Industry

More than half a century after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, the next vehicle to explore the lunar landscape could be powered by the same Ultium batteries underpinning General Motors’ coming lineup of electric vehicles and share off-roading characteristics with the GMC Hummer EV. GM and Lockheed Martin’s lunar terrain vehicle, if selected, would

Stellantis, in its second year of existence, views itself as a startup. And it wants to help other startups along the way. The automaker is looking to foster innovation within its ranks and be a venture capitalist that supports promising outsiders. It’s doing so not only to benefit those companies, says CEO Carlos Tavares, but

A person claiming to be a current Cruise employee raised concerns with California regulators about the self-driving tech company’s safety culture and readiness to begin commercial operations in San Francisco. The letter arrived at the California Public Utilities Commission’s inbox for whistleblowers May 19, two weeks before the regulators cleared Cruise’s robotaxis for those commercial

Ford Motor Co. and South Korean battery maker SK On Co. along with its subsidiary on Thursday finalized setting up a joint venture for building and operating battery production facilities in the United States. The JV, BlueOval SK LLC, will establish a battery plant for EVs in Tennessee and two other facilities in Kentucky, the

Walmart Inc.’s deal backing an electric-vehicle startup has some strings, including a provision preventing sales to rival Amazon. The retail giant’s agreement to purchase as many as 10,000 battery-powered vans from Canoo Inc. provides a lifeline for the fledging auto manufacturer, and Canoo shares surged more than 50 percent on the news Tuesday. The caveat

Self-driving tech startup May Mobility has added to its Series C investment round, and now raised funding totalling $111 million. The money will enable the company to add engineers and incorporate its system on a new vehicle platform. The fresh funds will underpin the company’s ongoing work with Toyota Motor Corp., which has been a

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — When they first came together during a college competition at the University of Wisconsin, three friends eschewed the school’s three decades of internal combustion racing history and instead formed its first electric racing team. Their inexperience was no hindrance. “We threw ourselves into the deep end,” said Max Liben. “It was, ‘All

Doug Newcomb has joined Automotive News as a mobility reporter covering technology and trends reshaping transportation. Newcomb, 60, has a wealth of experience in the connected-car and mobility realms. He is based in Hood River, Ore., and has been reporting on car technology since 1988. His work has appeared in Wired, Automobile and WardsAuto and

A $60 million project that will feature garage condominiums along a 2.2-mile European-design driving circuit is getting underway in Michigan. The developer of an “automotive country club” called Motorsports Gateway Howell says 75 percent of the 92 garage condos are reserved and that it aims to have the track ready for members to drive on

SALZGITTER, Germany — Volkswagen Group said it will invest more than 20 billion euros ($20.38 billion) in a battery cell business jointly with partners, creating 20,000 jobs and reaching annual sales exceeding 20 billion euros by 2030 as it seeks leadership in the growing market. The PowerCo unit will manage VW’s global battery production and

Vietnamese automaker VinFast, which expects to launch two electric vehicles in the U.S. market this year, is partnering with Taiwanese battery startup ProLogium Technology on solid-state EV batteries for delivery as early as 2024, VinFast said in a statement. VinFast, through parent company Vingroup, is investing “tens of millions of U.S. dollars” in ProLogium to

Vietnamese automaker VinFast, which expects to launch two electric vehicles in the U.S. market this year, is partnering with Taiwanese battery startup ProLogium Technology on solid-state EV batteries for delivery as early as 2024, VinFast said in a statement. VinFast, through parent company Vingroup, is investing “tens of millions of U.S. dollars” in ProLogium to

A new center for electric vehicle teaching, training and development is in the works at the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. The Michigan Electric Vehicle Center is expected to be built in collaboration with the state and university, according to UM spokesman Rick Fitzgerald. “The creation of the Michigan Electric Vehicle Center will allow

By 2030, Stellantis expects to boast more than 25 electric vehicles across its U.S. portfolio. Ram will offer buyers the ability to haul loads with versatile electric pickups. Dodge will have performance enthusiasts burning rubber with zero-emission muscle cars. Jeep will have moved beyond its 4xe plug-in hybrid technology to full EVs still capable of

Software company WirelessCar is at the forefront of a global push to find new ways to use connected-vehicle data. Founded in 1999, the Swedish company provides connected services in more than 9 million vehicles in more than 100 countries. WirelessCar works with nearly a dozen automakers, with its most robust services featured in Volkswagen, Volvo

WASHINGTON — The new chief of the nation’s top auto safety regulator said the agency hasn’t been holding back as it works through a backlog of regulatory to-dos, sorts through first-of-its-kind crash data and steps up an investigation into Tesla Inc.’s Autopilot. “I think we’ve probably increased the scrutiny on all automakers since last year,”

WASHINGTON — When President Joe Biden set a nonbinding target last August for half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be zero emission by 2030, major automakers backed the goal with a caveat: They can’t do it alone. While automakers including Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis — whose executives stood

DETROIT — Beset by increasing competition, Tesla Inc.’s electric vehicle market share is expected to plummet from a dominating 70 percent today to just 11 percent by 2025 as incumbents such as General Motors and Ford overtake it, according to the annual ‘Car Wars’ study. John Murphy, a senior auto analyst at Bank of America

Tesla Inc. is bringing back its “Enhanced Autopilot” driving-assistance package for $6,000, which will sit between standard Autopilot and the automaker’s $12,000 beta test software that it calls Full Self Driving, despite not having that capability. CEO Elon Musk confirmed the move on Twitter earlier this month in response to a request from Trevor Page,

Tesla Inc. has laid off hundreds of workers on its Autopilot team as the electric-vehicle maker shuttered a California facility, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Surprisingly, the majority of those who were let go were hourly workers, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. As recently as last

The adoption of an open freight data exchange standard could reduce global carbon emissions approximately 22 percent by 2050 and eliminate 2.5 billion barrels of oil per year, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Coalition for Reimagined Mobility. Clean fuel use and electrification are not enough to completely decarbonize the freight sector in

German industrial giant Siemens is investing more than $100 million in Volkswagen Group‘s Electrify America unit, becoming the first outside investor in the North American network of electric vehicle charging stations. Including new funds from its parent Volkswagen, the Electrify America unit would receive a total injection of $450 million, the companies said in a

Sweden’s Northvolt, whose customers include BMW and Volkswagen Group, is planning to go public within the next two years as battery demand for electric vehicles booms. The company is “well positioned” for an initial public offering, founder and Chairman Carl-Erik Lagercrantz said in an interview. The venture, which has been valued at around $12 billion

Consumers want safeguards at the forefront for vehicles with automated technology such as lane centering, automated lane changing and driver monitoring, new data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows. “There does seem to be a genuine interest in this technology. But there’s also a bit of healthy skepticism around the general understanding that

SHANGHAI – Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. will start mass production next year of its latest EV battery, with greater efficiency that lets electric vehicles drive longer distances on each charge, the company said on Thursday. The world’s biggest battery maker is scrambling to retain its top position against competition from rivals such as BYD, which will

Toyota Motor Corp has cut its stake in Uber Technologies Inc by about half, after the ride-hailing company divested the autonomous driving unit at the center of their collaboration. “The development of vehicles related to automated driving was one of the main objectives of Toyota’s investment,” Toyota spokesperson Shiori Hashimoto said in a statement, adding

As Volkswagen begins U.S. production of the ID4 compact crossover, two experienced, high-profile executives who helped guide the rollout of the brand’s electric vehicle transition on the continent have departed the automaker for high-tech startups. Matt Renna, 36, previously VW Group of America’s vice president for e-mobility — and a 2020 Automotive News Rising Star

As Volkswagen begins U.S. production of the ID4 compact crossover, two experienced, high-profile executives who helped guide the rollout of the brand’s electric vehicle transition on the continent have departed the automaker for high-tech startups. Matt Renna, 36, previously VW Group of America’s vice president for e-mobility — and a 2020 Automotive News Rising Star

Just one year after closing a $10 million funding round, a Detroit-based drone software company that seeks to build highways in the sky for unmanned aircraft is on another high-flying path. Airspace Link Inc. said Wednesday it closed on a Series B funding round totaling $23.1 million at a valuation of about $200 million, according

General Motors is aiming to simplify the EV charging experience by allowing drivers to plug in and automatically charge their vehicles when using charge points on the Ultium 360 network, rather than rely on a mobile app to set up and pay for charging. GM will launch the plug-and-charge service Thursday with EVgo. After drivers