Trade News

Volvo Cars isn't waffling in its embrace of a zero- emissions future. By 2030, the Swedish automaker plans to ditch combustion engines globally and go all-electric. Volvo also is debuting a new retail strategy for its battery-electric vehicles — selling them online only for a fixed, no-haggle price that will include service, roadside assistance and insurance costs.

"We are convinced the premium car market will be electric," Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson told Automotive News in June.

By going all-EV, "we believe that is going to secure a better business, a better profitability for us, because being a sustainable brand is making us more premium," Samuelsson said.

Volvo launched its EV offensive last year with the debut of a battery-powered version of its XC40 compact crossover. As of this July, the brand's electrified Recharge models represented 20 percent of its U.S. sales.

EV sales are likely to go still higher with…

The Swedish electrified performance startup Polestar began U.S. deliveries of its first mainstream model, the China-made Polestar 2, late last year.

This year, the Volvo-affiliated manufacturer will introduce a single-motor version of the Polestar 2 fastback, lowering the price of entry into the brand by $14,000.

Polestar also is bringing manufacturing stateside to avoid import tariffs and to be closer to U.S. customers. Production of the Porsche Cayenne-sized Polestar 3 will begin in South Carolina — and China — late next year.

Polestar intends to be a global brand, CEO Thomas Ingenlath told Automotive News in June. "So the plan has been to expand our footprint in terms of where we produce our cars," Ingenlath said.

The automaker also plans to introduce a large performance sedan and potentially a compact crossover. To sell the expanding portfolio of models, Polestar expects to have 35 retail stores across the continen…

As auto suppliers convalesce from 18 months of COVID-19 shutdowns and microchip shortages, more private equity firms are looking to snatch them up. And private equity firms are increasingly willing to pay higher prices if it means getting a crack at participating in the industry's historic shift to electric vehicles and autonomous driving.

"This is a big year for financial investors in the automotive space," said Dietmar Ostermann, U.S. automotive advisory leader for the international financial advisory firm PwC. "More PE firms are entering the automotive space because they see this interesting technology revolution taking place in electric vehicles and connected cars. And there is a feeling among some of them that they're smarter than the auto industry because automotive isn't used to dealing with big change.

"They want in."

PwC estimates that 2021 will see 174 supplier M&A deals by year-end, up from 101 last year and 159 in pre-pandemic 2019. In …

Electric cars are better for the environment and cheaper to run. They're gaining traction in many countries as governments strive for carbon neutrality. But one thing they don't have on regular vehicles — that throaty roar that lights up the eyes of gearheads around the world.

Yamaha Motor Co. is working on a solution. The company, better known for its motorcycles and sharing historic ties with music instrument maker Yamaha Corp., is crafting a range of soundscapes to replicate the noise an internal combustion engine vehicle makes upon acceleration.

Engineers at the division, called alive, believe sound is crucial for a driver to get a sense of control and speed. Many people prefer the classic vroom-vroom, but the sky's the limit, according to Hideo Fujita, who is part of the team developing the soundscapes at Yamaha. "Even one that sounds like Star Wars" is possible, he said.

Yamaha also is getting some help from its musical stablemate. It sourced sou…

DETROIT — The electric Chevrolet Silverado, taking a cue from the crab-walking GMC Hummer EV, will offer a four-wheel steering feature to tighten turns and enhance maneuverability.

Four-wheel steering enables the pickup to increase agility and tighten turning radius at low speeds, Chevy said in a statement last week. The feature could help the brand compete against a deluge of upcoming electric pickups, including the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian's R1T and the Tesla Cybertruck. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said on Twitter that the Cybertruck will have four-wheel steering, and a patent application filed by Rivian suggests it also might offer the feature.

The electric Silverado will be powered by General Motors' proprietary Ultium batteries, with a GM-estimated range of more than 400 miles on a full charge.

It will be built at Factory Zero, GM's EV plant in Detroit. GM has declined to provide production timing, but forecasters expect output…

LOS ANGELES — In a few short months, a new chapter will start for the Hyundai Ioniq nameplate as the automaker sets out to capture 10 percent of the global electric vehicle market by 2025 and fully electrify its lineup by 2040.

The Ioniq name will go from representing an eco-friendly hatchback in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric variants to a subbrand that will offer three new EVs in the U.S. by 2024, starting with the Ioniq 5 compact crossover in the fall. A stylish midsize sedan and a three-row crossover will follow.

But a chapter is also ending, and it says something about the near-term direction of the EV industry in the U.S. that is unfortunate.

Many of the coming EVs are overweight resource hogs, often with massive batteries and inefficient SUV designs as part of a raging battle over range, power and consumer taste.

They are also pretty pricey.

In contrast, Hyundai's affordable Ioniq electric variant, which was the most efficient …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate's passage of a bipartisan infrastructure bill last week that includes billions in funding for electric vehicle charging stations represents a key stepping stone for the industry as automakers strive to reach greater EV sales targets by the end of the decade.

President Joe Biden's industry-supported target of having half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. be emissions-free in 2030 — bolstered by proposed rules for more stringent fuel-efficiency and emissions standards — could be a catalyst for the industry's EV transformation.

John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said it will require a comprehensive national strategy that includes supportive policies, public and private investment, and broad-based incentives.

"The necessary complementary policy measures are important," said Bozzella, whose group represents most major automakers in the U.S. "When you think about the enormity of th…

Old habits die hard in the auto industry. Yet, the pandemic has revealed that change born of necessity can be a blessing in disguise. Dealers who formerly did not embrace digital retailing tools, for example, accelerated adoption last year, and in a survey from digital financial solutions provider eLend, 87 percent reported that digital retail-initiated transactions resulted in unchanged or higher gross income per vehicle retailed.

I would argue another change will have great value for, and be embraced by, new-vehicle retailers: the service department business development center.

I have spoken with a few dealers who told me their automaker partners are encouraging dealers to look to service to help make up any profits lost by a lack of new inventory, including implementing a BDC.

Record-high transaction prices and a scarcity of new models stemming from the global microchip shortage are leading more customers to hold onto older vehicles or shop the used-…

FRANKFURT -- French supplier Faurecia on Saturday agreed to acquire a majority stake in German automotive lighting group Hella and will make a

automotive lighting group Hella, trumping rival bidders and creating the world's seventh-largest player.

Faurecia reached the deal with a pool of family-related shareholders over their 60 percent stake for 60 euros ($70.75) per share and will offer the same price for the outstanding stock, Hella said in a statement on Saturday.

Faurecia said in statement the transaction represented an estimated total enterprise value of 6.7 billion euros ($7.90 billion) for 100 percent of Hella.

People familiar with the matter previously told Reuters that Plastic Omnium and Mahle had submitted bids at around 60 euros per share, valuing the target at roughl…