Category: Motor Age Articles

The budding global alliance between VW and Ford likely won’t have much of an impact on VW’s U.S. dealers, but there might be at least one: the potential for a new commercial van.

Ford decided to kill Chariot, its shuttle-based ride-sharing service, in part because there wasn’t a regulatory framework for it to continue, CEO Jim Hackett told reporters. 

Nissan plans to file a civil suit against ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn to claim for damages resulting from alleged misuse of company funds, which would add to the high-profile executive’s legal headaches, Reuters reported.

Nissan expects alliance partner Renault’s board to back its ousting of Chairman Carlos Ghosn once it sees evidence from the Japanese automaker’s investigation, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on General Motors to extend production at its Oshawa assembly plant until at least the end of its contract with Unifor in September 2020.

GM reaffirmed to both the Canadian and Ontario government this week in Detroit that it does not have a viable business case to maintain production at its Oshawa assembly plant.

Ford and Volkswagen said they’ll collaborate on commercial vans and midsize pickups, and are exploring the joint development of autonomous and electric vehicles as part of a broad partnership designed to save both companies money.

ZF said its next-generation transmission for plug-in hybrid cars will boost electric driving range to 62 miles.    

VW is considering whether to build a battery-powered SUV with rugged styling like the Land Rover Defender.

Carlos Ghosn’s latest bail application was rejected by a Japanese court in a win for prosecutors who want to keep questioning the former Nissan chairman as they continue to build their case ahead of an eventual trial.