Journalists get pitches constantly from outside groups trying to move or shame automakers to do one thing or another, but few have been as ridiculous as the one we received last month from the well-established nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen. Normally, I’m down with Public Citizen’s agenda, which is to “defend democracy, resist corporate power
BRUSSELS — When Volkswagen Group began its global transition to battery-electric vehicles, it turned to one of its oldest and smallest plants to dip its first toe into the non-ICE-y waters. The German automaker’s Brussels plant, taken over by Audi in 2007, has built more than 8 million vehicles since it produced its first Studebaker
What it is: Each month, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency compiles a running amalgam of statistics on electricity generation, transmission, usage and costs. The data highlights both current usage, nationally and regionally, as well as overall trends. Where it comes from: The Energy Department collects the data from regulated utilities and grid
Not long ago at this time of year, the U.S. auto industry would be preparing to lift the curtain on the Detroit auto show. There would be concerns expressed by automaker executives, both privately and publicly, about the time and expense their companies had racked up to build their displays, to plan their press conferences,
DEL MAR, Calif. — The dramatically redesigned 2023 Toyota Prius sedan debuts early next year in the U.S. with a surprising statistic — one that has nothing to do with its latest fuel economy numbers, its bump in horsepower or its price. That figure is 35,000, and it represents Toyota‘s modest volume expectations for the
U.S. vehicle inventory continued to recover from historic lows, rising another 150,000 vehicles to 1.61 million, according to data from Cox Automotive and the Automotive News Research & Data Center. The increase mirrored the rise from the previous month and extended the run of slight inventory gains that began in June, when automakers and dealers
A transitioning auto industry that’s becoming exponentially more technology-driven needs to change the way automakers and suppliers work together, according to two executives whose innovative partnership was recognized this year with an Automotive News Pace Award. Sonatus, a Silicon Valley startup, worked with Hyundai Motor Group to develop Digital Dynamics, a holistic software-defined platform that
DETROIT — The ongoing digital transformation of the auto industry has not only changed the way vehicles are retailed but the relationship between consumers and automakers as well, according to two executives leading that transformation. “The cloud is as important a component as the wheels on the vehicle,” Scott Miller, vice president for software defined
Higher interest rates imposed to quell inflation not only have taken a stiff bite out of auto leasing and allowed inventories to start growing again, but they seem to have at least partially restored to consumers something largely missing for much of the last year: patience. “You go back six months ago, there was more
Toyota Motor Corp. released its first teaser images of the upcoming Toyota Grand Highlander crossover and said the larger three-row vehicle will make its official debut on the eve of the Chicago Auto Show during the second week of February. The teaser image shows a darkened rear view of the three-row crossover and its brightly
