Elon Musk takes 9.2% stake in Twitter; shares skyrocket
Twitter shares exploded 26% in premarket trading after the Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed that Musk snapped up more than 73 million shares, valued at $2.89 billion.
Auto Industry
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Russia war could further escalate auto prices and shortages
The war’s damage to the auto industry has emerged first in Europe. But U.S. production will likely suffer eventually, too, if Russian exports of metals—from palladium for catalytic converters to nickel for electric vehicle batteries—are cut off.
IBJ Podcast: Pete the Planner goes car shopping during an auto-industry shortage
Buyers have no negotiating power. Zilch, Dunn tells podcast host Mason King. And that’s because there are as many buyers on a lot looking for a vehicle as there are cars.
Chip shortage forces GM to pause production at Indiana plant
The plant makes Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierra light duty pickups and employs more than 4,000 blue collar workers.
Toyota idling output at Indiana assembly plant for five days
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to pause production at its Princeton assembly pant because of supply chain disruptions. The Princeton plant assembles the hybrid Sienna minivan, the Highlander/Highlander hybrid SUV and the Sequoia full-size SUV.
Ford splitting electric vehicle, traditional operations into two individual businesses
Ford plans a major restructuring with two distinct but strategically interdependent auto businesses–Ford Blue focusing on traditional combustion engines and Ford Model e, which will develop electric vehicles.
KAR shares rise 40% after Carmel firm says it will sell ADESA
The Carmel-based auction services company declined to say how many of its 1,000 employees in Indiana would be affected by the transaction. But it said the buyer—Carvana Co.—will not require any employees to relocate.
Car dealers are raising prices. Automakers are pushing back. Consumers are stuck in between.
Soaring car prices have set off a battle between automakers and independent dealers, with consumers routinely paying hundreds, often thousands, more than the listed price amid a protracted vehicle shortage.
COVID-19 truck blockade in Canada leads to auto plant shutdowns
The blocked bridge carries 25% of all trade between the two countries, and Canadian authorities expressed increasing worry about the economic effects.
Park outside: Hyundai, Kia recall vehicles due to fire risk
Hyundai and Kia are telling the owners of nearly 485,000 vehicles in the United States to park them outdoors because they can catch fire even if the engines have been turned off.
As car fatalities accelerate, Buttigieg promises federal support
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is pledging to tackle rising traffic fatalities through a national strategy aimed at reducing speed, redesigning roads and enhancing car safety features such as automatic emergency braking.
GM to spend nearly $7B on EV, battery plants in Michigan
The state’s economic development board on Tuesday approved $824 million in incentives and assistance for Detroit-based General Motors.
New auto sales up in 2021, but long way before full recovery
Although there are plenty of customers who want to buy new vehicles at hefty prices, there still aren’t enough computer chips available for the industry to fully crank up its factories.
Regulators step up probe into Hyundai-Kia engine failures, fires
Engine failures and fires have dogged the Korean automakers’ vehicles since September 2015 when the company issued an engine failure recall.
Indiana’s RV industry sets annual production record
Factories shipped about 49,000 recreational vehicles in November alone, a record number for the month and a 15% jump from November 2020.
Biden administration unveils plan for electric vehicle charging network
The Biden administration released an ambitious federal strategy Monday to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and bring down the cost of electric cars with the goal of transforming the U.S. auto industry.
GM venture picks Michigan for 3rd U.S.-based EV battery plant
General Motors and a joint-venture partner plan to build an electric vehicle battery factory in Lansing, Michigan. They say the plant would cost up to $2.5 billion and employ as many as 1,700 workers.
GM chief exec says making ventilators in Indiana changed company’s culture
CEO Mary Barra said General Motors now uses the same approach it learned making ventilators at a Kokomo factory for its own electric vehicles, software and partially automated driver-assist systems.
UAW votes for direct election of leaders in wake of scandal
Members of the United Auto Workers union have overwhelmingly approved picking their leaders by direct ballot elections, rejecting a system that many blamed for a bribery and embezzlement scandal in the union’s top ranks.
GM venture to build North American battery chemical plant
The plant will employ hundreds of people and will start making materials in 2024, said Doug Parks, GM’s global product development and supply chain head.