Trade News

The Fiat 500 — the world's smallest production car — makes its public debut at the Turin Auto Show on June 15, 1936.

Nicknamed the Topolino, Italian for Micky Mouse, the pint-sized car was born out of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's desire to give consumers a car that was innovative and economical.

It was the brainchild of Dante Giacosa, a mechanical engineer who joined Fiat in late 1928 as an aircraft engine expert and remained until his formal retirement in 1970.

The 1936 two-seater was powered by a front-mounted, 569 cc side-valve engine paired to a four-speed transmission. More than 520,000 were sold by the time it was discontinued in 1955.

Another Giacosa masterpiece, the Nuova 500, a successor to the 500, debuted in 1957, riding the postwar boom to sales and acclaim. When the Nuova was dropped in 1973, almost 3.8 million had been sold.

Fiat, looking to recapture some of the 500's magic and appeal, …

It's been eight long model years since Nissan retooled its flagship large crossover. The segment has continued to grow and attract new entrants such as the Volkswagen Atlas, Subaru Ascent, Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride. And Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet, which top the segment, have reloaded with redesigned models packed with the latest safety tech and connectivity.

Now, with a redesigned 2022 Pathfinder landing in showrooms, Nissan hopes to recover turf and reignite consumer interest in its three-row utility, which over the past several product cycles became overshadowed by newer and better rivals.

Nissan is counting on what is calls the Pathfinder's best-in-class third row for roominess, abundant safety tech, larger infotainment displays and wireless Apple CarPlay.

The Pathfinder was a chunky two-door, five-seat SUV when it debuted in 1987. Nissan touted its truck-based, go-anywhere capabilities with family-friendly features suc…

FRANKFURT -- Daimler and Volkswagen are cutting working hours at some of their plants as the automakers continue to suffer from a shortage of semiconductors that has already hampered production this year.

Daimler is reducing working hours this week at its German plants in Bremen and Rastatt, a spokeswoman said, adding that the situation was volatile and it was not possible to make a forecast on the impact.

Volkswagen will cut working hours at its Wolfsburg, Germany, factory next week, a spokesman said.

CEO Herbert Diess last month said Europe's largest automaker was in "crisis mode" over the shortage, adding the impact of the shortage would intensify and hit profits in the second quarter, which ends in two weeks.

A Ford Motor Co. employee has died from injuries sustained in a mass shooting early Saturday in Austin, Texas.

Douglas John Kantor, 25, was one of 14 victims in the shooting, according to a report from KXAN-TV. Kantor died at 12:01 p.m. local time Sunday.

Authorities have arrested one person in connection with the shooting, according to Mayor Steve Adler's office.

Originally from Airmont, N.Y., Kantor was visiting Austin from his home in Michigan, his family told KXAN.

He signed on with Ford's IT department in 2018, following his graduation from Michigan State University with a degree in computer engineering.

"We were shocked and saddened to learn about the death of a Ford colleague as a result of the Austin shooting," Ford spokesman Ian Thibodeau said in an email. "We are providing support to his family and his colleagues. Out of respect for everyone affected by this tragedy, we will not be saying more at thi…

BEIRUT -- Fugitive former auto executive Carlos Ghosn said on Monday he was prepared for a lengthy process to clear his name with French authorities, and vowed to challenge an Interpol warrant that is barring him from travel outside of Lebanon.

The architect of the Renault-Nissan auto alliance has been fighting multiple probes since fleeing to Lebanon from Japan in late 2019, and has said he hopes to clear his name in financial misconduct cases against him.

Ghosn was chairman of both Nissan and Mitsubishi and CEO of Renault when he was arrested in Japan in 2018 on charges of under-reporting his salary and using company funds for personal use. He has denied wrongdoing.

The Lebanese-French executive said he had answered hundreds of questions from French investigators earlier this month in hearings centred around allegations of financial misconduct in France.

Ghosn said he had submitted voluntarily to questioning at Beirut's Palace of Justice as a …

General Motors is recalling 285,622 vehicles from the 2021 model year — 282,309 of them in the U.S. — because their airbag malfunction indicator lights might fail to warn drivers of issues with the airbags.

The vehicles' communications gateway module could incorrectly process a loss of communication with the sensing diagnostic module, which could cause airbag malfunction indicator lights to "inconsistently illuminate," according to a document filed with NHTSA.

The recall covers a range of models: the Buick Envision; Cadillac CT4, CT5, Escalade and Escalade ESV; Chevrolet Corvette, Suburban and Tahoe; and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL.

GM said it will notify vehicle owners via recall notification letters July 19, and dealers will update the software in the communications gateway module.

The automaker notified dealers June 3.

In a safety recall report filed with NHTSA, GM said the company is not aware of any accidents …

William Li is being mobbed. At a gala dinner in Shanghai, the founder of Chinese electric carmaker Nio Inc. can barely move forward in the buffet queue before being stopped for another selfie, handshake or hug. Swapping his usual attire of jeans and a T-shirt for a tailored grey suit and blue dress shirt, the tall 46-year-old happily obliges with a smile.

Li manages to spoon a small amount of fried rice and vegetables onto his plate, but he’s not here for the food. Over the next three hours, Li poses for hundreds more photos, chatting with customers of the automaker he started just over six years ago and has built into a way of life — at least for the people who buy his cars — with clubhouses, a round-the-clock battery recharging service and even clothing, food and exercise equipment, all decked out in Nio’s geometric logo.

As Li works the room, a video backdrop shows six performers, each wearing a different-colored Nio hoodie, singing a self-composed song ded…

DETROIT -- Hyundai Motor Co. has accelerated efforts around developing air taxis and will offer services around those vehicles rather than just selling them, the South Korean automaker's COO told Reuters.

Hyundai is ahead of the timetable it previously laid out for the rollout of urban air mobility vehicles, also known as flying cars, Jose Munoz, Hyundai's global chief operating officer, said in an interview broadcast on Monday at the Reuters Events Car of the Future conference.

Munoz, who is also CEO of Hyundai North America, previously said urban air taxis would be in operation at major U.S. airports by 2028, maybe earlier. The executive told Reuters on Monday it could possibly happen before 2025.

"We see this market as a significant growth opportunity," Munoz said.

Hyundai is developing air taxis powered by electric batteries that can transport five to six people from highly congested urban centers to airports. Air taxis come in several s…

IHS Markit’s Todd Campau says while the average age of light vehicles on U.S. roads hit a milestone of 12.1 years in 2020, the rate of growth could slow in 2021.

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