News

The world’s most important interest rate may disappear in as early as two years’ time, at the end of 2021. The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), is one of the most recognizable and dominant rates in the world, underpinning tens of millions of financial contracts worth more than $400 trillion dollars worldwide.1 But LIBOR, as it exists today, is no longer reflective of actual transactions in the market. Regulators have identified significant structural risks with LIBOR and have called on the market to transition away from LIBOR to alternative reference rates. This article explains what LIBOR is; the reason LIBOR is coming to an end; the alternative reference rate that likely will replace LIBOR; and the steps the market, and Wells Fargo, are taking to prepare for this transition. 

LIBOR emerged as a benchmark interest rate in the 1980s, representing the cost of borrowing between banks. Its adoption spread quickly as market participants saw the value in …

Asbury Automotive Group Inc.'s outgoing operations head will walk away with more than $822,000 in compensation for 2020, according to a regulatory filing.

John Hartman, who led operations at Asbury for two years, left the public dealership group last week on the heels of the company striking its largest-ever store acquisition deal. Hartman's departure came three weeks after Asbury announced it would buy 10 dealerships in Texas from Park Place Dealerships.

Asbury said in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Hartman, as part of a Jan. 3 separation agreement, will receive his 2019 base salary of $600,000 as severance payable over a year and an undisclosed "lump sum bonus" for the year.

Hartman also will receive a $222,182.63 bonus, paid over a year, "as consideration for his continued cooperation and assistance to the company," the filing said, and he is entitled to health and dental insurance for the next 12 months.

More …

Technology giant LG Electronics and software engineering company Luxoft have formed a joint venture to further the deployment of production-ready advanced vehicle technologies.

Using LG's webOS Auto platform, the joint venture aims to advance digital cockpit, infotainment, rear-seat entertainment and ride-hailing systems, the two companies announced Friday at CES.

The auto offering of webOS — LG's digital consumer platform for intelligent services and content streaming — will be expanded with the joint venture to enable large-scale connected-vehicle and mobility solutions. The open platform integrates multimedia processing, connectivity and security that will expand Luxoft capabilities in the automotive industry.

Luxoft will lead the deployment of webOS Auto in a variety of systems using its global delivery network.

Luxoft is a company of DXC Technology that provides digital strategy consulting and software engineerin…

LONDON -- Jaguar Land Rover posted a 5.9 percent fall in 2019 vehicle sales after a challenging year in which its performance was hit by the weakening Chinese market and falling European demand for diesels.

Retail sales were 557,706 in 2019, the company said in a statement on Friday.

Land Rover sales fell 3.8 percent to 396,105 for the year, while Jaguar sales dropped 11 percent to 161,601.

JLR's sales last year were hit by a 14 percent slump in China, but in the last six months the company reported double-digit growth in the country.

"2019 was a year of two halves," said Chief Commercial Officer Felix Brautigam. "Over the last six months we saw a marked improvement in China, where intensive work with our retailers, combined with significant process and product improvements are starting to gain traction," he said.

JLR's global sales increased 1.3 percent to 52,814 in December. Land Rover's volume rose 9.6 percent to 39,442, but Jaguar sales…

FRANKFURT -- Soaring demand for SUVs and crossovers drove record sales for premium carmakers including BMW and Mercedes last year, leaving the industry on collision course with government efforts to tackle global warming despite big investments in electric vehicles.

BMW said on Friday deliveries by its main luxury brand rose 2 percent to a record 2,168,516 vehicles last year, thanks to a 21 percent jump in sales of its "X" branded crossovers that now make up 44 percent of the BMW brand's global sales.

At Mercedes-Benz, the world's best selling premium car brand, every third luxury car sold last year was an SUV or crossover.

Automakers across the world are investing billions in electric vehicles to try to meet tougher emissions regulations. But the jury is out on how many drivers will buy them.

"Consumer preferences for SUVs could offset the benefits from electric cars," the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned in its November Wo…

Mercedes-Benz successfully defended its crown as the world’s bestselling luxury-car brand, beating out arch-rivals BMW and Volkswagen Group’s Audi for the fourth year in a row.

The win emerged on Friday when BMW reported sales of its namesake branded vehicles rose 2 percent to a record 2.17 million cars last year. Daimler's Mercedes-Benz said Thursday its own sales increased 1.3 percent to 2.34 million vehicles. Audi lagged behind both.

Demand for upscale vehicles has proved to be more resilient than the mass-market segment, which has seen sales crimped in some regions by slower economic growth and fallout from trade disputes. While deliveries of expensive models in China -- the world’s largest auto market -- have held up, the outlook could darken for the German luxury manufacturers due to their exposure to potentially higher auto tariffs between the U.S., China and Europe.

Looking ahead, BMW said it’s targeting a slight increase in group sales this…

TOKYO -- Japan is seeking an Interpol "Red Notice" for Carole Ghosn, the wife of Carlos Ghosn, the latest move by the country to put pressure on the former auto executive after his surprise escape from trial.

Investigators have asked Interpol for the notice, which could restrict Carole Ghosn’s movements outside of Lebanon, where she joined her husband, national broadcaster NHK reported, citing unidentified sources.

Representatives for Japan’s Ministry of Justice and prosecutors declined to comment on the report. Interpol didn’t respond to a request seeking comment.

Interpol has already issued a Red Notice for Carlos Ghosn at the request of the Japanese government. If one is granted for Carole, it would make it difficult for her to leave the Lebanon, although, as Interpol stresses, "a Red Notice is an international wanted persons notice, but it is not an arrest warrant."

Ghosn, the former chairman of Renault and Nissan, made his way to Beirut at th…

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Belvidere assembly plant near Chicago will be temporarily idled for two weeks starting Monday as the company aligns production with demand.

Normal output at the factory, which assembles the Jeep Cherokee, will resume the week of Jan. 27, the company said Thursday.

U.S. sales of the Cherokee, Jeep's No. 3 seller after the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler, fell 20 percent last year to 191,397. Demand slid 30 percent in the fourth quarter.

FCA had 53,000 units of the Cherokee in inventory on Jan. 1, the Automotive News Data Center estimates, or a 97-day supply, up from a 91-day supply on Dec. 1.

FCA invested $350 million in the plant, starting in 2016, to produce the Cherokee, which was moved from Toledo, Ohio. Cherokee production began in Belvidere in June 2017.

The plant also briefly shut down in August to match production with demand, according to the Rockford Register Star. About 1,400 people were laid off at the fact…

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky began production of the 2020 RAV4 Hybrid crossover this week.

The RAV4 Hybrid had its best sales year to date in 2019 at 92,525, up 92.3 percent from 2018.

The plant in Georgetown, Ky., Toyota's largest in the world, is known for producing the Toyota Camry and now builds four electrified vehicles, including the Avalon Hybrid, Camry Hybrid and Lexus ES 300h, Toyota said in a release.

"We are excited to see the past nine months of preparation come to life with the completion of our first Kentucky-built 2020 RAV4 Hybrid," TMMK President Susan Elkington said in a statement.

Toyota's global goal by 2025 is to offer an electrified option -- hybrid, plug-in, fuel cell or battery-electric -- on all Toyota and Lexus models.

TMMK has more than 8,000 full-time employees and more than 9 million square feet of floor space.

On this episode:-U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao discusses the new “AV 4.0” guidance.-Flir’s Frank Pennisi on the company’s thermal cameras for driver-assistance and autonomous-driving systems.-Highlights from the Showstoppers and Digital Experience! events at CES.

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.

Chinese automotive glass supplier Fuyao is spending $46 million to expand production and r&d at a plant in Ohio, adding 100 jobs.

The investment includes outlays for r&d as well as purchasing equipment to help produce more aftermarket automotive glass for companies such as Safelite, based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also will acquire an additional 161,000 square feet at the Moraine, Ohio, site, a former General Motors factory near Dayton.

The Fuyao factory was the subject of a 2019 Netflix documentary, American Factory. The film tracks how, in 2014, the plant that GM had closed in 2008 was reopened as a glass factory by Fuyao to supply automakers.

It became the largest investment in Ohio by a Chinese company.

The latest investment will boost employment at the plant to 2,400, the Dayton Business Journal reported.

Volvo Car Corp.’s China sales jumped nearly 19 percent in 2019 as demand for luxury vehicles remained robust despite a protracted market downturn. 

Volvo delivered 154,961 cars and light trucks in China last year, accounting for roughly 22 percent of the brand’s global volume. 

The latest tally was lower than two other global luxury brands -- Cadillac and Lexus. 

Cadillac’s China sales rose 3.9 percent to 213,717 in 2019 while Lexus’ local deliveries surged 25 percent to 200,521, according to GM and Lexus’s China office.

Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW remained the largest luxury automotive brands in China last year. 

Audi’s China sales rose 4.2 percent to 688,888, according to Volkswagen Group’s joint venture with China FAW Group Corp. 

Mercedes-Benz and BMW haven’t disclosed China volumes for 2019.

In the first 11 months of 2019, Mercedes sales increased 6.3 percent to 640,933, while aggregate sales of B…