Industry

Self-driving truck developers are promising they’ll launch commercial service as soon as next year. One of the key remaining engineering hurdles involves safely coaxing these 80,000-pound robots to the side of the road when things don’t go according to plan. As driverless-deployment timelines draw nearer, many of the leading companies are focused on perfecting this

A brisk transition to zero-emission vehicles is underway, but it’s still unclear whether the global transportation sector’s makeover is enough to stave off the worst consequences of climate change. Cars and trucks account for three-quarters of all transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, including planes, trains and ships, according to McKinsey & Co., and automakers and commercial

LOS ANGELES — A subsidiary of oil and gas giant Shell will soon support charging for Penske Truck Leasing‘s light-duty electric vehicles. Shell Recharge Solutions will provide Level 2 charging stations to support Penske’s electric truck fleet in five states by the end of the year, the companies said last week at the Advanced Clean

EcoMotion highlights GM tie-up, battery tech TEL AVIV, Israel — When General Motors opened its Israeli R&D center in 2008, it was a lonely outpost on the automotive landscape. Today, more than 30 automakers and major suppliers have permanent offices and major tech centers in the country, and they are just a part of the

Getty Images Second-hand car sales have risen this year, boosted by a sharp increase in the number of used electric vehicles on the market. Sales of used cars in the UK rose 5.1% between January and March, compared to the same three months last year. But the market for electric cars, which only makes up

The first place many consumers encounter self-driving vehicles will not necessarily be in their driveways. They might instead see autonomy at work in vehicles that haul away their trash or deliver their mail. That’s the premise of a new collaboration between Oshkosh Corp. and Robotic Research Inc., two companies that intend to focus on automating

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. saw its first-quarter net income nearly evaporate while it tries to manage the immediate disruption of supply chain volatility and the longer-term challenge of electrification. The Detroit-based supplier’s income plunged 97 percent year-over-year to $1 million as revenue remained flat at $1.4 billion, according to its earnings report Friday.

Michigan remains in contention for a new Stellantis electric vehicle battery plant as the automaker completes the final analysis before an anticipated announcement of a site. Stellantis COO Mark Stewart said Thursday that the state “absolutely” could be home to a new plant and that it has a “great working relationship” with the Michigan Economic

Getty Images Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) lost £9m ($12m) in the last three months of 2021 amid the global computer chip shortage. The UK car maker saw its retail sales fall 37.6% compared to a year earlier, as it produced just 80,126 vehicles in the quarter to the end of December. Despite that fall in

Bosch plans to invest $528 million to develop components for hydrogen electrolysis, a technology that promises to speed adoption of so-called green hydrogen for use in transport and other sectors. The world’s largest auto supplier said Wednesday at its annual news conference that it hopes to start production of electrolyzer “stacks” in 2025, with the

Uber Technologies Inc. delivered a positive outlook for earnings in the current period, signaling the company plans to capitalize on robust ride demand without compromising profits by focusing on product changes, rather than incentives, to address the driver shortage. The ride-sharing and delivery company projected gross bookings of $28.5 billion to $29.5 billion in the

FRANKFURT/MILAN — Stellantis has agreed to buy the Share Now car-sharing business from BMW and Mercedes-Benz as the two German automakers focus on the software part of their mobility alliance. Stellantis wants to position itself as a global leader in car-sharing, using this step announced on Tuesday to expand its existing business in the area.

Much is made of the vehicle parts that will be lost in the transition to electric vehicles. But even many components that remain could be in for big changes. Take wheels, for example. Unless the flying cars of science fiction ever become reality, cars and trucks will continue to move on wheels, regardless of power

Can a bunch of college students solve some of the most vexing automotive engineering challenges facing the industry? Over the next four years, 15 universities across North America will be competing to engineer the most efficient battery-electric vehicles possible while combining connected and autonomous tech — and keeping them fun to drive for consumers. The

All-time-high interest in electric vehicles might not translate into as many sales as automakers and regulators would like in the short and medium term, as supply chain snags are likely to prevent the industry from catching up with growing demand. Automakers and governments have set ambitious targets for EV expansion. Legacy automakers have rolled out

BEIJING/SHANGHAI – Baidu and Pony.ai said on Thursday they had received permits to deploy robotaxis without humans in the driver seat on open Chinese roads for the first time, in another instance of Beijing’s support for the autonomous-driving sector. The permits are the latest set of approvals the municipal government has handed out over the

Getty Images Tesla says it delivered a record number of its cars in the first quarter, despite supply chain challenges. The electric carmaker says it delivered more than 310,000 vehicles in the first three months of this year. That was almost 70% higher than for the same time last year. Chief executive Elon Musk says

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said first-quarter revenue of $1.8 billion was up 57 percent from a year ago, excluding the Donlen fleet management business sold last year. The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose from about breakeven to $614 million, while its average global revenue per day soared 28 percent to