Trade News

A Biden administration effort to untangle global chip supply snarls is facing resistance from lawmakers and executives in Taiwan and South Korea, complicating attempts to resolve the bottlenecks hurting industries from automobiles to consumer electronics.

The U.S. Commerce Department late last month asked companies in the semiconductor supply chain to fill out questionnaires by Nov. 8 seeking information pertaining to the ongoing chip shortage. While the request is voluntary, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has warned industry representatives that the White House might invoke the Defense Production Act or other tools to force their hands if they don’t respond.

The issue has become particularly thorny in Taiwan, home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which accounts for more than half the global contract chipmaking market. That dominance has already prompted rivals like Intel Corp. to call for more domestic investment and spurred governments in the U.S…

Apple Inc., whose CarPlay interface is used by millions of motorists to control music, get directions and make phone calls, is looking to expand its reach within cars. The company is working on technology that would access functions like the climate-control system, speedometer, radio and seats, according to people with knowledge of the effort. The initiative, known as “IronHeart” internally, is still in its early stages and would require the cooperation of automakers. 

The work underscores the idea that cars could be a major moneymaker for the tech giant -- even without selling a vehicle itself. While plans for an Apple car have faced setbacks, including the defection of key executives this year, the company has continued to make inroads with CarPlay. It lets customers link up their iPhones with a vehicle to handle so-called infotainment features. Seven years after its launch, CarPlay is now offered by most major automakers. 

IronHeart would tak…

BERLIN -- With final approval for its German factory potentially just weeks away, Tesla's Elon Musk will make an appearance in the tiny town of Gruenheide this Saturday to host an open day at the plant.

Despite pandemic-related curbs limiting gatherings in Germany to under 5,000 people, Tesla applied for -- and got -- a permit to have 9,000 at the Oct. 9 'Giga-Fest', after local authorities agreed the event would be COVID safe.

Coming on the heels of officials allowing the company to break ground on its new site before final approval had even been granted, environmental groups say this is just the latest example of Tesla being given too much leeway to act disruptively in Germany -- a pattern they worry will continue.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

The pre-approvals Musk has received from local authorities to build without final permission are legal, but rarely used by German companies because of the associated risk: if final appr…

TOKYO -- Mazda, which sees utility vehicles as a fast path to profits, is beefing up its crossover lineup, starting with the addition of a newly minted Mazda CX-50 to be made at its plant in Alabama.

That new nameplate, which will arrive in 2022, will be followed by a slew of new products that will be built on the Japanese automaker's upcoming large-vehicle platform. Some North America offerings will use robust turbo-charged inline six-cylinder engines and plug-in hybrid systems.

The fleet of new nameplates will include the Mazda CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90, Mazda Motor Corp. said in a news release on Thursday. All of the vehicles will land between 2022 and 2023.

Mazda is unleashing the crossover blitz as it repositions its lineup toward the hot-selling utility vehicle segment and tries to move upmarket with bigger, more powerful offerings.

"We aim to offer customers a diverse choice of SUVs able to provide both the driving pleasure and the lat…

Lexus has set pricing for the redesigned 2022 Lexus NX and revealed fuel economy ratings for the compact crossover set to arrive in U.S. showrooms in December.

The base model front-wheel-drive version, the 2022 NX 250, will start at $39,025, including delivery, while all-wheel drive is an available $1,600 option. The more powerful NX350, which comes standard with awd, begins at $42,625, including delivery, with the hybridized version selling at a $500 discount and starting at $42,125. The top-end NX450h+ hybrid will start at $56,635, Lexus said.

The NX 250 is expected to achieve fuel economy ratings of 26 city/33 highway/28 mpg combined when equipped with fwd, and 25 city/32 highway/28 mpg combined in awd configurations, while the NX 350 is expected to achieve fuel economy ratings of 22 city/29 highway/25 mpg combined, Lexus said.

The NX, with U.S. sales of 50,544 this year through September, up 41 percent, is the No. 2 seller among luxury compact c…

DETROIT – General Motors plans to double its revenue and expand margins by 2030 through a series of steps, such as retooling existing plants for electric vehicle production, commercializing Cruise's business and leveraging new businesses, including BrightDrop and Ultifi.

"GM is unlocking a secular growth story that is changing the trajectory of our business," CFO Paul Jacobson said in a statement.

The automaker plans to double revenue to $280 billion from its five-year average of $140 billion by 2030, with software and other new businesses growing nearly 50 percent annually through 2030. The core automotive business will fund much of the growth, Jacobson said. GM expects electric-vehicle revenue to grow from a projected $10 billion in 2023 to about $90 billion annually by 2030 as the automaker's EV portfolio expands. GM has said it aims to launch 30 EVs globally and invest $35 million in electric and autonomous vehicle development through 2025.…

Expanding Morgan Auto Group of Tampa, Fla., has purchased a collection of seven luxury and import dealerships in Tampa, marking its largest acquisition yet based on number of stores.

Morgan Auto, one of the largest dealership groups in the country, on Tuesday bought Reeves Import Motorcars from Vivian Reeves, who retired, Morgan Auto CEO Brett Morgan said.

"For us this is the most meaningful acquisition that we've made, especially in the sense that it doubles the number of luxury rooftops," Morgan told Automotive News. "It's in our hometown. They're people we know in a market that we know very well. It takes us to 21 total rooftops in Tampa Bay."

Reeves Import Motorcars included Audi Tampa, Reeves BMW of Tampa, Land Rover Tampa, Maserati of Tampa, Porsche of Tampa, Reeves Subaru of Tampa and Reeves Volkswagen.

Audi, Porsche and Maserati are new brands for Morgan Auto. Acquiring those brands was a draw for the group, Morgan said, adding that buyin…

General Motors said it is partnering with a General Electric division to develop a supply chain of rare earth and other materials used in the manufacturing of EVs and renewable energy equipment.

The collaboration with GE Renewable Energy will create a supply chain based in North America and Europe and evaluate ways to improve supplies of heavy and light rare earth materials and magnets, copper and electrical steel, GM said in a statement Wednesday.

Metal alloys and finished magnets produced from rare earth materials are critical parts used in manufacturing electric motors for automotive and renewable power generation.

Lithium prices extended their yearlong rally as surging demand spurs a shortfall of the key battery material.

Prices have more than doubled in the past year, according to a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence index of lithium carbonate and hydroxide. Demand for the materials used in EVs and renewable-energy storage has soared and, while miners are seeking to boost supply, there’s not enough to meet consumption.

“The financing for lithium projects is still too little, too late,” said Cameron Perks, a minerals analyst at BMI in Melbourne, Australia. “The market deficit is already occurring.”

A lengthy slump since 2018’s peak meant investment in the sector slowed, while the pandemic has exacerbated supply constraints. On the demand side, the green energy transition has accelerated the adoption of EVs and global lithium consumption is estimated to grow five-fold by the end of this decade, according to BloombergNEF.

“As prices increase now, there will be u…

MEXICO CITY -- Volkswagen will extend a production stop at one of its segments in a plant at the central state of Puebla that produces the Jetta model from Oct. 6 to 15, a labor union document showed on Tuesday.

It comes as the industry is facing a worldwide semiconductor shortage after manufacturers shifted production toward laptops, cell phones and video games during the pandemic.

VW in Mexico  did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Automakers such as General Motors, VW and Ford have suspended operations several times this year.

In early September, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to create a working group on supply chains of semiconductor manufacturers to promote their proper functioning and reduce the region's vulnerability to the lack of supplies.