Trade News

DETROIT — Randy Mott, General Motors' chief information officer, plans to retire after a decade spent overhauling the automaker's IT business.

GM has not yet announced Mott's successor. Mott, 65, will stay with GM through a transition period, spokeswoman Maria Raynal told Automotive News.

Mott was hired in February 2012 as senior vice president of global information technology and chief information officer under former CEO Dan Akerson.

In June 2019, he was promoted to executive vice president.

Mott believed that IT operations could influence every aspect of GM's business. In 2017, he told Automotive News that IT empowered CEO Mary Barra and other senior leaders to make quick, informed decisions with data that wasn't as accessible before.

"The reality is, we're an enabler," Mott said at the time. "That's our job. I think we've done that, but I think we can do it even more and better."

Mott redefined GM's IT business by insourcing IT…

A machine repairman at Ford Motor Co.'s Lima Engine Plant in Ohio died Wednesday following a workplace accident, the automaker and UAW said.

The employee's name and age were not immediately available, nor were details of the accident.

In a Facebook post, Plant Manager Shawn Stewart said how the accident happened was being investigated. He noted the facility would observe moments of silence Thursday afternoon and evening.

Neither Stewart nor a representative from Local 1219, which represents Lima Engine workers, could be immediately reached for comment.

"Today is a tragic day for the family, friends and coworkers of our brother," Chuck Browning, vice president of the UAW-Ford department, said in a statement. "I am just heartbroken and devastated over this somber news and I plead with all to rededicate themselves to the safety and well-being of one another in our workplaces. The UAW extends our condolence to the family of our fallen brother and the …

GAC Motor Co. has hired Stephane Janin, former design director of concept vehicles at Renault Group, as director of its advanced design center. 

Janin has also been appointed director of its European advanced design center, the state-owned Chinese automaker said this week. 

GAC said it has tentatively decided to establish the European advanced design center in Milan, Italy. 

GAC, based in the south China city of Guangzhou, operates design centers in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Los Angeles. 

Deliveries at Nio, a leading Chinese electric-vehicle startup, plunged nearly 28 percent year on year to 3,667 

The sales fall was mainly caused by an upgrade of the production lines at its plant in the east China city of Hefei which significantly impacted its output, the company said.  

After completing the upgrade project, its production gradually recovered to the normal level in late October, it added. 

Nio has launched sales of three products – the ES8 SUV, the ES6 crossover and the EC6 coupe-like crossover.

Last month, it delivered 218 ES8s, 2,528 ES6s and 921 EC6s. 

For the first ten months, its cumulative sales reached 70,062, a jump of 123 percent from the same period last year. 

In October, two other major Chinese EV startups – Xpeng and Li Auto – maintained robust sales growth. 

In the month, deliveries at XPeng soared 233 percent to 10,138, with the year-to-date volume nearly quadruplin…

DETROIT — General Motors' Chevrolet Bolt plant, in Orion Township, Mich., will take three weeks of downtime this month as the automaker continues to work through a recall of all Bolts for battery-fire risk.

Prioritizing battery module replacements for existing customers has led to a shortage of battery parts for new-vehicle production. GM notified employees at Orion Assembly that the plant will take downtime from Nov. 15 to Dec. 3. Production is slated to resume Dec. 6.

The plant is running limited production this week and next week to help optimize LG battery output and support customer and dealer needs related to the recall, spokesman Dan Flores said in a statement.

"Battery module replacements remain the priority. We will continue to adjust Orion's production schedule moving forward to best support the recall," Flores said.

The recall includes more than 140,000 Bolt EVs and EUVs and could cost up to $2 billion depending on the number of module …

SHANGHAI – The Chinese market for gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles -- some 414,000 were sold in 2020 -- remains the reserved territory of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. 

But the Japanese duopoly that helped popularize hybrids is about to face challenges anew from local automakers.

A slew of major Chinese automakers since late 2020 have been developing the key powertrain technology used in hybrid vehicles.

Geely Automobile Holdings, the largest domestic Chinese carmaker, this week revealed hybrid powertrain technology that comprises 1.5- and 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline engines, as well as transmissions and electric motors specifically developed for hybrids. 

The technology can help cut fuel consumption by more than 40 percent to as low as 3.6 liters per 100 kilometers (65.3 mpg), according to information the company disclosed. 

Geely said it plans to roll out more than 20 hybrid models ranging fr…

Lear Corp. signed an agreement to form a joint venture with Chinese electronics company Shinry Technologies to produce onboard chargers for electric vehicles in the south China city of Shenzhen. 

Lear expects to win regulatory approval and complete registration for the JV in the fourth quarter, the automotive seating and electronics supplier said this week.

Onboard chargers, by efficiently converting alternating current from a charging station into direct current stored in a vehicle battery, can shorten the amount time to recharge an EV while increasing range, according to Sng Yih, Lear’s vice president for Asia E-Systems.

“Different vehicles have different specifications for onboard chargers,” he noted. “By partnering with Shinry, we are broadening our extensive suite of advanced onboard chargers.”

Shinry, based in Shenzhen, is a Tier-one supplier of electronic components for EVs in China. It is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.  Read more about U.S. supplier Lear to build onboard vehicle chargers with Shinry

Dealership technology company Cars.com said it plans to acquire automotive financial technology company CreditIQ in a $30 million deal.

Chicago-based Cars.com said Thursday it expects to complete the transaction this month. The acquisition will be funded with cash on hand, the company said, and includes the possibility for up to $50 million in additional performance-based cash consideration over three years.

The acquisition of CreditIQ will bring Cars.com into the auto finance market and expand the company's reach beyond its current dealership advertising and technology markets, Cars.com CEO Alex Vetter said in the statement.

"The acquisition of this scalable technology supports our vision of creating frictionless omnichannel experiences and further growing our platform capabilities for buyers and sellers," Vetter said.

CreditIQ, founded in 2014, offers technology for digital retailing and financing, including online credit and loan approvals. The…

General Motors said it will invest more than $46 million at its Parma, Ohio, metal stamping plant for equipment upgrades and to support future vehicle programs.

"Our Parma operation is a longtime leader in metal stamping capabilities and this investment reflects our confidence in the women and men at Parma," Phil Kienle, GM vice president of North America manufacturing and labor relations, said in a Thursday statement. "This investment will help the Parma team continue producing high-quality sheet metal stampings for a variety of future GM products."

GM also announced $6 million investment in the Parma Metal Center in December 2020.

The Parma plant makes sheet metal stampings and assemblies for multiple GM product programs. Renovation work will begin immediately, GM said in the emailed statement.

The Parma Metal Center processes 800 tons of steel per day and supports the majority of GM vehicles built in North America. It has more than 750 dies and…

Startup EV maker Fisker Inc. said it struck a battery supply deal for its flagship model with Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL.

CATL will supply two different battery packs for the Fisker Ocean SUV, with an initial battery capacity of over 5 gigawatt-hours annually, from 2023 to 2025, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

Fisker will unveil the final production version of the Ocean SUV on Nov. 17 at the Los Angeles auto show, and said it is on track to start production and deliveries of the vehicle in November next year.

Automakers and battery manufacturers are racing to ramp up production and develop new EV batteries at a time when demand for EVs has shot up globally.

The California-based firm enters a market that has been dominated by Tesla Inc. Fisker was due to report third-quarter results later on Wednesday.