Latest news with #KaleaHall
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
GM, LG to make new, lower-cost cells for future EVs
By Kalea Hall DETROIT (Reuters) -General Motors and battery partner LG Energy Solution are planning to start commercial production of lower-cost cells for future electric vehicles at a U.S. facility starting in 2028, the companies said on Tuesday. The cells will have a lithium manganese-rich (LMR) chemistry, which GM says is lower cost than the nickel-rich cells used today, but will still give customers the range they want in future electric trucks and full-size SUVs. The cells will also be prismatic versus the current pouch structure, reducing the number of parts in the battery pack by more than 50%, according to GM. The Detroit automaker, which now has 12 electric vehicles in its lineup, is trying to lower its battery costs to enable cost parity with its gas-powered products by adding new types of cells and chemistries in those cells. 'We're adopting flexible chemistries for the best balance of range, performance and affordability,' said Kurt Kelty, GM's vice president of battery, propulsion and sustainability, during a media briefing on the announcement. 'My mission here is to get as many EVs on the road as possible. We need to get price parity with (internal combustion engine vehicles) and then this thing's just going to take off.' The LMR cells will be made at one of the two LG-GM joint-venture Ultium Cells battery plants the companies have in Ohio and Tennessee. With the LMR prismatic cells, GM expects to offer more than 400 miles of range in a single charge on an electric truck, 'while significantly reducing our battery costs,' Kelty said. GM is expecting to reduce its battery pack costs by $30 per kilowatt-hour in 2025, but it hasn't said how much its per-kilowatt-hour costs are. GM is also planning to offer vehicles with lithium-iron phosphate-based cells that are also lower cost than the nickel cells. Kelty said GM will release more information soon. While GM aims to be the first automaker to commercially deploy LMR batteries in its electric vehicles, crosstown rival Ford Motor is also working on deploying the technology, according to a recent blog its director of electrified propulsion engineering wrote on LinkedIn. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Mercedes to add GLC SUV production at Alabama plant
By Kalea Hall DETROIT (Reuters) -Mercedes executives on Monday said the company will add production of its GLC SUV for North America at its plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Earlier this month, the German automaker said it would bring a new vehicle to the Alabama plant in 2027 that would "deepen our commitment to the U.S." Foreign-made autos have been a main focus of President Donald Trump's global trade war. In early April, the Trump administration implemented 25% tariffs on vehicle imports. Mercedes' GLC is built at the Bremen, Germany, plant, which has 10 total models. A Mercedes spokesperson said Monday that "no significant changes to the average total production figures in Bremen are expected in the medium term. Bremen will still produce the GLC for the rest of the world," and the Alabama plant "will localize GLC production for demand in North America." The move will expand production at the Alabama plant, the automaker's hub for its SUVs, including the GLE, GLS, GLE Coupe, and Maybach GLS. Mercedes executives on a Monday call with media did not say how much the automaker will invest to build the GLC at the southern plant since it is still in planning phases. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Mercedes to add GLC SUV production at Alabama plant
By Kalea Hall DETROIT (Reuters) -Mercedes executives on Monday said the company will add production of its GLC SUV for North America at its plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Earlier this month, the German automaker said it would bring a new vehicle to the Alabama plant in 2027 that would "deepen our commitment to the U.S." Foreign-made autos have been a main focus of President Donald Trump's global trade war. In early April, the Trump administration implemented 25% tariffs on vehicle imports. Mercedes' GLC is built at the Bremen, Germany, plant, which has 10 total models. A Mercedes spokesperson said Monday that "no significant changes to the average total production figures in Bremen are expected in the medium term. Bremen will still produce the GLC for the rest of the world," and the Alabama plant "will localize GLC production for demand in North America." The move will expand production at the Alabama plant, the automaker's hub for its SUVs, including the GLE, GLS, GLE Coupe, and Maybach GLS. Mercedes executives on a Monday call with media did not say how much the automaker will invest to build the GLC at the southern plant since it is still in planning phases. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
US car prices higher in April after tariffs hit
By Kalea Hall DETROIT (Reuters) -U.S. new-vehicle prices surged in April, data released on Monday showed, a sign that the effects of President Donald Trump's auto-tariff measures are rippling through the car market. The average price consumers paid, after discounts and promotions, rose 2.5% from March, more than double the typical 1.1% increase over those two months in recent years, Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book showed. In the past decade, the only larger such increase was in April 2020, when prices rose 2.7% during pandemic-related factory shutdowns. Automakers are adjusting to 25% U.S. tariffs on vehicle imports from many countries, including major trading partners Mexico and Canada, but few have raised sticker prices. Some, like Hyundai, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis, have even rolled out deals to reassure buyers and keep sales flowing. Still, consumer demand has risen over the past few months as buyers rush to get ahead of any tariff-related price increases, dealers and auto executives have said. That has translated into new-car shoppers shelling out more on average at dealerships, according to Cox. Yet even if carmakers hold prices steady, consumer expectations that tariffs will eventually send prices higher likely led to inflation on certain models, said Cox executive analyst Erin Keating. "Those models got more demand, and therefore the local pricing dynamics at the dealership level likely helped those prices go higher." Ford is charging more for its Mexico-built products, Reuters first reported last week. Some models of the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, Maverick pickup and Bronco Sport will cost as much as $2,000 more, according to a notice sent to dealers. Wholesale used-vehicle prices rose in April, according to Cox's Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which increased 4.9% to 208.2 from a year ago, up 2.7% from March. Promotions have kept prices steady overall, some automakers said. Consumer-incentive programs are still very strong, said Todd Szott, dealer partner at Szott Automotive Group, which has Ford, Stellantis and Toyota dealerships in Metro Detroit. "Pricing is fairly stable at this point." Sales incentives on new cars as a percentage of transaction prices, a measure of discounts and promotions, fell to the lowest since the summer of 2024, Cox said. A dip in the number of vehicles sitting on dealer lots could point to upward pressure on prices in coming months. On a recent webinar with the Automotive Press Association, Cox Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke noted that fewer than 2.6 million vehicles are on dealer lots, and that supply could fall even further as sales surge and importers reduce deliveries. Paul Zimmermann, partner-owner at Matick Automotive Group of Michigan, which owns GM and Toyota stores, said vehicle stocks are getting lighter in some areas after a robust April. "I do have some concerns just in terms of the pipeline," he said. "It's running healthy right now, but we need to make sure that there's no blip." Cox previously estimated new vehicles directly affected by a 25% tariff could cost 10% to 15% more, while the prices on vehicles not affected by the full tariff could rise 5%. Keating does not expect double-digit percentages soon, but maybe over the long term. Automakers may use model-year changeover time in the summer to adjust prices, she added.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
US car prices higher in April after tariffs hit
By Kalea Hall DETROIT (Reuters) -U.S. new-vehicle prices surged in April, data released on Monday showed, a sign that the effects of President Donald Trump's auto-tariff measures are rippling through the car market. The average price consumers paid, after discounts and promotions, rose 2.5% from March, more than double the typical 1.1% increase over those two months in recent years, Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book showed. In the past decade, the only larger such increase was in April 2020, when prices rose 2.7% during pandemic-related factory shutdowns. Automakers are adjusting to 25% U.S. tariffs on vehicle imports from many countries, including major trading partners Mexico and Canada, but few have raised sticker prices. Some, like Hyundai, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis, have even rolled out deals to reassure buyers and keep sales flowing. Still, consumer demand has risen over the past few months as buyers rush to get ahead of any tariff-related price increases, dealers and auto executives have said. That has translated into new-car shoppers shelling out more on average at dealerships, according to Cox. Yet even if carmakers hold prices steady, consumer expectations that tariffs will eventually send prices higher likely led to inflation on certain models, said Cox executive analyst Erin Keating. "Those models got more demand, and therefore the local pricing dynamics at the dealership level likely helped those prices go higher." Ford is charging more for its Mexico-built products, Reuters first reported last week. Some models of the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, Maverick pickup and Bronco Sport will cost as much as $2,000 more, according to a notice sent to dealers. Wholesale used-vehicle prices rose in April, according to Cox's Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which increased 4.9% to 208.2 from a year ago, up 2.7% from March. Promotions have kept prices steady overall, some automakers said. Consumer-incentive programs are still very strong, said Todd Szott, dealer partner at Szott Automotive Group, which has Ford, Stellantis and Toyota dealerships in Metro Detroit. "Pricing is fairly stable at this point." Sales incentives on new cars as a percentage of transaction prices, a measure of discounts and promotions, fell to the lowest since the summer of 2024, Cox said. A dip in the number of vehicles sitting on dealer lots could point to upward pressure on prices in coming months. On a recent webinar with the Automotive Press Association, Cox Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke noted that fewer than 2.6 million vehicles are on dealer lots, and that supply could fall even further as sales surge and importers reduce deliveries. Paul Zimmermann, partner-owner at Matick Automotive Group of Michigan, which owns GM and Toyota stores, said vehicle stocks are getting lighter in some areas after a robust April. "I do have some concerns just in terms of the pipeline," he said. "It's running healthy right now, but we need to make sure that there's no blip." Cox previously estimated new vehicles directly affected by a 25% tariff could cost 10% to 15% more, while the prices on vehicles not affected by the full tariff could rise 5%. Keating does not expect double-digit percentages soon, but maybe over the long term. Automakers may use model-year changeover time in the summer to adjust prices, she added. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
