Industry

New CEO Jim Farley has instituted a number of changes in his first weeks leading Ford Motor Co. One thing that won’t change? His weekend pastime. Farley, 58, said last week in an interview with Salesforce that he won’t stop racing now that he’s reached the top job. Oftentimes, key executives are asked to curtail

The European Union has turned out the light on a glowing version of Rolls-Royce’s “Spirit of Ecstasy” hood ornament. The ultraluxury brand has discontinued the $4,558 option, which it has offered since 2013, on vehicles sold in Europe in response to a crackdown on light pollution. Everyone who bought the illuminated ornament will receive a

Musk: Cheaper Tesla ready ‘in about three years’

The Polestar 2 has arrived in the U.S., where it has two strikes against it. First of all, it’s an electric car — a sharp-looking fastback, but undeniably a sedan in a market that shows ever-declining interest in such vehicles. In addition, it’s made in China, so it faces a 27.5 percent tariff — a

The more that consumers buy vehicles online and have them delivered directly to their driveway, the less it matters how extravagant the dealership showroom is. Or so dealers argue. Several automakers relaxed deadlines for brand image and facility upgrade programs in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, but they generally say dealers’ investments in

Mercedes-Benz’s electric vehicle strategy for the U.S. market will take a contrarian approach when it unfolds next year, opting for profit margin over sales volume. The automaker will launch its EQ subbrand into the truck- and crossover-crazed market with an electric version of its tony S-Class sedan, Daimler CEO Ola Källenius said in a media

A supplier with one of the biggest industrial projects now underway in the U.S. auto industry — a $2.6 billion electric vehicle battery plant in north Georgia — expects a ruling from federal trade officials next week that could shut down construction. The legal question could create dire complications for two closely watched vehicle programs:

During homecoming festivities at Prairie View A&M University in Texas and North Carolina Central University in Durham last fall, Ford Motor Co. invited football fans to check out a tailgate — and the rest of its F-150, too. Ford provided more than 500 F-150 test drives to fans at the two schools and at the

TOKYO — Infiniti’s new global design chief is putting his own stamp on the look of the lineup, starting with a fresh aura for the QX55 and QX60 crossovers arriving next year. Among the styling changes will be ditching the so-called “crescent cut” kink in the rear pillar. Taisuke Nakamura, who took over as Infiniti

We can say this about the COVID-19 pandemic: It has taught us to identify waves of illness and trained us to look for patterns of causality. Case in point: the acute fiscal distress roiling balance sheets across much of the North American automotive supplier network. Chapter 11 bankruptcies — the business equivalent of intubating a

When the coronavirus pandemic swept into the U.S. this spring, virtually the only people who called Shults Auto Group were ready to buy a vehicle. The retailer’s stores, in New York and Pennsylvania, were required to close early on under statewide restrictions to limit transmission of the virus. As business picked up, so did the

After former Cleveland Browns defensive end Chris Smith’s girlfriend Petara Cordero died in a disabled vehicle accident in Ohio last year, he agreed to promote a new technology that could help prevent similar tragedies. Startup company Emergency Safety Solutions, known as ESS, reached out to him about its emerging product being developed for automakers and

DETROIT — Detroit’s biggest seller of luxury vehicles isn’t Cadillac anymore. It’s GMC. GMC’s high-end Denali and AT4 lines are outselling General Motors’ traditional luxury brand in the U.S. this year, according to figures from GM and the Automotive News Data Center. The automaker is building on Denali’s ability to command luxury prices by expanding

As Rolls-Royce’s lineup has expanded via new models and redesigns, the evolving British ultraluxury brand is attracting more and younger customers. A stately sedan to be chauffeured in? Yes, Rolls-Royce still offers the flagship Phantom, a posh behemoth that costs about half a million dollars. But the rest of Rolls-Royce’s lineup — the Ghost sedan,

More customers are buying cars using a computer today, but one of a dealership’s most critical tools — if not the most vital — dates back more than a century. The telephone. Some dealers have invested in or expanded the use of products that help shoppers do more of the transaction online — e-commerce platforms,

“When I went to university, we were three girls out of 120 students studying mechanical engineering,” says Dr Astrid Fontaine. “Who do you have in a company that’s engineering driven? It’s people who have studied science, technology, maths, engineering – and these were subjects in the past that mainly boys tended to study.” Dr Fontaine

ATLANTA — Dimitris Psillakis has three months before he takes over the top job at Mercedes-Benz USA. That may give the incoming CEO time to consider new solutions to the rising challenges the luxury automaker is facing. Psillakis, currently Mercedes-Benz’s Canadian boss, will oversee both the U.S. and Canada markets starting Jan. 1. The 53-year-old

Car makers and safety experts are arguing about the best technology to curb speeding on Europe’s roads. The EU is proposing kit that renders the accelerator pedal temporarily unresponsive when the speed limit is reached. The driver has to push hard on the pedal to de-activate the system and deliberately break the limit. Car makers

As with most franchised dealerships across the U.S., Ron Marhofer Auto Family loaded up on used-car inventory in March for an active spring selling season. But when the coronavirus crisis broke open that month, the retailer’s inventory of 900 used vehicles quickly started to sour. With the vehicles losing value and consumer demand waning, COO

Nissan’s latest strategy for its premium Infiniti brand has been described as less “mini-Mercedes” and more “Nissan-plus.” Financially beleaguered Nissan Motor Co. will lean into greater collaboration between mass-market Nissan and premium Infiniti. That means Infiniti will share platforms, powertrains and assembly lines with the Nissan product line in an effort to boost product development

Texas dealer Clarence Kahlig has always believed in his group’s used-vehicle business. And pandemic-strained 2020 has only strengthened that conviction. Kahlig Auto Group through the years has tried to keep its sales volume of used vehicles close to that of new vehicles. In 2019, it sold slightly more new vehicles than used, 19,275 new to

Landing the first job post-college is exhilarating and emotional while at the same time stressful and exhausting. Adding a pandemic into the mix threatens to upend the process for thousands of new graduates. For graduates of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, the disruption to the hiring and internship processes across the auto industry has brought unexpected

New UK car registrations fell 4.4% in September from a year earlier, according to the motor industry. That made it the worst September this century in what is normally the industry’s second most important month. There were just 328,041 new registrations in the month, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The car

The list of electric vehicles planned for the next five years is slightly shorter than it was in 2019, in part because some plans have been pushed back to conserve cash during the pandemic. A few vehicles have been canceled outright as automakers evaluate the market and narrow their focus. But the number of plug-ins

In one of the most unusual used-vehicle selling years ever, dealers often have had to switch up the way they get inventory and — in some cases — throw out their valuation playbook altogether. Used-vehicle sales were set for another strong year, but just a few months into 2020, the market was unexpectedly sent spiraling

Rafaela Vasquez was watching “The Voice” instead of watching the road. That much is clear. Exactly what punishment, if any, she should receive in a fatal collision between an Uber self-driving test vehicle and a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz., remains vexing, according to experts. The answer could have profound implications for the way companies develop

Driverless taxis are now available to the public in China’s biggest city. A company backed by the online tech and retail giant Alibaba has started offering a free taxi service – using a fleet of autonomous driving cars – in a small area of Shanghai. It’s one of numerous trials, of various vehicles, across the

After years of anticipation, Aston Martin’s utility-vehicle moment is here with the launch of the DBX. For the struggling British brand, the DBX will finally give the automaker an answer to competing brands that have reaped the sales benefit of adding an SUV. Production began in July. The DBX also arrives with new brand leadership.

Ex-Audi boss Rupert Stadler has become the first top executive to stand trial over Germany’s “dieselgate” scandal, which rocked the car industry in 2015. Mr Stadler appeared before a Munich court on Wednesday on charges including fraud, which he denies. Audi’s owner Volkswagen has admitted to installing software that was capable of cheating emissions tests

Prime Automotive Group is selling dealerships and narrowing its footprint. The Westwood, Mass., dealership group — the nation’s 11th-largest new-vehicle retailer as ranked by Automotive News — and its troubled majority owner GPB Capital Holdings have shed 10 dealerships in recent months, and divestitures of three stores in the Houston market are pending. In August,