Tag Archives: autoinformed.com

September Global Light Vehicle Sales Grow But Rate Slows

The US, Western and Eastern European countries all registered double digit YoY growth, partly due to the COVID plague year of 2022 being a weak base and also because of an alleviation in supply-side issues. Chinese sales grew 5.7%, helped by a booming export sector, while the domestic market was helped by personal income tax cuts and price reductions across automakers, according to GlobalData Light Vehicle Sales Forecasting Team. Continue reading

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Stellantis Pulls Out of Electronics Show to Cut Costs

In a terse statement this morning from Amsterdam,  Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) said “as the costs of the ongoing UAW strikes against Stellantis continue to mount, the Company has decided to cancel its planned display and presentations at CES® 2024.” It was scheduled to appear there during January 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Continue reading

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Honda Autonomous Vehicle Test at Toronto Pearson Airport

“Our Honda Autonomous Work Vehicle has been verified to help improve worksite efficiencies and safety through previous field tests, so we’re ready to move to the next stage of exploring real world applications with airfield operators,” said Jason VanBuren, systems engineering manager at American Honda Motor Company. Continue reading

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Ford Recalls Explorer SUVs for Loss of Power, Rollaways

Ford Motor Company is recalling ~240,000 2020-2022 model year Explorer SUVs because the rear axle horizontal mounting bolt may fracture and cause the driveshaft to disconnect. This leads to a sudden loss of power or vehicle roll-away if the parking brake is off. This is an expansion and correction of two previous recalls.* Ford’s previous recall repair was to add a software update that automatically applies the electronic service parking brake to keep the vehicle from rolling away in the event of a driveshaft failure. However, there is no safety remedy addressing the failed rear axle horizontal mounting bolt. Continue reading

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Bill Ford Asks UAW to Choose His View of the Right Path

“We can stop this now and I call on my great UAW colleagues, some of whom I’ve known for decades, many are close personal friends. We need to come together to bring an end to this acrimonious round of talks. I still believe in a bright future, one that we can build together. I still believe the automobile industry is a major force for good in our country and we will continue to be there when America needs us most. Continue reading

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Canadian Unifor Members Approve GM Pattern Agreement

“I am proud of our members at General Motors for their solidarity throughout their brief but decisive strike action and for ratifying this contract that contains life-changing improvements,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “This agreement reflects true collective bargaining. Our goal was to bring more fairness and equity to auto workplaces and to lift everyone up. We did that.” Continue reading

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Unifor GM Master Bargaining Agreement Voting Underway

Under the succinct heading of “A Pattern Worth Fighting For,” Unifor has released to its Canadian autoworker members the GM Master Bargaining Agreement, recommending that the membership vote to approve it this weekend. Significantly, General Motors has committed to a moratorium on facility closures over the life of the collective agreement by amending and renewing the existing Letter of Understanding. Continue reading

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UAW Shifts Tactics – No New Strike Actions Today

Shawn Fain in a Facebook Live broadcast this morning once again caught the Detroit Three Automakers napping when he said “We’re entering a new phase of this fight, and it demands a new approach. We’re not announcing expansion of our strike, but we are prepared at any time to call on more locals to stand up and walk out… So tomorrow, I’m calling all of our UAW members and our allies to head to a picket line,” in a show of support for all workers. Continue reading

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New Car Prices Up 34% in last Four Years. UAW Pay 6%

The video also shows that Big Three price gouging, not UAW pay, has been responsible for rising car prices in recent years. Average new car prices went up 34% over the last four years while pay for UAW members rose just 6%. The cost of labor for the Big Three is ~4-5% of total operations. The video notes that Ford, General Motors and Stellantis could double UAW wages, not raise car prices and still make billions of dollars. Continue reading

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Michigan Wins Clean Hydrogen Hub Funding

Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) today announced that a Michigan-backed clean hydrogen hub project, the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2) has been awarded up to $1 billion by an awakened US Department of Energy to develop regional supply chains for the production, distribution, and use of hydrogen in trucks and heavy-duty vehicles. The project is projected to create ~13,600 direct jobs, 12,100 in construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs. Michigan was recognized as the top state in the Midwest for clean energy jobs in the Clean Jobs America report from Environmental Entrepreneurs released in September 2023. Continue reading

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Ford Thoughts on the UAW Strike at Kentucky Truck Plant

Ford Motor executives tonight presented their version of the latest developments in the 2023 UAW contract negotiations with a notable and commendable change in tone from the initial Ford response last night. Continue reading

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No Surprise as UAW Strikes at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant

Local 862 members at Kentucky Truck make Ford Super Duty pickups as well as the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator SUVs. President Fain will host a Facebook Live at 10 am on, yes, Friday the 13th of October to provide bargaining updates and take further action if needed. Continue reading

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BMW i Ventures Invests in Formant Robotics Data Platform

“Autonomous robotic systems have broken free from R&D departments and are now being deployed at scale to drive business outcomes and resilient operations,” said Kasper Sage, Managing Partner at BMW i Ventures. “Their proliferation across mission-critical functions as well as support tasks for humans in various industries underscores the urgent need for seamless data management and orchestration across robotic endpoints. Formant is the operating system underpinning the future of the automated enterprise.” Continue reading

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Stellantis, Samsung SDI Pick Kokomo for Second Gigafactory

Stellantis has announced plans of reaching a 100% passenger car battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by 2030. To achieve these ambitious sales targets, the Stellantis said it is securing ~ 400 GWh of battery capacity, at what are planned to be non-union facilities. Stellantis, which was created by a mega-merger of Fiat Chrysler (FCA) Renault and Peugeot, thus far is taking a ‘let them eat cake’ position with the unions. This is a high risk strategy, because the unions are sticking to their knitting, so to speak. Sean Fain, the head of the UAW has roots in Kokomo Continue reading

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New York Auto Repair Shop Owner Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud

If convicted, Strocchia faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Continue reading

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