Trade News

Toyota's global sales in March rose to a record, as the automaker's ability to keep producing vehicles amid a global shortage of chips puts the company in prime position to capitalize on a resurgence in demand for cars.

Toyota's global sales in March rose 44 percent to 982,912 units, a record for a single month, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The automaker produced 843,393 units last month, up 32 percent from a year earlier, when the pandemic was forcing global automakers to suspend production.

Toyota's exhaustive monitoring of its supply chain and stockpiling of chips have allowed it to keep producing cars to meet rising demand.

The bright sales figures come as consumers, who have been saving money during lockdown and are emboldened by signs that the COVID-19 crisis may be waning, are now buying cars.

Sales were particularly strong in China and North America, a Toyota spokeswoman said.

While appetite for cars recovers in…

WASHINGTON -- A group representing auto suppliers told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday it opposes setting a firm date to end the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and expects those vehicles will be sold for at least another 20 years.

The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, which represents more than 1,000 vehicle suppliers, told a Senate Commerce subcommittee on transportation that the Biden administration should continue to set regulatory requirements that ensure suppliers keep working to improve internal combustion engines.

Ann Wilson, MEMA's senior vice president of government affairs, told the panel that new gasoline-powered vehicles "will likely be on the road for an additional 20 years."

Climate change concerns "will not be met unless the propulsion system containing the internal combustion engine continues to improve its efficiency," she added.

Wilson warned that a "fully electric vehicle fleet will require significantly fe…

Net income nearly increased fivefold for Asbury Automotive Group Inc. in the first quarter this year thanks to favorable comparisons with the same time last year during the coronavirus pandemic. The retailer also posted record-high adjusted earnings per share.

Asbury, the sixth-largest U.S. new-vehicle retailer, on Tuesday reported net income of $92.8 million in the first quarter, up from $19.5 million a year earlier. In 2019's first quarter, Asbury posted net income of $40.9 million.

The Duluth, Ga., company also reported revenue of $2.19 billion, up 36 percent.

Asbury's core business lines improved by double-digit percentages across the board, with gross profit for finance-and-insurance surging 25 percent and parts and service profit up 21 percent.

New- and used-vehicle sales increased 24 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Asbury CEO David Hult said in a statement that the quarter was "very active" for the company.

"In addition…

MONTERREY, Mexico -- Volkswagen's Mexico unit is planning production stoppages of two of its models next month due to ongoing global chip shortages, the automaker said.

Volkswagen will suspend output of the compact Tiguan crossover, from May 6 to May 16, and the compact Jetta sedan, from May 3 to May 19, the company said.

Both cars are built at VW's plant in the central state of Puebla alongside the Taos and Golf models.

The vehicles are sold in the United States, Mexico and other markets.

General Motors, Volkswagen and Tesla were named among Time's 100 most influential companies Tuesday. Time featured GM CEO Mary Barra on one of five covers.

The new, unranked list recognizes 100 businesses making an impact around the world. The list highlights companies "that are shaping our collective future, as well as the leaders who steer them," Time Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal said in a statement.

The TIME100 Most Influential Companies issue spotlighted each CEO on the five covers with longer profiles. In addition to Barra, Time featured Reese Witherspoon of Hello Sunshine, Adam Silver of the National Basketball Association, Francis deSouza of Illumina and Sara Menker of Gro Intelligence on the covers.

Time accepted nominations across multiple business sectors, such as health care, entertainment, transportation, technology and more. Each company was evaluated on relevance, impact, innovation, leadership, ambition and success.

GM was sele…

Girish Rishi, CEO of Blue Yonder, discusses how the microchip shortage will continue to affect vehicle production, how automakers and suppliers can successfully emerge from the pandemic and how the company is assisting with the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

WASHINGTON -- Major automakers and suppliers will press Congress again on Tuesday to address the global shortage of semiconductor chips that has curtailed auto production around the world.

A U.S. Senate subcommittee will hear testimony from auto industry groups urging action to address production of "mature node" chips.

The industry backs proposals to spend tens of billions of dollars to boost U.S. semiconductor production and new tax incentives to help chip companies offset costs of creating new lines within existing facilities.

"There is an undeniable need to expand semiconductor capacity in the U.S. to meet the growing demand within the auto industry, as well as other sectors across the economy," John Bozzella, the head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, will tell the panel in testimony seen by Reuters.

Bozzella wrote in an April 19 letter to U.S. congressional leaders that some of the new funding should be used to build new chip capaci…

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation on Tuesday unveiled several safety principles related to driver monitoring in vehicles with driver-assist systems as part of a public statement by major U.S. automakers to ensure the technologies are safely and effectively used.

The principles focus on effective ways to determine appropriate driver engagement while educating the public on the benefits and limitations of driver-assist features.

The auto trade association's effort to address driver monitoring comes after reports of Tesla vehicle crashes around the country — some of which have involved the electric vehicle maker's Autopilot driver-assist system.

U.S. safety regulators at NHTSA have investigated 28 Tesla crashes to date — 24 of those cases remain active.

Tesla is not a member of the alliance.

The group represents most major automakers in the U.S., such as General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen Group, as…

Even as Hyundai Motor Co. leans into an electric future, it's stretching the bounds of internal-combustion offerings with the Kona N performance version of its popular subcompact crossover.

Hyundai, which promotes the N division as an outgrowth of its motorsports activity, said Tuesday that the Kona N will be its first crossover to undergo the transformation to track-ready "corner rascal."

"Kona N is a true hot SUV with the performance level of a hot hatch. It breaks the rule that SUVs are less fun to drive," said Albert Biermann, president and head of Hyundai Motor Group's R&D unit. "Kona N can carve corners on the racetrack and bring excitement to everyday driving."

The latest Kona variant comes with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 276 hp. It's mated to a wet, dual-clutch automatic transmission with eight gears and paddle shifters. Acceleration from 0 to 60 mph comes in less than 5.5 seconds with launch control …