Tesla hits pedal to boost sales as 2021 closes

A strong quarter would show that EV maker is holding up well amid supply-chain turmoil, the highly contagious omicron variant and snowstorms that have clobbered much of the West Coast.

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Tesla will recall 475,000 vehicles over safety issues, NHTSA says

The EV maker is recalling 356,309 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles to address rearview camera issues and 119,009 Model S vehicles due to front hood problems.

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Ford’s market value closed above GM’s for first time in five years

Ford shares have more than doubled this year and have been trading around a 20-year-high.

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BMW will create up to 6,000 new jobs next year, CEO says

CEO Oliver Zipse told a German newspaper the automaker is seeing high demand for its EVs.

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Land Rover Range Rover: Adding 3rd row no simple matter

It wasn't just a matter of installing a stylish set of leather-covered third-row seats and bolting them to the floor.

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Elon Musk sells another $1 billion in Tesla shares, nears stock offload target

The latest sale takes Musk’s total to about 15.6 million shares, for about $16.4 billion.

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For forty grand, auto technicians competed for top honors

A national competition just declared a winner for the title of best auto tech in America. Meet Logan Brown.

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Waymo, Geely's Zeekr team up on robotaxis

Chinese automaker Geely Holding's premium electric mobility brand will make EVs for Waymo to be deployed as fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicles across U.S.

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Rivian delays some pickup, SUV deliveries

Rivian Automotive Inc. is delaying deliveries of electric pickup truck and SUVs equipped with Max battery packs to 2023, CEO RJ Scaringe said in a letter to customers on Tuesday.

Scaringe said the majority of Rivian's roughly 71,000 preorders for the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV in the United States and Canada were for a version of the vehicles with a smaller battery pack option providing 314 miles of range on one charge.

"In order to serve the largest number of preorder holders, we will be prioritizing building the Adventure Package with Large pack battery during the next year," Scaringe said in the mail posted by Rivian on the social media platform Reddit.

Rivian shares closed down 3.9 percent at $102.87.

After the electric vehicle maker reported its first quarterly results as a listed firm earlier this month, Scaringe had outlined production challenges citing global supply-chain constraints, the COVID-19 pandemic, a tight labor market and short-term issues around building electric battery modules.

Rivian has delivered 386 of the 652 vehicles it has built, including its pickup and SUV.

The bigger battery pack, called the Max pack, is expected to provide 400 miles of range on a single charge. Only 20 percent of the preorders were for the Max pack.

Rivian said that in early 2022 it will introduce a feature for customers on their Rivian accounts that will display their current delivery timing estimate.

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Chip shortage bumps back McLaren's Artura launch

McLaren has reserved 40 percent of Artura hybrid supercar output for 2022.

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CES 2022 coverage: Live chat, mobility forum, podcasts and more

The annual technology showcase features a host of automotive events.

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Schedule change improves culture, retention

Fred Anderson Toyota of Sanford in North Carolina has improved its retention rate for sales reps since its January 2021 schedule change for sales staff and finance-and-insurance managers.

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The chip shortage is still complicated going in into 2022

Automakers are crying for more microchips and chipmakers are addressing the problem. But can it happen quickly enough to solve the problem in 2022?

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Total vehicles in operation by manufacturer in the U.S. – as of Q3 2021

Experian Automotive offers a look at the total number of vehicles in operation in the United States, listed by manufacturer.

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Not again! Will 2022 bring COVID sequel part 2?

We look back a unforgettable 2021 while hoping for pandemic-free days ahead in 2022.

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Automotive News' top stories of 2021

In 2021 Tesla became a trillion-dollar company, public dealership groups bought up stores like early-pandemic toilet paper and we got used to saying "Stellantis." And then there's the global microchip shortage.

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The latest numbers on the microchip shortage: Estimate of projected lost vehicle production in North America

AutoForecast Solutions has kept track of the microchip shortage’s impact on assembly plants across the globe since the beginning of the year. Here are the projected production cutbacks on lines in North America, as of Dec. 17.

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Auto industry lost a host of influential people in 2021

The automotive world lost a number of people in 2021 who spent their careers taking the industry to new levels. Here are some of them.

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At Stellantis, supplier diversity a team effort

Bashar Cholagh, Gregory Hawkins, Scott Thiele, Teresa Thiele and Marvin Washington each have had a hand in diversity efforts within Stellantis' massive purchasing operation.

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Mazda Miata designer Shunji Tanaka dead at 75

Tanaka led the exterior and interior design of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, a lightweight Japanese roadster inspired by postwar-era British sports cars.

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Three dealership groups, former general manager buy dealerships in December

Swickard Auto Group, Key Auto Group and Gerald Auto Group each bought dealerships in December transactions, while a former dealership general manager bought his first store this month.

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GM, Waymo pull out of CES 2022 over omicron variant concerns

GM CEO Mary Barra had been scheduled to give a keynote speech at the annual conference on Jan. 5.

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Tesla to stop games on infotainment screens in moving cars, NHTSA says

NHTSA on Wednesday opened a formal investigation into 580,000 Tesla vehicles sold since 2017 over the automaker's decision to allow games to be played on the front center touchscreen.

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Waymo pulls out of CES 2022 over omicron variant concerns

Self-driving tech company Waymo is the latest to withdraw from plans for an in-person CES in January.

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Remarketing executive Tom Caruso dies at 62

Caruso was promoted to COO and then CEO of ADESA in 2009. He died Monday after a battle with cancer.

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Prime files protest against Subaru of New England in N.H. over denial of Group 1 acquisition

Prime Subaru of Manchester in New Hampshire is seeking a hearing as part of a protest filed with the state's Motor Vehicle Industry Board over Subaru of New England's refusal to approve Group 1 Automotive Inc. as buyer of the dealership.

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Supply chain crisis shifts power balance between automakers and suppliers

The automotive supply chain crisis has laid bare the interdependency of each supplier tier from top to bottom and underscored the importance of players big and small.

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Tesla seeks first U.S. battery graphite with Syrah supply deal

Syrah Resources will supply Elon Musk’s company with graphite anode material for an initial four years, with an option to buy additional volumes.

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Chevrolet's holiday ad pulls at your heartstrings; YouTube version generates 4.8M views

The story of love, loss and giving will run in shorter variants on social platforms and broadcast television for the rest of the season. The YouTube video attracted 4.8 million views as of Thursday.

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Two dealership groups add stores in Ky., Colo. in December deals

Jeff Wyler Automotive added a dealership in Kentucky, while Phil Long Dealerships expanded in Colorado.

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XLerate Group plans to purchase America's Auto Auction

Once combined, XLerate and America's Auto Auction will have 39 auction sites in 19 states.

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Tesla, authorities submit documents for German plant approval

Due to environmental objections and red tape, it remained unclear when the first vehicles will roll off the production line at the site.

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CarMax boosts vehicle sales, sees record revenue in Q3

CarMax's success procuring and selling vehicles helped the company achieve record net revenue of $8.53 billion during the third quarter, a 64 percent increase from a year earlier.

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Ford recalls nearly 185,000 F-150s for driveshaft fracture hazard

Ford Motor Co. is recalling 184,698 F-150 vehicles from the 2021 and 2022 model years because the driveshaft, which transfers torque to other parts of the vehicle, may become fractured.

In a safety recall report filed with NHTSA, the automaker said heat and noise insulators on the underbody of the vehicle could loosen and make contact with the aluminum driveshaft, which could damage it.

A compromised driveshaft could cause a loss of drive power and increase the risk of a crash, Ford said. A broken driveshaft dragging on the ground may interfere with wheels turning properly, which could lead to a loss of vehicle control.

Ford said dealers will inspect and repair the driveshaft if needed and fully attach underbody insulators. The automaker said owner notification letters were expected to be mailed Jan. 31. Dealers were notified Tuesday.

As of Dec. 7, Ford had received 27 reports of fractured aluminum driveshafts possibly related to sagging underbody insulators on the F-150s, the automaker said.

In a recall chronology report filed with NHTSA, Ford said it was not aware of any accidents or injuries connected to the issue.

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GM to provide EV components across industries

Use cases for GM's EV component sets span from the Chevrolet Performance and Aftermarket division to GM Powered Solutions and even airport tractor equipment.

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Nikola's year has seen delayed products, stock price drops and a cash shortage

Nikola had a lousy 2021 with product delays, a cash shortage, and its founder resigning under a cloud of fraud allegations.

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Credit Acceptance settles Miss. lawsuit over 'unfair and deceptive practices'

The subprime auto lender, a common target for litigation by state attorneys general, will make a charitable donation of $125,000 and pay $325,000 to the state under the deal.

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Musk completes Tesla stock sales, complains about California's 'overtaxation'

Tesla shares, which had hovered near record-highs, lost about a quarter of their value after Musk said on Nov. 6 he would sell 10 percent of his stake if Twitter users agreed.

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U.S. reverses Trump effort to quash California vehicle emissions rules

The Biden administration finalized a reversal of a Trump-era rule that sought to pre-empt California's vehicle emissions regulations.

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Three dealership groups expand with December acquisitions

Three dealership groups have expanded in Mississippi, South Carolina and Pennsylvania with acquisitions that closed this month.

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Tesla in-vehicle gaming feature under investigation by NHTSA

NHTSA's investigation includes 580,000 Tesla vehicles sold since 2017 over the automaker's decision to allow games to be played on the front center touchscreen.

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BMW Cleveland settles EEOC age discrimination case for $390,000

The dealership denied all allegations and admits no liability under the settlement.

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Geely, Renault plan JV targeting hybrids, report says

The joint venture could export Geely's Lynk cars built at Renault's plant in Korea to the U.S., Reuters sources said.

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Geely, Renault plan hybrid-focused JV for Asia, report says

The joint venture could export Geely's Lynk cars built at Renault's plant in Korea to the U.S., Reuters sources said.

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Michigan, after missing out on Ford plants, enacts $1.5 billion economic development ‘toolkit'

Several auto industry projects are in the pipeline for Michigan. One likely candidate is a massive General Motors battery plant near Lansing, Mich.

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Toyota to start hardware, software update service in Japan

The service will offer new safety features, refreshed interiors, and software upgrades to car computer systems.

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EV maker Nikola Corp agrees to pay $125M to settle SEC charges of defrauding investors

EV maker Nikola Corp has agreed to pay $125M to settle charges of defrauding and misleading investors.

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KPMG raises spectre of used-car price drop

KPMG warned that used-vehicle prices could fall abruptly and raise negative equity issues once new-vehicle supply rebounds.

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Hyundai CEO Chang shifts resources to pursue EVs

Bullish Hyundai CEO Jaehoon Chang is counting on global EV sales surging 57 percent to 220,000 vehicles for Hyundai and Genesis next year.

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Florida threatens to suspend Carvana dealer license, report says

The online used-car retailer has until Jan. 31 to submit title applications for all vehicles sold before Dec. 1, the report said.

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