoline models of …

China is stepping up efforts to facilitate initiatives that allow swapping electric-vehicle batteries on-the-go, seeking to further spur the adoption of EVs in the world’s biggest car market.

The government is working to establish common industry standards for the procedure, which allows drivers to pull in and quickly swap out their electric vehicle’s battery rather than having to plug it in to recharge, a procedure that can take hours, people familiar with the matter said.

The goal is to enable drivers to change batteries at any facility, no matter what EV they have, they said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.

The efforts highlight the advantages that China, where about half of the world’s EVs are sold, has over other nations in promoting new technologies, given the government has the clout to push changes affecting entire industries. Demand for EVs has been sputtering in China since it lowered subsidies for buyers last July, yet…

TOKYO -- Subaru, long a laggard in electrification, plans to go greener with a target to get at least 40 percent of its global sales from full-electric or hybrid vehicles by 2030. Then, in the first half of the 2030s, the Japanese automaker plans to electrify every vehicle in its global lineup, the automaker said in a statement. In announcing the new campaign, Subaru also unveiled the first design study for the full-electric crossover it is co-developing with Toyota for sale before 2025. The full-sized EV mockup, shown during a technology briefing at Subaru's global headquarters here on Monday, is a low-slung ride with a raked rear window, elongated cabin, digital sideview mirrors and short front and rear overhangs. The front fascia is aggressively creased, while the wheel wells get heavy black cladding that lends the tires a rugged, oversized look. Subaru will achieve the electrification targets by introducing the EV along with a range of what it calls "stron…

In this month's now-famous press conference from Beirut, fugitive former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn was exasperated over the sudden reversal of his reputation in Japan.

"They discover I'm a dictator in 2018? For 17 years I am the CEO of the company, I had 20 books," he said, referring to the attention and respect he had garnered in guiding Nissan. "I had so many cases in Harvard, Stanford … all of the professors analyzing this."

To be sure, there's something fishy in Japanese prosecutors' case against Ghosn, which now looks like it will never be tried. And there's no doubt that Ghosn saved the automaker after he was dispatched by Renault to Japan in 1999.

But if anyone is analyzing Nissan's record in the United States over the past decade, chances are it won't be for a case study on how to manage a business.

Early in 2011, after an earthquake and tsunami ravaged Japan, Ghosn went on the attack.

The natural disasters had waylaid Honda and Toyot…

TOKYO — How does a Detroit automaker sell American vehicles in Japan's notoriously fickle, hyper-competitive and supposedly closed market? Actually, if you're Jeep, you do it quite well.

Jeep posted a 16 percent sales surge in Japan last year, making it one of the fastest-growing brands in the world's No. 3 auto market. In posting its sixth year of back-to-back growth since 2013, Jeep also bucked a trend of slumping overall sales in Japan and falling demand for imports.

Granted, Jeep's volume is still pretty paltry. It sold just 13,360 vehicles here in 2019.

But its success in a market that has been a nonstarter for U.S. automakers and a perennial flashpoint of U.S.-Japanese trade tensions offers a convincing counternarrative to the oft-repeated refrain that the Japanese just won't buy American.

Indeed, the next-best Detroit contender, Chevrolet, saw sales tumble 33 percent to just 585 vehicles in 2019 — fewer than Lamborghini. And Ford Motor Co.…

For a pioneer in the fledgling automotive subscription arena, 2020 is shaping up to be a promising year.

Clutch Technologies, the Atlanta company owned by Cox Automotive that develops software for vehicle subscription service providers, now works with 18 automaker brands — compared with just four a year ago, President Vince Zappa said during a presentation in Detroit last week.

What began as a premium-brand service — Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and BMW — has expanded to the mass market. Subaru, for example, quietly launched its Clutch-affiliated subscription service, Just Drive, in three U.S. markets: Highland Park, Ill.; Aurora, Colo.; and Salt Lake City.

"From our perspective, 2019 is the year in which we see a lot of foundational bets being made," he said during the presentation. "In fact, I was very surprised by the fact that OEM activity surged so much during the year. I actually didn't expect it to grow as fast as it did. And, …

BERLIN -- Around 250 Germans on Saturday protested in the outskirts of Berlin where U.S. electric automaker Tesla Inc. is planning to build a gigafactory, saying its construction will endanger water supply and wildlife in the area.

Tesla announced plans last November to build its first European car factory in Gruenheide, in the eastern state of Brandenburg.

Politicians, unions and industry groups have welcomed the move, saying it will bring jobs to the region, but environmental concerns drove hundreds of locals to the streets on Saturday.

"We are here, we are loud, because Tesla is stealing our water," protesters called.

Saturday's protest came after a Brandenburg water association on Thursday warned against "extensive and serious problems with the drinking water supply and wastewater disposal" for the proposed factory.

Anne Bach, a 27-year-old environmental activist, said Tesla's plans published earlier this month showed it would need more…

Volkswagen is not known as a pickup brand. But LaFontaine Volkswagen of Dearborn is using pickups to attract customers who wouldn't otherwise come into the store.

The Michigan store acquires used pickups and outfits them with a lift kit, beefy rims and tires, side steps and sometimes even fender flares. The trucks are then parked out front on the dealership lawn.

It's prime advertising, considering that the store is located on Telegraph Road, a busy byway in Dearborn with a constant stream of passersby.

The dealership began selling lifted trucks three years ago when General Sales Manager Matt Szabla and Ryan Vandenbussche, corporate buyer for LaFontaine Automotive Group, decided to try something new.

"It just started with one Silverado Z71," Szabla said. "It was the ugliest color ever — it was a teal green. But it sold right away."

The quick sale signaled that the Volkswagen store was on to something. Read more

Huntington Beach Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram wanted to make waves when the U.S. Open of Surfing came to town last summer.

The Southern California dealership's ad team, TurnKey Marketing, decided to get in on the action via Snapchat, the growing messaging app that has a foothold among the industry's youngest customers.

TurnKey used Snapchat's filter tool, which allows advertisers to create overlays that people can put on photos that they then share with friends and followers, to engage with attendees of the surfing spectacle on behalf of the dealership.

The Huntington Beach dealership's filter caught on. It was used around 7,400 times and drew 200,000 views, TurnKey co-founder Drake Baerresen said. The cost to the dealership was just $700.

Baerresen said TurnKey also uses quick-hit advertisements on the Snapchat app to target certain shopper segments and gauge their responses. Baerresen said his agency can track phone cal…

VAIL, Colo. — GMC used to just be General Motors' truck brand. But the automaker has groomed it into a purveyor of high-profit, loyalty-driving subbrands, with the hugely successful Denali line and an expanded collection of AT4 off-roaders poised to soon make up about half of GMC's sales.

The brand also might resurrect the Hummer name for what could be a family of electric pickups and SUVs starting next year.

"It's almost the next generation of what accessories was to cars, now these subbrands," said Steve Hill, GM's vice president of U.S. sales, service and marketing. "If you go up to someone who drives a Yukon, they don't say, 'I drive a Yukon.' They say, 'I drive a Denali.' That's how important it is. It's part of who they are."

The massively profitable Denali line made up 30 percent of GMC sales last year, and GMC is rolling out AT4 across its full lineup this year. The brand unveiled AT4 versions of the Yukon SUV and Canyon …