Trade News

CHICAGO -- Illinois car dealers sued electric truck maker Rivian in another salvo against upstart vehicle manufacturers' direct-to-consumer sales model.

Two trade groups that are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court say they acted after the Illinois Secretary of State’s office “turned a blind eye” to their complaints over several years.

Amazon-backed Rivian, which plans production at a plant near Normal, Ill., had no immediate comment. The Irvine, Calif.-based company has promised that deliveries of its first pickup will begin in June.

Another defendant is Lucid Motors, a California-based electric-vehicle company.

The two companies are opening showrooms in Chicago and Oak Brook, Ill., according to the lawsuit, whose plaintiffs include the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association and the Chicago Automobile Trade Association.

Conflict between manufacturers and dealers has been brewing nati…

Seeking to bolster its electrification, advanced driver-assistance systems and electronics businesses, Marelli is making four appointments to its leadership team, all effective April 1.

The Japanese-Italian powertrain and electronics supplier said Friday that Joachim Fetzer will be appointed to the new position of chief technology and innovation officer.

Fetzer most recently was executive vice president, electric powertrain CEO at Marelli.

The moves come as part of the company's Ambition 2024 business strategy, which is largely focused on connected systems, autonomous driving and the on-board experience. The company's strategic plan is also centered on bolstering its external perception technologies, electrification and e-powertrain systems, and lean propulsion and dynamics.

Hannes Prenn will succeed Fetzer as CEO of the electric powertrain business. Prenn joins Marelli from drive systems and driveline supplier GKN Automotive, at which he was most…

The CEO of Toyota Motor North America talks about his first year at the helm, putting trust in people, supply chain disruptions and the automaker's electrification plans.

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Automakers and suppliers expect their supply chains to be impacted after a containership blocked the Suez Canal, halting the flow of goods through the key trade route.

The skyscraper-sized Ever Given has been stuck in the canal since Tuesday, suspending traffic of containers transporting goods, parts and equipment through the shortest sea link between Europe and Asia.

Audi said the blockage could affect deliveries of finished cars and supplies of materials that are already en route to their destinations. "The transport route takes several weeks, so the effects are not immediately noticeable," Audi said in an emailed statement. "However, if the blockade continues for longer, that may change."

BASF, which supplies coatings, plastics, and battery materials to the industry, said while the situation remains unclear, the company expects delays in shipping between Europe and Asia-Pacific. "The exact impact on BASF's supply chains will depend on how long the dis…

LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. hopes to acquire as many as 100 dealerships by the end of 2022.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., used-car seller and vehicle subscription business that bought its first six franchised dealerships in the first quarter, said it wants to add 80 to 100 dealerships by the end of next year through mergers and acquisitions.

The company made the announcement Thursday after it reported a sharply wider fourth-quarter net loss of $2.56 million. In the year-earlier period, LMP had a net loss of $572,195. While it reported higher revenue in the fourth quarter, LMP also had significantly higher outlays on acquisition, consulting and legal expenses.

For all of 2020, LMP reported a net loss of $4.8 million, compared with$4 million in 2019.

LMP shares closed down 5.9 percent to $16.07 in New York Thursday.

LMP, which went public in December 2019, in September told Automotive News that it wants to roll up dozens of dealerships and th…

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday unanimously ruled against Ford Motor Co. in a case in which the automaker had sought to bar two state courts from hearing product liability suits involving a pair of serious crashes.

Ford had appealed rulings by the top state courts in Montana and Minnesota that had allowed the litigation to proceed. The crashes occurred in those two states. Ford argued that the state courts should have jurisdiction only if its conduct in those states had given rise to the claims.

The automaker also contended that since it designed the vehicles in Michigan, manufactured them in Kentucky and Canada and originally sold them in other states that Montana and Minnesota courts should not decide the cases.

In an 8-0 ruling, the justices disagreed with Ford.

"We reject that argument. When a company like Ford serves a market for a product in a state and that product causes injury in the state to one of its residents, the state'…

Tesla Inc. repeatedly violated U.S. labor law, including by firing a union activist, and must make CEO Elon Musk delete a threatening tweet from his personal account, the National Labor Relations Board ruled Thursday.

The ruling, issued by two Republican members of the agency and one Democrat, states that the electric-car maker must offer to reinstate the fired employee.

Tesla, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, has denied wrongdoing.

Musk’s 2018 tweet stated in part: “Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing?”

Here's the tweet in full:

Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare.

—…

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. will idle production of its highly profitable F-150 pickup truck at a plant in Michigan through Sunday due to the global semiconductor chip shortage.

Ford and other automakers have stressed they are trying to protect production of their profitable vehicles, but the company has been forced to curtail F-150 output multiple times since the start of the year.

Ford's plant in Dearborn, Mich., will be idled from Friday through Sunday, and resume operations on Monday. A spokeswoman declined to say how much volume would be lost.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker previously said it would assemble the flagship F-150 truck, redesigned for 2021 and its most profitable model line, without certain parts and hold them for a "number of weeks" until they can be completed and shipped.

Ford said the latest action is reflected in a prior forecast that the chip shortage could shave $1 billion to $2.5 billion off 2021 profits.

Ford previously …

DETROIT -- General Motors plans to increase design space by 30 percent at its Global Technical Center in Warren, Mich., with a new building scheduled for completion in 2023.

The new facility, Design West, will help GM accelerate vehicle development with more space for collaboration and better use of technology, said Michael McBride, executive director of global design operations and immersive technology.

"This is really going to be designed as a collaboration space to bring not only our creative designers into the studios, but all of the cross-functional team members that we work with, so that we can have a great space for everyone to come together and work faster and smarter with more technology and a lot of new efficiencies," McBride told Automotive News.

Many of GM's designers returned to the Warren campus in May, following GM's coronavirus protocols, but they can't fit under one roof. Teams are scattered throughout the Warren ca…