by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 25, 2020
In a sign of the financial stress facing automakers, General Motors Co. disclosed it plans to draw $16 billion from its revolving credit lines, taking what it described as austerity measures. GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra described the $16-billion drawdown as a...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 24, 2020
With Congress debating a trillion-dollar stimulus package to help the U.S. economy weather the COVID-19 outbreak, analysts are warning the ongoing economic slowdown is now certain to sink the auto industry. ALG, a subsidiary of the car-buying service TrueCar, updated...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 23, 2020
General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, with the approval of the United Auto Workers, have asked for volunteers from among blue-collar employees to keep their parts warehouses all across the country during the unfolding pandemic. All three automakers have shuttered...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 20, 2020
Tesla bowed to pressure from local authorities, saying it will close its big car plant in Fremont, California, and a second in New York State. The closures will start March 23, the company said in a release. It did not say when it will reopen the facilities, but most...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 20, 2020
Companies with permits to test autonomous vehicles in California with a safety driver reported they drove nearly 2.9 million miles during the most recent reporting period, according to disengagement reports recently submitted to the state’s Department of Motor...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 19, 2020
The Alameda County Sheriff has ordered Tesla Inc. to stop building cars at its Fremont, California plant. “Tesla is not an essential business as defined in the Alameda County Health Order. Tesla can maintain minimum basic operations per the Alameda County Health...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 19, 2020
The pandemic has all but shut down cities such New York and San Francisco, it’s also affecting oil prices that are falling at a rate where producers are hoping for relief from what analysts describe as a “perfect storm.” Gas Buddy noted this week the national average...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 18, 2020
The number of automakers shutting down or reducing output at their production facilities continues to grow in the U.S. and Europe. Daimler AG, BMW Group and Toyota have joined several other automakers in suspending production in Europe, as well as work in selected...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 18, 2020
The United Auto Workers said Detroit’s automakers will cut production in half by using rotating shifts that carmakers hope will give them more time for cleaning to keep the threat of COVID-19 at bay. Rory Gamble, UAW president, said after a meeting with executives...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 17, 2020
ALG, a subsidiary of TrueCar, updated its 2020 new vehicle sales forecast, calling for a major downshift in car sales in what it described as the longer-term economic slowdown as the economic wreckage from the COVID-19 hits home. The forecast calls for a 14.2% decline...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 16, 2020
As auto plants in China closed by COVID-19 struggle to re-open, car plants in the U.S. and Western Europe are beginning to shut in face of the spreading virus, which in less than three months claimed thousands of victims around the world. Volkswagen of America said...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 16, 2020
Facing increasing volume of complaints from workers ordered to stay on their jobs in manufacturing plants, the United Auto Workers, General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced they are forming a COVID-19/Coronavirus Task Force to study...
