Trade News

WASHINGTON -- General Motors agreed to a $5.75 million settlement to resolve allegations it made false statements to California's largest pension system and other investors over its deadly ignition switch scandal.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the largest U.S. automaker concealed problems from investors related to faulty ignition switches linked to 124 deaths and 275 injuries.

GM previously paid $900 million to settle a U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation and $1 million to resolve a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accounting case tied to the ignition switch issue.

GM said it was "pleased to have cooperated with the state of California to resolve this matter."

A federal judge in New York late Thursday ordered the appointment of an independent U.S. monitor to oversee GPB Capital Holdings, an alternative-asset management firm, and related businesses including Prime Automotive Group — one of the largest private dealership groups in the country.

The move came after GPB reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a motion Monday asking for emergency appointment of a monitor. A hearing on the motion had been scheduled for Friday.

The commission on Feb. 4 filed a complaint against GPB, two related companies, GPB CEO David Gentile and two associates on allegations of securities fraud. Just days later, the commission sought the monitor to help protect the assets of GPB's 17,000 investors nationwide who the SEC and federal prosecutors claim were misled in funding $1.8 billion in a "Ponzi-like scheme."

Gentile resigned as CEO a day after the SEC issued its compl…

A former dealership owner and past president of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association was sentenced Thursday for his role in a four-year fraud scheme.

Andrew Gabler, 52, of Erie County, Pa., was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for defrauding several institutions. Prosecutors said that beginning in January 2015, Gabler faked vehicle sales and falsified loan applications to pocket millions of dollars.

Gabler is former owner of the now-closed Lakeside Chevrolet-Buick in Erie County and Lakeside Auto Sales, which operated as two used-vehicle stores.

In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter ordered Gabler to pay a $5,000 fine and make restitution of nearly $1.7 million. He also will undergo two years of supervised release once his sentence is up. Gabler is currently free on an unsecured bond, the Erie Times-News reported.

Gabler's attorney, Elliot Segel, said he and his client will decide …

Tata Motors Ltd. has appointed former Daimler manager Marc Llistosella to become its next CEO after Guenter Butschek asked to step down due to personal reasons.

Llistosella, who previously headed Daimler Trucks in Asia, will take charge in July, Tata Motors said Friday. Butschek, a former Airbus SE executive, has been CEO since 2016 and will stay on until June 30, according to the company.

“Marc is an experienced automotive business leader with deep knowledge and expertise in commercial vehicles” and “extensive operational experience in India,” Tata Chairman N Chandrasekaran said in a statement.

While Tata Motors beat expectations for the quarter that ended in December, it has struggled with falling sales and rising debt. The Mumbai-based company is largely dependent on its Jaguar Land Rover luxury-vehicle unit and laid out plans last year to cut costs by 2.5 billion pounds ($3.5 billion).

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. on Friday joined many of its auto supplier peers in outperforming expectations during the fourth quarter but falling well short for the year.

In a separate announcement, American Axle said it secured the next generation axle and driveshaft program for Ram’s heavy-duty trucks. 

The Detroit-based supplier said it swung to fourth-quarter net income of $36 million, a substantial increase over a loss of $454 million during the Q4 in 2019. The 2019 net loss was attributed to a pretax goodwill impairment of $440 million and a $52 million impact from the UAW strike at American Axle's largest customer, General Motors.

American Axle revenues topped $1.44 billion in the quarter, compared with $1.43 billion in the same quarter in 2019. The 2020 fourth quarter took a $40 million hit from COVID-19 protocols and shutdowns while the 2019 fourth quarter included $186 million in lost revenue tied to work stoppages at GM…

BOSTON -- Lawyers for two men accused of helping former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan while awaiting trial on financial charges have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and delay their extradition.

Lawyers for U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, asked the court on an emergency basis to put on hold a lower court order that cleared the way for them to be handed over to Japan as early as Friday.

The Taylor's lawyers in a late Thursday filing reiterated arguments that their clients could not be prosecuted in Japan for helping someone "bail jump" and that, if extradited, they faced the prospect of relentless interrogations and torture.

The attorneys made the request after a federal appeals court in Boston declined on Thursday to issue an order that would prevent the Taylors' extradition while they appealed lower court rulings. The U.S. State Department approved their extradition in October.

DETROIT — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Friday asked the state's Supreme Court to hear a case against Ford Motor Co. alleging defective transmissions so the justices can revisit an interpretation of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.

The case, Cyr v. Ford, was filed in Wayne County -- home of Ford -- and was appealed to the Supreme Court, which originally declined to hear the case. Nessel is supporting a motion by the plaintiffs for the court to reconsider.

The plaintiffs say Ford violated the consumer act, alleging defective transmissions in Focus and Fiesta vehicles. The case involves more than 12,000 owners who opted out of a class action against Ford.

After a Wayne County judged ruled in the plaintiffs' favor, an appeals court sided with Ford, saying it was exempt from the act under a current interpretation that suggests members of any industry that is "generally regulated" are "specifically exempt."

Nessel wants the st…

Mexican supplier Nemak reported a 55 percent drop in fourth-quarter net income, as increased volume outside North America and cost-cutting actions weren't enough to overcome "a combination of incremental taxes and non-cash exchange rate effects on financial results."

The maker of powertrain and body structure components reported net income of $14 million in the quarter compared with $31 million in the year-earlier period.

Revenue inched up by 0.5 percent to $946 million, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 13 percent to $150 million. Operating income soared 67 percent to $55 million.

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

For all of 2020, the company swung to a net loss of $34 million compared with net income of $130 mill…

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is creating a joint venture in its investment bank focused on catering to auto technology clients like Tesla Inc. and the new class of companies trying to take on the top electric vehicle maker.

The bank named San Francisco-based technology banker Chris Buddin and New York-based industrial banker Fausto Monacelli as the co-heads of the autotech effort.

The venture formalizes a partnership between Goldman’s industrial and technology, media and telecommunications teams that had been collaborating already on deals for years, David Friedland, head of the Americas cross-markets group, said in an interview.

“It will lead to greater collaboration, greater dedication of resources, more efficient execution on opportunities and more internal institutional support,” Friedland said.

Auto technology deals have been busy this year with more on the way. Rivian Automotive Inc., the EV startup backed by Amazon.com Inc. and Ford Motor Co., …