The automaker expects total industry sales for North America to decline in 2019 to 17.2 million, down from 17.7 million in 2018. Chrysler attributes this downsized sale partly to its decision to not sell two generations of the Jeep Wrangler side-by-side, as it did in 2018.The company is also looking at retooling factories to gear up for the launch of the plug-in hybrid version of the iconic off-road machine in early 2020. Other challenges include higher-than-expected capital expenditures that could see the company shelling out nearly 500 million euros related to U.S diesel emissions cases.

Most of the strong profitability apparently came from the North American market. Tailwinds came in the form of solid market for pickup trucks whose average transaction prices reached a record of nearly $36,000 (as indicated by the company).Sales of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups and the midsize Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, increased +3% from the fourth quarter of 2017. GM is in the process of slashing 14,000 jobs, which that company expects would save about $6 billion in cash by 2020.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Tuesday it would recall 882,000 pickup trucks worldwide in two new recalls to address steering and pedal issues. The Italian-American automaker said it was recalling about 660,000 heavy duty Ram 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks from the 2013 through 2017 model years, including 574,000 in the United States, as drivers could potentially experience steering loss. READ MORE...

If Volkswagen realizes its ambition of becoming the global leader in electric cars, it will be thanks to a radical and risky bet born out of the biggest calamity in its history. Read More...

In a proclaimed mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, Tesla plans to acquire energy technology company, Maxwell Technologies, for about $218 million.The move to acquire Maxwell’s shares may not come as a surprise, given Tesla’s CEO’s commitment to technology-driven electric cars (versus batteries) which he sees as a likely breakthrough. Further, Maxwell is reputed to build electric battery components that are significantly cost and energy efficient compared to those typically used in the industry. This cost reduction is consistent with Tesla’s mission of lowering electronic vehicle prices, in order to widen its addressable market while maintaining margins.

General Motors will begin involuntary layoffs on Monday, hoping to complete the latest round of cutbacks before releasing its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Read More...

Tesla says it's getting close to making the most important vehicle in its lineup: the Model Y. Last week, CEO Elon Musk announced Tesla will begin preparing for 2020 production of the mass market SUV.He expects work to begin sometime this year, and he predicted the Model Y would become Tesla's best selling vehicle.

It’s been nearly a century since any automaker was in a more enviable position than Tesla. Despite relatively disappointing fourth-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates, Tesla finished 2018 with an astounding 83 percent share of the U.S. battery-electric vehicle market, CEO Elon Musk boasted on Wednesday.That hasn’t happened since the years following the start-up of Ford’s first moving assembly line. READ MORE...

Ford published its fourth quarter earnings and reported a loss of $116 million. But the news that caught everyone’s attention is that the company reported a 28% y-o-y drop in its operating income, excluding the pension charge and other one-time items, both for the quarter and for the year.In Europe, Ford lost $199 million in the fourth quarter, with a full year loss of $398 million.

Unfavorable moves in exchange rates and lower sales volume - especially in Europe and Asia -  were to blame.  What's more, Ford took a $1.18 billion charge for "special items" , mostly consisting of pension and layoff costs. The company’s fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share of 30 cents was below consensus forecast of 32 cents per share (estimates compiled by Refinitiv).It was also lower than the year-ago quarter’s 39 cents a share. Automotive segment revenue of $38.7 billion fell below estimate of $36.88 billion (based on Refinitiv data). On an unadjusted basis, Ford incurred losses of $116 million, during the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $2.52 billion a year earlier.

Tesla will cut staff by 7%. The electric carmaker's workforce entrenchment is apparently a way to deal with rising competition.Musk wrote in the letter that Tesla is "up against massive, entrenched competitors" and must work "much harder than other manufacturers to survive while building affordable, sustainable products."

Tesla is cutting its full-time staff headcount by approximately 7 percent, as it looks to ramp up production of its Model 3 sedans, CEO Elon Musk said Friday.Read More...

Tesla's customer referral program will come to an end on Feb. 1, chief executive Elon Musk said in a tweet Thursday.Read More...

Tesla has been working closely with white hat hackers for years in order to make its vehicle software safer and now it’s taking an unprecedented step: it’s going to be giving away a Model 3 to a hacker who can crack the vehicle. Over the past 4 years, Tesla has been running a bug bounty program and according to sources familiar with the effort, the company has given away hundreds of thousands in rewards to hackers who exposed vulnerabilities in its systems. READ MORE...

Ford Motor and Volkswagen  are joining hands to build commercial vans and medium-sized pickup trucks as early as 2022. The partnership, announced Tuesday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, is expected to bolster annual pre-tax operating results for both companies from 2023.Additionally, the automakers inked a "memorandum of understanding" to collaborate on self-driving vehicle research. But the two firms will not buy ownership stakes in each other. Ford CEO Jim Hackett said, "Ford and Volkswagen will continue operating as two separate and competitive entities".

Ford Motor is gearing up to launch new electric cars as soon as next year, CEO Jim Hackett told CNBC on Sunday. Ford has previously announced its plans to invest $11 billion in electric vehicles by 2022 and produce 40 hybrid and fully electric cars, in a plan to revive its slowing business.READ MORE...

With a growing number of long-range battery-cars coming to market, Nissan's own electric vehicle, the Leaf, has been in danger of coming unplugged. Read More...

The amount was disclosed by a person familiar with the details, according to CNN.  The settlement does not include any admission of wrongdoing by the automaker, though. According to the source, fines of about $305 million would be split among the US Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board.Fiat Chrysler will make payments of up to $2,800 per vehicle to the owners of 100,000 diesel-powered Jeep SUVs and Ram pickup. Two years ago, regulators accused that Fiat Chrysler had installed software on 100,000 diesel-powered cars and trucks as a way to cheat on diesel emissions tests.

Ford Motor is slashing thousands of jobs in Europe, as the carmaker embarks on closing a plant and terminating production of some unprofitable models in the continent – as part of a restructuring plan.In July, the company had indicated its intent to spend $11 billion over the next three to five years towards shuffling its global business. In its announcement on Thursday, Ford mentioned that it will be ending production of the C-Max compact car in Germany, and that it wants to shutter a transmissions plant in France.

Century-old American multinational, General Motors, announced its plans to introduce a record 20+ new and refreshed models in China in 2019, in an effort to maintain its growth momentum in the world’s largest vehicle market and to tap emerging opportunities in new energy vehicles (NEVs). According to the company, nearly half of the models that are planned for introduction in 2019 will bear new nameplates for GM’s China portfolio, developed by leveraging GM’s global expertise and vehicle design and engineering resources. China has been the largest retail sales market for GM since 2012, but the recent decline in auto sales in China has become an area of concern for the US carmaker.He also added that GM will continue to augment its product mix, backed by its industry-leading technologies and adjacent services, and to explore more opportunities in electrification and autonomous driving in China to drive growth.