Trade News

Spanish auto supplier Sese Industrial Services plans to build a 300,000-square-foot plant in Chattanooga to supply axle components to Volkswagen Group.

The company expects to invest the $42 million and bring 240 jobs to the area by 2022, according to a statement released by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

Chattanooga economic development officials said Thursday that the investment is part of Sese Industrial's seven-year contract with VW. Axle components assembled by Sese will be shipped to VW's nearby plant and used in the ID4 electric compact crossover.

"The initial ID4 vehicles will be produced in Zwickau, Germany. Then, starting in 2022, production of the ID4 will begin in Chattanooga," Michael Tolbert, a spokesperson for Volkswagen, said in a statement. "The ID4 is slated to be in U.S. showrooms in March."

VW has continued to invest in the Chattanooga plant, which opened in 2011. In January 2019, it invested $800 million to build a second assembly li…

Driver: "OK Volkswagen, get me 10 gallons of unleaded. And a bag of fuego Takis please."Car of the future: "Sure thing. Fill it up. Your Takis are on the way."

Despite the shortfalls of voice recognition technology, our robotic friends Siri, Alexa, and Google have made huge strides in getting things right. They've overcome privacy concerns, added digital voiceprints, and become multilingual. Big Tech's voice assistants are also learning new tasks daily through open-source APIs.

Intelligent voice penetration in homes is through the roof. More than half the U.S. population are millennials or younger and their preferences drive tech adoption. As Big Tech makes strides in digital voiceprint security, consumers will further adopt AI into more areas of their lives — including the car.

Though the digital commute has replaced the physical commute for many workers in the COVID-19 era, cars remain the primary mode of transport for most. But …

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

Genesis Motors North America CEO Mark Del Rosso opens up about the arrival of the GV80, the luxury brand's first crossover for the U.S. market, and expectations for the upcoming GV70 compact CUV. Why he believes the brand is uniquely positioned amid the pandemic and when its still-secret electric vehicle will arrive.

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The world’s leading electric-car maker is getting behind the the world’s largest electronic currency.

Tesla Inc. invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and signaled its intent to begin accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment, sending prices to a record after the vote of confidence from the EV leader and recent stock-market darling.

CEO Elon Musk’s company said in a filing Monday it made the bet on Bitcoin after updating its investment policy last month to allow it to buy digital assets.

“We expect to begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis,” Tesla said in the securities filing.

Tesla’s embrace of Bitcoin lends increased legitimacy to electronic currencies, which have become more of a mainstream asset in recent years despite some skepticism. It also fits the maverick image of Musk, who upended the automotive industry with battery-powered vehicl…

TAIPEI/SEOUL -- Asian chipmakers are rushing to expand their production capacity to meet a global shortage that has been acutely felt by carmakers, but the firms warn that the supply gap may take many months to plug as they struggle to keep up with strong demand.

Automakers from General Motors to Stellantis and Honda Motor Co. are shutting assembly lines due to the shortages, which in some cases have been exacerbated by the former U.S. administration's sanctions against Chinese chip factories. Some firms have also furloughed staff.

Eight-inch chip manufacturing plants owned mostly by Asian firms, which tend to make older, less sophisticated chips, are particularly under strain primarily due to under-investment in recent years. The majority of such factories are used to make auto chips.

Consumer demand in China, especially for cars, has snapped back unexpectedly quickly from the coronavirus crisis, and orders for products such as laptops and mobile phones…

LOS ANGELES — The global debut of the next-generation Mitsubishi Outlander crossover, which is seen as critical to the struggling brand's success or failure in the U.S. market, is set for Feb. 16 on the Amazon Live marketing platform.

The automaker said early Monday that the midsize 2022 Outlander will be the first new vehicle to be revealed on Amazon's livestream showcase.

"In the same way that Outlander will challenge conventions regarding both the brand and the segment, the launch will do the same," Mitsubishi Motors North America said in a statement.

"Through a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Amazon, the 2022 Outlander will be the first vehicle ever unveiled on Amazon Live. The debut will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m. EST," the company said.

Mitsubishi and Amazon released a teaser video on Monday that shows a camouflaged Outlander testing in off-road and track conditions.

"The debut of the all-new 2022 Outlander caps …

Electric vehicles are on the minds of auto dealers, and understandably so. After all, they're the ones who will be caught between automakers' aggressive product schedules and U.S. consumers who so far have shown scant interest.

So it was fascinating to see the opinions on EVs expressed in many of our 26 recent conversations with dealer council leaders. Ten stories from those interviews appeared in our Feb. 1 edition, and the balance run in Monday's issue.

If there's a pattern, it's the apparent higher degree of enthusiasm among luxury dealers, who face EV-maker Tesla as a direct threat.

A sampling:

◾ Nissan dealer advisory board chief Scott Smith calls the Ariya, an electric crossover set to arrive late this year, a potential game changer.

But he's not sure if Americans are ready for EVs. "It remains to be seen what the appetite for the U.S. consumer is for a volume electric vehi…

DETROIT — Cadillac has tabbed the target audience for the upcoming Lyriq as those who are ready to make the jump to an electric vehicle but waiting for the right one.

For its first Super Bowl ad since 2012, Cadillac doesn't play up that the Lyriq is an EV, instead focusing on the Super Cruise driver-assist technology the crossover offers. The ad plays off a 31-year-old movie, Edward Scissorhands, as a "unique and fun way" to tell a story and show that Cadillac offers "truly hands-free driving," said Melissa Grady, Cadillac's chief marketing officer.

"I think just the humanness of the story is what I really want to resonate," Grady told Automotive News. "I think there's such a beautiful humanity to the spot, and I really hope that comes through, just as it did in the original movie."

Meanwhile, a number of brands that advertised in recent Super Bowls decided to stay on the sidelines this year.

Sunday's Super Bowl LV was expected to have the fewest …

In General Motors’ Super Bowl ad, Will Ferrell is seen punching a globe while he gets angry that Norway far outranks the U.S. in EV sales. The country is used as a foil in the ad from McCann Worldgroup, which goes on to push GM’s message that its proprietary Ultium battery technology will help pave the way for broader EV adoption in the U.S.

But now Audi’s Norway division is punching back at GM and Ferrell, with help from Norwegian actor and “Game of Thrones” star Kristoffer Hivju. In a new video he is seen picking up a globe like the one Ferrell punched, saying, “You want to punch us in the face?” and ends with the message, “Don’t hate. Imitate.”

Audi is among the brands that get a high percentage of its sales in Norway from EVs. According to the brand, “the number one model in the market was the fully electric Audi e-tron.”

“Norway is a peace-loving nation, but we strongly felt that the GM hate campaign deserved a swift response, of course with a touc…

Content is still king in the Super Bowl.

While the spotlight could shine a little brighter on the few automakers who decided to make a pitch on advertising's biggest stage, brands shouldn't assume that just being there will be enough.

The four spots from General Motors, Jeep and Toyota will still need to deliver if they want to make an imprint on consumers.

In fact, with people social distancing due to the pandemic, the dynamics of how the game is viewed could change this year. With crowded Super Bowl parties out of the question for many, consumer attention on the ads could be even greater because they may not have "friends and distractions going on" that could take their focus off the screen, said Satya Menon, managing partner for the ROI practice at Kantar.

Kevin Krim, CEO at analytics firm EDO that can measure online search activity after ads air on TV, doesn't think the smaller number of auto brands will automatically translate into a larger-…