Trade News

Some of the auto industry's most experienced executives are supporting a Boston-area startup developing solid-state battery technology for use in electric vehicles.

After years of behind-the-scenes work, Factorial Energy was spun into its own company this year. It made its first public pronouncements Tuesday. Foremost among them: It named Joe Taylor, former CEO of Panasonic Corp. of North America, as its executive chairman.

A number of other automotive veterans are filling key roles. Former Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche joins Factorial's advisory board. Former Ford CEO Mark Fields and Harry Wilson, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama's auto industry task force during the Great Recession, are among investors.

For an industry charging toward an electric future, the allure of solid-state batteries is strong. They could be a springboard toward longer ranges, faster charging times and enhanced safety.

Factorial Energy says its 40-amp-hour batt…

Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management for a second time sweetened their proposal to buy Hertz out of bankruptcy as the rental car company’s board meets to review bids, according to people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

The latest plan, which was submitted Tuesday afternoon, would hand shareholders more value -- specifically a 40 percent stake in the reorganized company through a combination of direct investment and a more than $1 billion equity rights offering, the people said.

Representatives for Knighthead and Certares declined to comment. A representative for Hertz didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The battle over ownership of Hertz has been heating up. The case has been closely watched by automakers, which rely on Hertz for sizable fleet purchases.

The company earlier this month picked a plan from Centerbridge Partners, Warburg Pincus and Dundon Capital Partners that outbid an earlier Knighthead…

TEXAS -- One of the two victims killed in Texas over the weekend in the crash of a Tesla car believed to operate without a driver was William Varner, a doctor, his employer said on Tuesday.

The Tesla Model S smashed into a tree near Houston on Saturday night and burst into flames, killing one occupant found in the front passenger seat and the owner in the back seat, the police said.

Witnesses told the police that the accident happened shortly after the victims left a house, saying they would test the automated driving capability.

"Dr. Varner was a tremendous human being who personally impacted many ...," Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center said in a statement. "He will be dearly missed by so many."

Varner, a 58-year-old anesthesiologist, graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1988.

"We were saddened to hear of the death of one of our physicians over the weekend. Dr. Varner spent his life caring …

Mexican supplier Nemak reported net income of $40 million in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $14 million in the year-earlier period, and attributed the turnaround to cost-reduction initiatives and an improved product mix in its electric vehicle and structural applications segment.

Revenue increased 15 percent to about $1.04 billion, up from $907 million in the first quarter of 2020. Nemak, a maker of powertrain and body structure components, attributed that to volume growth, the improved product mix, higher aluminum prices and the appreciation of the euro against the U.S. dollar.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 19 percent to $169 million. Operating income jumped 37 percent to $89 million.

Nemak joined several suppliers this week reporting first-quarter earnings as the COVID-19 crisis lingers around the globe. More companies are set to report results over the next few weeks.

Read more about Supplier Nemak swings to Q1 net profit

Dianna du Preez, a more than 30-year Daimler veteran, has been appointed vice president of customer services at Mercedes-Benz USA.

Du Preez, 55, replaces Christian Treiber, who is leaving after 28 years at Daimler. Du Preez takes over May 1.

It's the latest change in management in Mercedes-Benz's second-biggest market. Mercedes' U.S. business is on its second CEO since 2019. Dimitris Psillakis took over as CEO on Jan. 1 after previous chief Nicholas Speeks left the company after less than a year in the top job.

In her new role, du Preez will oversee customer service operations, engineering services, after-sales business development and parts logistics, Mercedes-Benz Academy and MBUSA's customer assistance center. Du Preez will report to Psillakis.

"Dianna is a proven leader whose broad experience and steadfast focus to advance our customer experience will continue to be a great asset for our company," Psillakis said i…

BERKELEY, Calif. -- The fatal crash of a Tesla with no one apparently behind the wheel has cast a new light on the safety of semi-autonomous vehicles and the nebulous U.S. regulatory terrain they navigate.

Police in Harris County, Texas, said a Tesla Model S smashed into a tree on Saturday at high speed after failing to negotiate a bend and burst into flames, killing one occupant found in the front passenger seat and the owner in the back seat.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Monday that preliminary data downloaded by Tesla indicate the vehicle was not operating on Autopilot, and was not part of the automaker's "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) system. Tesla's Autopilot and FSD, as well as the growing number of similar semi-autonomous driving functions in cars made by other automakers, present a challenge to officials responsible for motor vehicle and highway safety.

NHTSA, the top U.S. auto safety regulator, has yet to issue specific regulations or perform…

Auto retail giant AutoNation Inc. is poised to make its first franchised dealership acquisitions since 2018, after it signed an agreement to acquire 11 stores from Peacock Automotive Group of Hardeeville, S.C.

AutoNation said Tuesday that it plans to buy 11 stores and a collision center in the Hilton Head and Columbia areas of South Carolina and in Savannah, Ga., from Peacock Automotive, a group owned by Warner Peacock. The group dates to 2001 and counts baseball great Ken Griffey Jr., lawyer Jay Brennan and another unnamed lawyer as its investors, Warner Peacock said.

Peacock's dealerships represent a mix of import, domestic and luxury brands including Hyundai, Genesis, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi, Porsche, Subaru, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Volkswagen.

AutoNation, the largest new-vehicle retailer in the U.S., did not release the price it will pay to acquire the stores but said the deal is expected to close in the summer following necessary approvals …

Braman Dealerships in Florida has experienced a system outage that has affected operations, one that may be linked to a ransomware incident, according to a local news report.

"We recently experienced a network outage which is currently impacting our operations," David Leibowitz, secretary and general counsel for Braman Management Association, which includes the dealerships, said in an emailed statement to Automotive News on Friday evening. "We are working diligently to restore systems at our dealerships as quickly and as safely as possible. Our investigation into this matter is ongoing."

The Miami dealership group has not confirmed whether the outage is connected to a cyberattack. The group also did not respond to additional questions about when the outage began, whether it affected the entire group or selected stores or whether customer data was affected.

Braman Dealerships is ranked No. 29 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups in th…

Tesla Inc. looks to be coming under increasing pressure in China with two government entities firing off missives about the company’s behavior and treatment of its customers in a single day.

The trouble started early on Tuesday when China’s state-run Xinhua news agency released a piece that said the quality of Tesla’s EVs must meet market expectations in order to win consumers’ trust. The California-based company should address consumer hesitation over purchasing its cars after issues ranging from malfunctioning brakes to blazes during the vehicles’ charging emerged, the article said.

A few hours later, the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee weighed in, posting a commentary on its WeChat account that said the automaker should respect Chinese consumers and comply with local laws and regulations. Making an effort to find the cause of problems and improve features is something any responsible business shou…