Trade News

GM Financial will stop working with non-General Motors dealerships on off-lease vehicle payoffs starting July 1 to ensure GM dealerships have "priority access" to the vehicles coming back to market, according to a message obtained by Automotive News.

The microchip shortage is the primary motivator of the policy change, a GM spokesperson confirmed via email, "to better support our GM dealers through the current economic environment and the challenges they're encountering sourcing quality pre-owned vehicles."

Joe Bartuch, executive vice president of U.S. sales and credit for the lender, told GM that the captive finance company would notify customers over the coming weeks that the terms of their lease agreement stipulate they "are only able to submit a lease purchase request ... by contacting GM Financial Customer Experience or working with a participating GM dealership."

The policy will be in place for the remainder of 2021. GM Financial will then reassess…

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden pledged support for a bipartisan infrastructure framework that would uphold his goal of building 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations nationwide while slashing the funding allotted to do so.

The $1.2 trillion agreement was unveiled Thursday by the White House after the president and Vice President Kamala Harris met with a bipartisan group of 10 senators, including Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Rob Portman of Ohio.

The plan, which likely faces a challenge from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, would provide $7.5 billion to build a national EV charging network along highways and in rural and disadvantaged communities, according to a White House fact sheet on the agreement. It also would provide $7.5 billion to electrify thousands of school and transit buses and boost domestic manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles and parts.

Biden had previously called for $174 billion to boost EVs, includ…

In its second publicly released safety report, Zoox Inc. is offering details about nine of the more than 100 proprietary safety features not found in conventional vehicles that the company is using to further its self-driving vision.

The technologies include rider protection in the vehicle.

The self-driving startup, owned by e-commerce giant Amazon, released the report Tuesday, after it revealed its electric, "purpose-built," autonomous robotaxi in December. Zoox says it expects to release additional reports, including information on its collision avoidance, external lighting and sound and emergency vehicle-detection systems, as well as information on its vehicles' structural energy absorbers that dampen impacts from collisions.

"You want to build trust for AVs, you need data, you need transparency and you need experience," Mark Rosekin…

Stellantis plans to extend summer downtime at two of its assembly plants and start production back up at another.

Operations will be idle at the company's Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois and Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico the week of July 5 because of the continuing effects of the global semiconductor shortage. Those plants manufacture two Jeep models, the Cherokee and Compass crossovers.

In the meantime, the minivan-making Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario will resume production with two shifts beginning the week of July 5.

"Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry," Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in a statement.

Forecasting company AutoForecast Solutions estimates the North American industry could lose more than 340,000 scheduled vehicles over the summer as a result of the chip shortage.

The Detroit News repo…

SHANGHAI – Few global automakers, scrambling to secure tight microchip supplies for assembly plants back home, have bothered to provide an update on how the chip shortfall has impacted their China production so far this year. 

But information disclosed by their local partners indicates that the severe chip shortfall has taken a heavier toll on foreign brands than domestic marques in China.

The two biggest U.S. automakers – General Motors and Ford Motor Co. – appear to be hit hard, according to production data released by their joint venture partners.

While light-vehicle output industrywide fell in May after 13 consecutive monthly gains, production at the two U.S. automakers’ main joint ventures has continued to decline since April.

Last month, output at SAIC-GM, GM’s joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. that produces cars and light trucks for Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet brands, tumbled 34 percent to 81,196, after slipping 28 percent in April…

TOKYO — The redesigned QX60 is an upscale, three-row, family-friendly crossover that is a make-or-break launch for Infiniti, heralding a fresh design language and new technologies that the beleaguered Japanese premium brand hopes will reignite its slumping sales.

The overhauled 2022 QX60 midsize crossover, unveiled Wednesday, debuts a styling evolution that imbues the brand's bestselling nameplate with a more rugged, upright utility vehicle stance.

Among the new flourishes is a reworked front fascia featuring an origami-inspired mesh grille and a "digital piano key" lighting signature. The updated look draws from the Japanese roots of Infiniti, which moved its global headquarters back to Yokohama from Hong Kong last year. The headlights, for instance, get a treatment designers call "kimono folds."

A subtle character line runs straight down the beltline, lending an air of stability, while the roofline cuts a sloping silhouette to a streamlined rear. A t…

DETROIT -- General Motors and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are teaming up in the U.S. to expand EV charging and household energy plans drawing on renewable resources.

The automaker and a Shell-owned power company, MP2 Energy LLC, are starting their joint project in Texas, where owners of GM electric cars can get free overnight charging this summer, the companies said Wednesday. The plan is to provide comprehensive energy programs to GM’s customers and supply chain partners, including fixed-rate home energy plans backed by 100 percent renewable energy.

The partnership follows a flurry of low-carbon ventures between energy producers and manufacturers across the globe, with their climate ambitions -- including emissions by their customers -- being scrutinized by investors and activists. Shell is under more immediate pressure than any of its Big Oil peers after a Dutch court last month ruled it must slash its emissions 45 percent by 2030.

GM has set a target of bei…

A study out Wednesday from credit bureau TransUnion found the majority of consumers kept pace with pandemic-related forbearance payments, even on credit products in accommodation programs.

Consumers who left accommodation programs early were considered a low credit risk, TransUnion also found, and were less likely to seek accommodations again.

The results indicate consumer financial health remained stable during the pandemic, according to Matt Komos, vice president of research and consulting at TransUnion.

Accounts in financial hardship — defined by factors such as a deferred payment, forbearance program, frozen account or frozen past due payment — skyrocketed nationwide as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered workplaces and drove up unemployment.

The passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act in 2020 significantly increased adoption of these programs by expanding their eligibility, Komos also noted …