Author: Automotive News n Feed

Toyota, scolded by President-elect Donald Trump over a planned plant in Mexico, relied on the country for less than 7 percent of its record North American output last year.

The push to bring self-driving cars to American roads got a significant boost on Thursday when the nation’s chief auto safety regulator essentially cleared Tesla’s Autopilot system of fault in a fatal 2016 crash.

Nissan will review the case for future investment in the UK when the terms of the country’s departure from the European Union finally become clear, CEO Carlos Ghosn said.

Autos and Trump: Ghosn talks consumer confidence, Germany insists on trade compliance, Calif. digs in on EVs; BMW design chief leaving?; 13 automakers issue Takata inflator recalls.

Daimler will begin building a Mercedes car plant in Russia next year, the country’s trade and industry minister told a business publication. The automaker confirmed last year that it was in talks with authorities to build cars in the country.

BMW’s design boss, Karim Habib, is leaving the automaker, a company source said. Habib’s departure follows the exit of two other key designers, exacerbating a period of upheaval in BMW’s design department.

Britain’s car industry is a key part of the economy and the government is looking to ensure the best possible EU market access after the country quits the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said.

French billionaire Vincent Bollore’s push into electric vehicles has been a huge success, at least in terms of publicity and eye-catching contracts. For investors, it hasn’t worked out so well.

BMW plans to expand its cooperation with Daimler in purchasing components, the automaker’s new head of purchasing, Markus Duesmann, told a German newspaper.

Assembly of the second-generation Mercedes-Benz C-class Coupe began in Bremen, Germany, in October 2015. Output is expected to peak at more than 80,000 units this year, according to IHS Automotive.