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☆ Autoworkers Vote to Authorize Strikes if Negotiations Fail
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

G.M., Ford and Stellantis have suggested they will probably agree to some form of higher wages. A fresh indication of how the talks may go came on Thursday, when an Ohio battery plant owned jointly by G.M. Mr. Fain had repeatedly criticized wages at the plant, which had started at about $16 an hour, as being too low. said in July that it expected to earn more than $9.3 billion this year, about $1 billion more than a previous forecast. Ford expects earnings before taxes of $11 billion to $12 billion this year.

Persons: Fain, Fain’s, Tesla, Ram, Ford Organizations: Ford, G.M, LG Energy, Chrysler, Jeep Locations: Ohio, Korean, G.M, United States, Amsterdam, North America

☆ July Inflation Report Price Pressures Expected to Pick Up Slightly
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | Neal Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Instead, Wall Street analysts and policymakers at the Federal Reserve will scrutinize the “core” inflation measure that strips out food and fuel prices, which can be volatile. When it comes to the monthly change in core inflation, the news could be a lot more encouraging. If that pans out, it would make for the lowest back-to-back core inflation readings since early 2021. Still, the inflation report could be more difficult for the Biden administration to brag about than the last few reports, which showed across-the-board cooling. “Core inflation pressures are cooling down,” she said.

Persons: Biden, “, ”, Laura Rosner, Warburton, ” Carl Riccadonna Organizations: Inflation, Wall Street, Federal Reserve

☆ Automakers Face a Labor Showdown as the E.V. Era Looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

also hopes to push Stellantis to reopen a plant in Belvidere, Ill., that was idled this year, putting 1,350 people out of work. Mr. Fain said many workers typically worked 50 or 60 hours a week, leaving little time for family activities or rest. Stellantis said it intended to “fairly reward” its workers but warned that any agreement must not “jeopardize our ability to continue investing” in new vehicles and technologies. The automakers are investing tens of billions of dollars in electric vehicles but have yet to see significant sales or profits from them. The union is concerned that the move to E.V.s could cost thousands of jobs because electric vehicles generally require fewer workers to produce than traditional gasoline-powered cars and trucks.

Persons: Fain, G.M, “, ” Ford, Stellantis Organizations: nonunionized Locations: Belvidere , Ill

☆ Ford’s Profit Jumped in Second Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ford Motor earned $1.9 billion from April to June, up from $667 million a year earlier, the company said on Thursday. Robust sales of gasoline-powered trucks and sport-utility vehicles more than offset a substantial loss on electric models. The automaker reported revenue of $45 billion, up 12 percent from a year earlier, and said it had sold 1.1 million vehicles around the world, an 8 percent increase. Ford said it had lost $1.1 billion before interest and taxes on its electric vehicle business in the quarter, more than twice as much as it lost a year earlier. Ford now expects to lose $4.5 billion before interest and taxes on battery-powered cars and trucks in 2023, it said on Thursday, up from an earlier forecast of a $3 billion loss.

Persons: Ford Organizations: Ford Motor

☆ Slow Battery Production Crimps G.M.’s Electric Vehicle Rollout
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

General Motors is investing tens of billions of dollars to produce a bevy of new electric vehicles and, it hopes, catch up to Tesla. This year, it is struggling to produce a new type of electric car battery pack meant for the electric vehicles it plans to introduce over the next several years. built just 50,000 electric vehicles, and most of them used an older battery pack made by a supplier. In the United States, G.M. sold fewer than 2,800 vehicles that used its new, modular Ultium battery packs, being made at an Ohio factory that the company owns with LG Energy Solution.

Persons: “ It’s, Paul Jacobson Organizations: Motors, LG Energy Locations: United States, Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan

Carvana, the troubled used-car retailer, on Wednesday announced that it had reached a debt restructuring agreement with most of its bondholders in an effort to lower interest payments over at least the next two years and put its business on more solid financial footing. But Carvana took on a lot of debt, made a big acquisition and was unprepared for falling used car prices and rising interest rates. Carvana said its restructuring agreement covered more than $5 billion of senior, unsecured bonds and included the participation of Apollo Global Management, its largest bondholder. The interest on that new debt will be paid in kind for the next two years, meaning the principal Carvana owes will increase but the company won’t have to make about $430 million in interest payments in cash. The new debt will also come due later than the old notes.

Persons: Carvana Organizations: Wednesday, Apollo Global Management

☆ Ford Slashes Price of Electric F-150 as Demand Weakens
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ford Motor on Monday reduced prices of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck by between $6,000 and nearly $10,000, the latest sign of sluggish demand for electric vehicles. The price cuts come as inventories of unsold electric vehicles are rising on dealer lots, and follow several rounds of discounting by Tesla, the dominant seller of electric cars. Ford is lowering prices after it temporarily halted production of the truck this year to upgrade its assembly line and increase output. By the fall, the company expects its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center near Detroit to be able to churn out 150,000 Lightnings a year, triple its current production capacity. Competition in the electric vehicle business is growing more intense.

Persons: Tesla Organizations: Ford, Electric Vehicle, General Motors, Chevrolet Silverado Locations: Detroit

☆ Autoworkers Open Contract Talks in a Fighting Mood
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The three Detroit automakers and the United Auto Workers union have begun negotiating a new labor contract in what could become the most contentious talks between the two sides in perhaps half a century. elected a president who has vowed to win back many of the wage and benefit concessions the union has ceded over the last two decades. Shawn Fain, an outsider candidate, prevailed in an upset election victory over the incumbent U.A.W. president this year largely by promising to take a more militant approach to contract negotiations than his recent predecessors. Our union is united.

Persons: Shawn Fain, ” Mr, Fain, ” Organizations: Detroit, United Auto Workers, Motors, Ford Motor Locations: North America, Detroit

☆ Gerald C. Meyers, C.E.O. Who Paved Way for the S.U.V., Dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His death was announced by his daughter Susan Meyers. In 1970, as a senior manufacturing executive, Mr. Meyers was tasked with evaluating a possible acquisition of Kaiser Jeep. But the board proceeded anyway — and put Mr. Meyers in charge. To appeal to more consumers, he upgraded existing Jeeps with better engines, suspensions and interiors, and directed the development of a new wagon, the Jeep Cherokee. Sales soon surged, steadying AMC’s shaky finances and driving consumer interest in roomy off-road vehicles.

Persons: Gerald C, Meyers, Susan Meyers, Kaiser Jeep, steadying Organizations: American Motors Corporation, American Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, AMC, General Motors, Kaiser, Jeep Locations: West Bloomfield, Mich, United States, roomy

☆ Ford’s U.S. Sales Rose 10% in the Second Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ford Motor said Thursday that its new-vehicle sales rose 10 percent in the three months between April and June, thanks to robust demand for trucks. The automaker sold 531,662 motor vehicles, up from 483,688 in the second quarter of the year, as sales of pickups, delivery vans and heavy trucks increased 26 percent. The gain in truck sales more than offset a decline of nearly 3 percent in sales of electric vehicles. Ford sold 14,843 battery-powered cars and trucks in the quarter, down from 15,273 in the same period a year earlier. The upgrade work mainly affected the Mustang Mach-E, whose sales declined 21 percent in the second quarter.

Persons: Ford Organizations: Ford Motor, Ford

☆ New Car Sales Jumped in the Second Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the end of June, dealers had about 1.8 million vehicles in stock, nearly 800,000 more than at the same point in 2022, according to Cox data. At the same time, however, higher interest rates and higher car prices have put new-car purchases out of reach of many consumers. Cox estimated that total sales of new cars and trucks rose 11.6 percent in the first half of the year, to 7.65 million. The firm now expects full-year sales to top 15 million, which would be a rise of 8 percent. Toyota said its U.S. sales rose 7 percent, to 568,962 cars and light trucks.

Persons: Smoke, Cox Organizations: Cox, Toyota, Chrysler

☆ G.M.’s Sales Jumped 19% in the Second Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

General Motors said on Wednesday that its new-vehicle sales in the United States increased 19 percent from April to June, the strongest sign yet that the auto industry was bouncing back from parts shortages and overcoming the effects of higher interest rates. The automaker, the largest in the United States, said it sold 691,978 vehicles in the second quarter, the company’s highest quarterly total in more than two years. More recently, rising interest rates have made auto loans more expensive, causing some consumers to defer purchases or opt for used vehicles. “I’m not saying we are on the cusp of exciting growth here,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive, a research firm. “But we are now at a turning point where the auto market returns to more balance.

Persons: Motors, shutdowns, I’m, ”, Jonathan Smoke Organizations: Cox Automotive Locations: United States

☆ Lordstown Motors, an Electric Truck Maker, Files for Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lordstown Motors, the troubled electric pickup truck company that bought a shuttered General Motors factory in Ohio, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. Foxconn said Lordstown had breached their investment agreement because its stock had fallen below $1 a share. Lordstown said on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit asserting that Foxconn failed to honor its agreement to invest more money into the company. Lordstown was founded in 2018 by Steve Burns, the former chief executive of another electric vehicle company called Workhorse Group. plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that had produced the Chevrolet Cruze sedan.

Persons: Donald J, Foxconn, Lordstown, Steve Burns, Trump Organizations: Motors, General Motors, Trump, Chevrolet, Twitter Locations: Ohio, Taiwan, Lordstown , Ohio

☆ G.M. and Stellantis Paid $364 Million in Fuel Economy Fines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

General Motors and Stellantis paid a combined $363.8 million in penalties for failing to meet federal fuel-economy standards for cars and trucks they produced in previous years, according to federal government documents posted on Friday. paid $128.2 million for failing to meet the targets with the light trucks it sold in 2018 and 2019, according to documents published on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website. Stellantis, the company created when Fiat Chrysler merged with the French automaker Peugeot, paid $235.6 million for cars it sold in 2016 and 2017. paid its fine in December, the documents showed, and Stellantis made payments in December and May. The penalties were levied under the corporate average fuel-economy standards that the safety agency oversees.

Persons: Stellantis, G.M Organizations: Motors, Fiat Chrysler, French, Peugeot, Reuters

☆ U.S. Will Require All New Cars to Have Automatic Braking Systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The top federal auto safety regulator on Wednesday proposed requiring all new cars and trucks to have automatic braking systems that reduce the likelihood of collisions. The plan from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would require car companies to expand the use of more advanced and powerful systems than those currently installed in some vehicles on the market. Vehicles would also have to brake and stop to avoid hitting stopped or slow-moving vehicles at higher speeds. “I know we’re throwing a challenge out here, but we also know this technology is pretty well developed,” she said. In some places, roads have been designed and lighted to keep traffic moving quickly rather than to protect pedestrians and cyclists.

Persons: Polly Trottenberg, ” Ms, Trottenberg, ” Organizations: National, Traffic

☆ Electric Vans, Delayed by Production Problems, Find Eager Buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A few minutes of number crunching showed he was spending about $110 to $140 a week on fuel for each of the four older, diesel Transits in his fleet. Then he worked out how much electricity he was using to charge the electric model to drive the same distance — about 300 miles a week. It makes it really, really cheap to operate.”In the auto industry’s transition to electric vehicles, passenger vehicles have led the way. Tesla remains the largest seller by far, while General Motors, Ford Motor, Hyundai, Volkswagen and others are selling multiple electric models. sales total in the U.S. market to top one million this year for the first time.

☆ Ford Reports $1.8 Billion Profit in Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ford Motor made $1.8 billion in profit in the first three months of 2023 as a result of a substantial increase in revenue and in the number of vehicles it sold around the world, the company said Tuesday. The positive result is a recovery from the same period a year ago, when the automaker lost $3.1 billion as the value of its stake in the electric-vehicle maker Rivian declined. In 2022, Ford was slowed by shortages of computer chips and other key parts that prevented it from making as many vehicles as it had expected. This time, the company reported revenue in the first quarter of $41.5 billion, up 20 percent from $34.5 billion in the year-earlier period. Globally, Ford sold 1.1 million cars and trucks in the first quarter, compared with 966,000 in the first three months of 2022.

☆ G.M.’s Profits Fell 18.5% in the First Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

said Tuesday that it would build a battery plant with a South Korean partner, Samsung SDI. is hoping for a surge in sales of electric vehicles this year on the back of those new models. “We feel good about the demand being robust for the electric vehicles we are producing,” he said. The company said it now expected net income for next year to be $8.4 billion to $9.9 billion. In the United States, sales of new vehicles rose about 7 percent in the first quarter, to 3.6 million vehicles.

☆ Biden Plans an Electric Vehicle Revolution. Now, the Hard Part.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Coral Davenport | Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Aggressive rules proposed by the Biden administration to drastically speed up the country’s transition to electric vehicles, and significantly cut the auto pollution that is dangerously heating the planet, face several economic, logistical and legal challenges. The plans, outlined Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency, are designed to ensure that two-thirds of new passenger cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the United States are all-electric by 2032. If enacted as proposed, the regulations would mean a quantum leap for the auto industry in the United States, where just 5.8 percent of new cars and less than 2 percent of trucks sold last year were all-electric. Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gases generated by the United States, the second-biggest polluting country after China. To head off climate catastrophe, President Biden has promised to cut the nation’s emissions in half by 2030.

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