Trade News

Since leading the U.S. materials supplier GST AutoLeather out of its bankruptcy three years ago, CEO Randy Johnson has kept his attention focused on three campaigns: improving global operations by instilling the lean-thinking Toyota Production System; being unwavering in the company's commitment to leather as its only material; and exploring new ideas for how cowhides make their way into cars and trucks.

On those first two counts, Johnson reports that GST is back, earning new business at the rate of twice its current market share. And to reflect its changing fortunes, the privately held company this year changed its name to Pangea.

But it is on that third count — innovation — that he says the supplier is really experiencing a heyday.

Pangea has developed a tanning method that improves the appearance of its leather while taking cost out of it. The company has also introduced a patented surface treatment, called 3D Embossing, that wi…

From the peak of the hype cycle through the depths of disillusionment, the question at the core of the self-driving technology industry remains unchanged: How safe is safe enough?

Most companies have attempted to answer that question with tangible statistics. Number of miles driven. Number of crashes. Rate of disengagements or interventions over number of miles tested. But these metrics have provided, at best, a snapshot glance at safety. At worst, they're a proxy for actual progress.

What constitutes an appropriate level of safety for deployments of self-driving vehicles on public roads is still ambiguous.

"It's almost like going back to English class and thinking about how you actually make a sentence," said Nat Beuse, Aurora's head of safety. "There's an eerie similarity there. In order to construct a proper sentence, there's a way you have to do it. And for a safety case, I think there's a way you have to do it, too."

At the top level of tho…

Nissan's U.S. production continues to feel the effect of a COVID-19 outbreak at a microchip supplier plant in Malaysia this month.

The Malaysian situation had already closed the Nissan's Smyrna, Tenn., plant through Aug. 30. But that interruption will be extended through Sept. 12, affecting production of key models including the Nissan Rogue and Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 crossovers.

In addition, Nissan's Aguascalientes, Mexico, factory will be idled through Sept. 5, which will impact the Versa, Kicks and Sentra models.

In a memo sent to dealers late Friday and obtained by Automotive News, Nissan said it expects U.S. production to be cut by about 36 percent in September.

Including the newly announced downtime, Nissan is forecast to lose 157,000 units of North American production this year, according to AutoForecast Solutions (AFS).

On Aug. 10, Nissan announced that Smyrna operations would be idled for two we…

Cox Automotive's parent company will require employees in some of its locations to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-October or face termination, Automotive News has learned.

Cox Enterprises, which includes dealership technology unit Cox Automotive, set an Oct. 18 deadline for employees in certain locations to receive full vaccination against COVID-19, with an exception for approved religious and medical reasons, the company said Thursday in a statement provided to Automotive News.

Atlanta-based Cox declined to disclose the company locations covered by the vaccine requirement or specify how it will determine what qualifies as an approved exemption.

"With the rapid spike in COVID-19 cases across the country, vaccines are an important step to protect the health and safety of our employees, families, customers and communities," Cox said in the statement. "We will continue to follow the guidance of federal, state and local health officials to assess ou…

Dodge is using a logo from its past on the electrified vehicles that will take it into the future.

The muscle car brand is bringing back the triangular "fratzog" for its eco-friendly speedsters, said brand CEO Tim Kuniskis. The logo appeared on a mysterious, blacked-out model during Dodge's Stellantis EV day presentation in July where Kuniskis announced the brand would debut a battery-electric muscle car in 2024.

The logo, used from 1962 to 1976 according to CNBC, pays homage to the brand's history.

"I think it fits perfectly with electrified technology, especially when you make it 3D and light it up," Kuniskis told Automotive News during a media preview for the Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event this month that featured drag racing and Hellcat thrill rides. "I think it looks really cool, really modern, really fresh, but at the same time, a nod to our heritage, which is what we do. We're never going to walk away from that."

DETROIT -- Phil Brook, the Buick and GMC marketing chief who led a splashy, wide-ranging GMC Hummer reveal, has retired from General Motors, effective Aug. 1.

Molly Peck, Buick sales and marketing executive director of SAIC-GM in China, will become vice president of Buick-GMC marketing Sept. 1, GM told Automotive News.

Peck, a three-decade veteran of GM, has held lead sales and marketing roles across each of GM's four brands in the U.S., Shanghai and Dubai.

During her most recent post in China, Peck's team established product strategy, marketing best practices and sales innovations to expand Buick in China, GM said. Last year, Buick volume grew 4.1 percent to 885,207 vehicles in China. Sales of Buick SUVs climbed 50 percent.

In her new role, one of Peck's first tasks will be to launch the electric Hummer pickup, slated to go on sale this year, after a nearly 10-year hiatus for the nameplate. GM aims to launch an all-electric lineup by 2035.…

Documents filed by General Motors and Hyundai Motor Co. with the U.S. auto safety regulator show how the two automakers separately identified the same cause of battery fires in their newest electric vehicles, tracing them to similar manufacturing defects in battery cells made at at least two plants operated by a unit of LG Chem.

"Together with our client and partners, LG is actively working to ensure that the recall measures are carried out smoothly," an LG spokesperson said on Friday. "The reserves and ratio of cost to the recall will be decided depending on the result of the joint investigation looking into the root cause, currently being held by GM, LG Electronics and LG Energy Solution."

GM and Hyundai linked the fires to lithium-ion battery cells supplied by LG Energy Solution, an LG Chem subsidiary and one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers. The cells were produced at LG plants in South Korea and China.

Meanwhile, in Korea, a recent decli…

The coronavirus pandemic forced dealerships to get better at e-commerce last year. And it wasn't just because some states and cities declared it was the only way stores could do business.

Consumers were already embracing the convenience and speed of shopping online. And they likely will continue to shift in that direction, as industry surveys consistently show that auto buyers don't want to wait for hours to sign paperwork or reenter information they filled out digitally.

But now, more than a year into the pandemic, a second wave of innovation around digital retailing is transforming auto retail. Companies ranging from automakers to software vendors and from large public retailers to smaller family-owned groups are building on the e-commerce foundation laid in 2020.

The trend is also drawing growing interest from dealership technology companies, now scrambling to expand into spaces where they didn't compete before or possibly were just starting to comp…

General Motors CEO Mary Barra signaled the automaker would continue its relationship with South Korea's LG Energy Solution, the battery supplier at the heart of its $1.8 billion vehicle recall, Bloomberg News reported.

The automaker has "multiple pathways" to secure a leading position in the transition to EVs, Barra said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday.

GM last week expanded its recall of Bolt EVs due to fire risk from what it called battery manufacturing defects, saying it would seek reimbursement from LG.

The defects are limited to the Bolt and will not affect GM's new Ultium battery platform, which it developed with LG to power flagship electric vehicles due later this year, Barra said.

WASHINGTON — Ford Motor Co. is directing some owners of the 2021 F-150 pickup — the nation's bestselling vehicle — to not drive their vehicles if the driver-side seat belt fails a self-inspection test, U.S. vehicle safety regulators said Thursday.

The automaker is recalling 16,430 F-150s in the U.S. manufactured with the SuperCab body style. The front seat belt webbing on those vehicles may be incorrectly routed and, therefore, may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, according to a NHTSA document.

The affected vehicles were manufactured between Jan. 2 and May 27. Ford's Regular Cab and Crew Cab body styles use a different seat belt assembly and are not part of the recall, NHTSA said.

Ford, as of Monday, is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this condition. The automaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Vehicle owners will be notified starting Sept. 27. The notification will include instructio…