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BERLIN -- Four people who work at supplier Webasto in southern Germany have been infected with the coronavirus, and one of them contracted it from a colleague visiting their workplace in China, officials said.

In one of the first cases of person-to-person transmission outside China, a 33-year-old man apparently contracted the virus on Jan. 21 during a training session with a Chinese colleague, Bavaria's health ministry said.

"A total of around 40 employees at the company have been identified as potential close contacts. As a precaution, the people concerned are to be tested on Wednesday," Bavaria's Health Minister Melanie Huml said in a statement.

Webasto said in a statement that it is closing its headquarters in Stockdorf, Bavaria, until Sunday due to the virus outbreak. Employees have been offered the choice of working from home and the company has suspended employee travel from its headquarters to national and international locations until Sunday. For…

Jeep is returning to the Super Bowl this year after sitting out the 2019 game.

The brand will showcase one 60-second spot, but Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is being mum on when the ad will air. The automaker said "viewers will have to watch closely," and added that the timing of the spot will not be announced beforehand.

After running five ads in 2018, FCA skipped the 2019 game in favor of an all-digital strategy that saw it unveil seven online spots in the week leading up to the game for Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

FCA marketing chief Olivier Francois said in September that the digital strategy worked. Nevertheless, the automaker will be back for 2020.

"We tried to explore the possibility of not doing TV at all on Super Bowl, but doing this super, crazy, powerful national anthem made by [rock band One Republic]," Francois told Automotive News in September. "We wanted to see if there was a way to have a Super Bowl audience without paying for TV."

A S…

MIAMI — After rolling out three sedans and struggling to establish a U.S. dealer network, Genesis finally debuted its first crossover in the U.S., with high hopes for the midsize GV80 to conquest traditional luxury brands.

For the U.S. market, the GV80 has a choice of two engines, Genesis said Tuesday at its North American debut here. A 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine is the more economical option, while the 3.5-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine will offer better performance. In the future, Genesis is expected to offer a hybrid powertrain in the crossover.

Prices were not announced.

Genesis offers a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine in the compact G70 sedan and a turbocharged 3.3-liter six- cylinder engine in the G70, the midsize G80 and the flagship G90. Parent company Hyundai Motor Co. recently gave an early look at a 2.5-liter turbo motor that it's putting in a performance N-Line version of the Sonata sedan later this year.

O…

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will pause production at a Jeep sport utility vehicle factory for the third time in six months, adding to signs automakers are expecting sales to slow this year.

The Jeep Cherokee assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., will shut down the week of Feb. 17, according to Jodi Tinson, a Fiat Chrysler spokeswoman. The company idled the facility for two weeks this month and one week in August after cutting a production shift at the plant in May.

Five of the six largest North American automakers are expected to dial back production in the first quarter, researcher LMC automotive said earlier this month. Most analysts are projecting industry sales to dip below 17 million units for the first time in six years as consumers struggle to afford new vehicles. The average price paid for a new car or truck is approaching $35,000.

The fate of the Belvidere plant was the subject of speculation during Fiat Chrysler’s labor negotiations last y…

Nissan will reduce its U.S. workforce and further cut expenses as the automaker grapples with a sales and financial crisis in its biggest market.

Nissan North America said late Tuesday it will offer voluntary buyouts to Nissan and Infiniti hourly and salaried employees 52 years or older in the U.S. Nissan also will shrink its regional sales operation to reflect declining sales and market share.

Nissan North America has more than 20,000 hourly and salaried employees.

Nissan spokesman Chris Keeffe declined to say how many employees the company expects will accept the voluntary separation program. He also declined to say whether layoffs will take place if there are not enough volunteers for the buyout program.

Nissan North America's U.S. sales tumbled 9.9 percent to 1.35 million vehicles last year, in an overall market that fell 1.2 percent. The automaker's U.S. market share, meanwhile, dropped to 7.9 percent last year, from 8.6 percent the prior ye…

WASHINGTON -- Electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors is pursuing a $200 million loan from a U.S. Energy Department program to retool a former General Motors factory in northeast Ohio, CEO Steve Burns told Reuters.

Burns met with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Monday for about an hour and the company was holding additional talks with officials on Tuesday from the Energy Department's Loan Program Office.

"We think we are worthy of government help. We don't want a handout -- we want a loan," Burns told Reuters in an interview. "It's just going to be more jobs faster if we get it. We are viable without it."

Burns disclosed the company plans to unveil a drivable version of its electric truck at the Detroit auto show in June. It hopes to begin production by year-end.

The Energy Department declined comment.

Burns said the company hopes to receive funding from the Energy Department's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program t…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. has agreed to an updated settlement affecting nearly 2 million customers in a years-old class-action lawsuit over faulty Focus and Fiesta transmissions.

The automaker has agreed to a minimum $30 million in cash reimbursement and has simplified the compensation and vehicle-buyback process, according to a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Ford has spent more than $47 million buying back vehicles from thousands of customers.

The amount each customer would receive depends on how many claims are submitted. The new deal includes $20 payments to customers who say a dealership refused to repair their car's transmission when they reported issues with it.

The automaker in 2017 initially proposed a settlement that, in part, would have awarded $35 million in cash reimbursement, but it was challenged on the grounds that not enough owners would be compensated.

The proposed settlement is up for …

Volvo wants a quarter of its vehicle sales in Europe this year to be plug-in hybrids to help the automaker avoid fines if it misses the European Union's latest CO2 emissions reduction goals.

The increase would represent a huge jump from 2019 when Volvo said it sold 46,000 plug-ins in Europe, representing around 10 percent of its volume.

The stakes are high for Volvo's electric strategy because conventional SUVs made up more than half of sales last year and are largely behind the automaker's success since the takeover by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group a decade ago. 

PA Consulting Group puts Volvo's potential fines from the EU for this year at a quarter of its annual operating profit.

CEO Hakan Samuelsson said Volvo will achieve its EU target this year through increased sales of plug-in hybrids.

"We don’t plan to pay any fees or penalties. We want to use our money for product development, not paying Brussels,” Samuelsson said at a…

It would be difficult to quantify just how many federal government or affiliated agencies regulate Elon Musk's massive business empire — most notably Tesla Inc.

As a publicly traded auto manufacturer, Tesla must answer to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Labor Relations Board, the IRS, the EPA and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk's SpaceX is intertwined with NASA, too. I'm sure there's plenty more.

So last week, during one of his running rants with journalists, President Donald Trump started talking about the "genius" Elon Musk. He credited Tesla's remarkable stock surge, putting its value north of $100 billion — more than Ford Motor Co. and General Motors combined. Incredible, right? Especially after some of the tumultuous controversies that have enveloped Musk and Tesla in recent years.

"I was worried about him, becau…

MILAN -- Maserati will use the Beijing auto show as a launchpad for an electrification push with the unveiling of its first hybrid model.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' exotic sporty brand will introduce a hybrid version of the Ghibli sedan at the show on April 21, a source familiar with Maserati's plans said.

The Ghibli is expected to get a plug-in hybrid drivetrain, although Maserati has not disclosed details of the car's hybrid system.

The Ghibli hybrid could boost Maserati sales in the key China market because the Chinese government is promoting electrification. It also will help the brand in Europe where tougher CO2 rules are forcing automakers to add fuel-efficient, low-emissions plug-in hybrids.

Chinese buyers of a Ghibli plug-in hybrid would be eligible for 10,000-yuan subsidies ($1,440) from the Chinese government. The incentives are offered for plug-ins but no other types of hybrids.

Maserati's vehicle sales in China fell 27 percent t…