Trade News

WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY -- The U.S. and Mexico on Thursday agreed that a new union vote will be held at the General Motors Silao plant by Aug. 20, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office and Mexico’s economy ministry said.

Both countries released a joint statement that said Mexico has agreed to a number of safeguards before the vote, including having Mexican federal inspectors and impartial international observers from the International Labor Organization at the facility ahead of the vote. Mexico said in May that it would review labor practices at the GM plant in central Mexico after a formal complaint from USTR.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement the agreement with Mexico will allow workers to vote on whether to approve their collective bargaining agreement in "free and democratic conditions." She praised Mexico "for taking swift action when they recognized that workers’ rights were denied."

Last month, Mexico sent a letter that f…

Polestar, the electric-car maker controlled by Volvo Car AB and its owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., is in talks to go public through a merger with Gores Guggenheim Inc., a blank check-firm, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

A transaction may value the combined company at around $25 billion, the people said. No deal has been reached and it’s possible terms could change or that talks fall apart.

Jennifer Kwon Chou, a Gores Guggenheim representative, and a Polestar spokesperson declined to comment. A spokesman for Volvo in the U.S. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A Geely spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment outside of Asian business hours.

Gothenburg, Sweden-based Polestar, led by CEO Thomas Ingenlath, is a rival to Tesla Inc. and EV maker Lucid Motors. It had been exploring options for going public as early as this year, Bloomberg News reported in March.

The company’s second vehicle and…

WASHINGTON -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its political action committee will halt donations to U.S. members of Congress who voted against President Joe Biden's election certification in January.

The largest Japanese automaker has faced harsh criticism for donations to some lawmakers -- members of then-President Donald Trump's Republican Party -- who voted against certification of Biden's win in some U.S. states.

"We are actively listening to our stakeholders and, at this time, have decided to stop contributing to those members of Congress who contested the certification of certain states in the 2020 election," the company said.

More than 535 people have been arrested and charged with joining an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Congress from certifying Biden's election victory over Trump.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said last month that Toyota made $56,000 in total donations to…

ZISLOW, Germany -- Volkswagen's supervisory board will discuss on Friday whether to extend the contract of CEO Herbert Diess, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The meeting, at which the sources said the board could decide in favor of a two-year extension for Diess until 2025, is taking place only days ahead of Volkswagen's strategy day scheduled for July 13.

A fresh contract would come shortly after Diess' long-term opponent Bernd Osterloh stepped down as works council head and took a management position at Volkswagen's truck unit Traton.

Diess, whose current contract runs until April 2023, had asked for an early extension toward the end of last year to get more backing for his efforts to reform Europe's top carmaker, but ran into opposition from powerful labor leaders, including Osterloh.

No firm decision has been taken and there is no guarantee that the supervisory board will reach an agreement at its meeting on Friday, the peopl…

Group 1 Automotive Inc. is expected to report higher profits on solid new-vehicle sales in the second quarter, despite a shortage of new cars and trucks to sell.

The company provided preliminary data on the second quarter because the microchip-related supply disruption has "made it very difficult for the financial markets to grasp the impact on our business," CEO Earl Hesterberg said in a release Thursday.

Group 1 expects earnings per share for the quarter to range between $10.20 and $10.70. Group 1 reported $1.63 in diluted earnings per share in the pandemic-stricken second quarter of 2020 and $2.64 in the second quarter of 2019.

The company said its profits are being driven by strong vehicle margins in the U.S., a rebound in U.S. service business and recovery in the U.K., as well as cost controls.

Second-quarter parts and service gross profit is expected to be up 10 percent against the second quarter of 2019 – a more comparable period because th…

Mazda's North American unit is recalling 260,915 Mazda3 vehicles from the 2004-2007 model years because airbag deployment could cause the plastic emblem on the steering wheel module cover to shatter and send fragments flying.

According to documents filed with NHTSA, the fragments could strike occupants during airbag deployment, which increases the risk of injury.

Mazda estimates it will notify owners by mail Aug. 28. The automaker will have owners take vehicles to a Mazda dealership so the airbag module cover can be replaced with an improved part. Airbags and inflators won't be replaced.

Mazda says owners won't be charged for the service. The automaker also says customers "would not have been able to incur warrantable costs" related to fixing the defect, so it won't offer a reimbursement plan.

According to a safety recall report filed with NHTSA, replacement airbag module covers have logos that don't contain polyurethane, which is subject to deter…

Volvo Car Corp. has reached an agreement with its Chinese parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to establish a joint venture to take over its powertrain operations.

The deal will allow it to concentrate on developing a new range of EVs, Volvo said in statement Thursday.

In the coming month, it will merge all its powertrain operations -- including engine plants in Sweden and China -- into the new company, the Swedish automaker said.

The JV company, named Aurobay, will initially develop powertrains within the Volvo and Geely groups, but expects also to supply customers outside the group in the future.

"The new stand-alone business also has the ambition to supply customers outside of the Geely Holding Group, and aims to be a leading player in the supply of high-quality, low emission, cost-efficient powertrain solutions," the Volvo statement said.

Volvo is targeting half of its global sales volume to come from EVs in 2025, with the other half fro…

Carla Bailo, CEO of the Center for Automotive Research, discusses NHTSA's new order requiring companies to report crashes involving certain automated-driving technology.

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Three court-appointed experts determined that billionaire Robert Brockman is competent to stand trial in the largest tax-evasion case in U.S. history, despite his claims of dementia, prosecutors said in a court filing.

If the findings are confirmed by a judge in Houston, the 80-year-old former CEO of dealership management systems vendor Reynolds & Reynolds would be tried on charges that he evaded taxes on $2 billion in income and laundered money. Brockman’s lawyers say dementia has left him unable to aid in his defense.

Prosecutors disclosed the findings of the experts in response to a Brockman filing, which sought an eight-week extension to an Aug. 6 deadline for defense lawyers to file expert reports. Brockman’s lawyers said a geriatric psychiatrist advised that they need time for more medical examinations relating to his competency because of his “recent hospitalizations and current health condition.”

Brockman’s June 30 filing redacted sections,…