Tag: FCA

Ford’s Ranger rides again. But will it win in a crowded truck market?

Ford
2019 Ford Ranger

Just weeks before Ford rolls out its new Ranger pickup, the automaker finds itself in a strange position: playing catch up on trucks.

After eight years of ignoring the midsize truck market while Toyota and General Motors racked up strong sales, Ford believes it's not too late for the new Ranger to make a splash.

“Ford is a huge truck seller,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Cox Automotive. “They have built up a huge loyal truck buyer audience, and this group will look at the Ranger as another great Ford pickup truck.”

With pickup buyers wanting trucks that have greater capability and more technology, Ford has packed the Ranger with plenty of features, including a 10-speed transmission and towing capacity of 7,500 pounds. Both will be tops in the midsize category. And with a base model starting at just over $25,000, Ford believes the Ranger will have no problem attracting customers.

Ford's fight to remain an American auto icon
6:01 PM ET Thu, 6 Dec 2018 | 08:36

“We expect the buyers to come from new customers who want an open bed and a truck small enough to garage, but who also want to get out on the weekend,” said Brian Bell, marketing manager for Ford.

There's no doubt Americans have rediscovered smaller pickups. A decade ago Toyota's Tacoma defined the midsize truck category as Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler's Ram focused on building bigger, more capable and more expensive full-size pickups. In 2011, with the country recovering from a recession and auto sales still lagging, Ford dropped the Ranger and said it would concentrate on its top-selling F-Series lineup of trucks. At the time, few argued with Ford's strategy.

A few years later, General Motors made a bigger push for midsize trucks with all-new versions of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, two models that hit showrooms just as Americans started buying more SUV's and trucks.

The timing was fortuitous. Since 2013, midsize pickup sales have doubled and are expected to top a half million vehicles this year, according to the auto website Edmunds.

Did Ford miss the boat by failing to bring back the Ranger sooner?

Brauer calls ignoring the midsize truck market a mistake.

“I think it is one of the reasons possibly why Mark Fields isn't at the helm [at Ford] anymore because this was seen as a miss,” Brauer said.

Instead of rehashing past decisions, Ford executives are looking to the future and predicting the Ranger model will hit the sweet spot of a hot segment. Sales of midsize pickups have jumped 22 percent this year, but the Ranger will face stuff competition. In addition to the Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, the new Jeep Gladiator will hit showrooms next spring. Given the popularity of the Fiat Chrysler's Jeep brand and the Gladiator's bold look, industry analysts will not be surprised if the new truck attracts people who otherwise would consider buying a traditional looking pickup.

It will be one of the story lines the auto industry will be watching closely next year. Ford, a company that has lead the full-size pickup market for more than 40 years thanks to the long-standing popularity of F-Series, will soon find out if the Ranger rides high with Americans who want a smaller truck.

— CNBC's Meghan Reeder contributed to this article.

Questions? Comments? BehindTheWheel@cnbc.com.

Meghan Reeder | CNBC
2019 Ford Ranger pickup

WATCH: How automakers sell a $71,000 version of a $27,000 car

How automakers sell a $71,000 version of a $27,000 car
10:40 AM ET Thu, 28 June 2018 | 02:46

Rivian R1T all-electric pickup revealed – WJAC Johnstown

With the Rivian R1T pickup revealed this morning, just ahead of the Los Angeles auto show, and the R1S SUV expected to be shown here this week, a Michigan-based electric-vehicle startup called Rivian might have something that’s been a long time coming: the first widely available fully electric light-duty pickup. Along with that, it might… Continue reading Rivian R1T all-electric pickup revealed – WJAC Johnstown

China says it will suspend additional tariffs on US autos

China to suspend tariffs on US automobiles and auto parts
6:46 AM ET Fri, 14 Dec 2018 | 03:49

China has said it will temporarily halt its additional 25 percent tariff on vehicles made in the United States.

The relief will last for three months staring from January 1, as part of an agreed truce between Beijing and Washington.

The Chinese finance ministry said on its website that China will suspend 25 percent tariffs on 144 vehicles and auto parts originating from the U.S. and 5 percent tariffs on an additional 67 auto items.

U.S. President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to lessen the impact of trade tariffs for the first 90 days of 2019, following a dinner in Argentina on December 1.

The U.S. has slapped a 25 percent tariff on finished vehicles built in China and 10 percent on most auto parts. China's 40 percent tariff on U.S. car imports will now reduce to 15 percent for 90 days.

That brings the auto tariffs in China back down to the same level as before the point that the two countries began imposing tit-for-tat levies.

Tariffs help the big three?

Ina note released Thursday, auto analysts at the Swiss bank UBS said trade risks continue to linger and that under their worst scenario, U.S. sales could slump by as much as 12 percent.

But UBS highlighted Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler as potential winners should tariffs prohibit imports, as all three have capacity to boost domestic production.

Meanwhile, auto sales in China fell 14 percent in November over the same month in 2017, the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Tuesday.

That slowdown, while part blamed on the trade war, is also reflective of Chinese domestic demand losing steam.

And Anna-Marie Baisden, head of autos research at Fitch Solutions told CNBC on Friday that getting a tariff deal in place may not spark fresh demand.

“Lowering tariffs might not actually make a big difference because the Chinese market is slowing anyway so even domestic brands are suffering,” she said via email.

European auto stocks hit hard

Auto stocks in Europe were among the leading losers on Friday following a steep drop in the number of new car registrations.

European car sales dropped 8.1 percent in November, falling for the third straight month after the introduction of a new emissions-testing regime in September.

The Stoxx 600 Autos sector dipped 2.2 percent following the data but has since pared losses. At 6:02 a.m. Eastern Time, the index of major European auto and auto-supplier stocks was lower by 1.4 percent.

China Daily | Reuters
Employees assemble vehicles at a plant of SAIC Volkswagen in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018.

For new car registrations, Renault led the declines with sales falling by 16 percent, while Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler also posted disappointing numbers.

Over the summer, auto dealers had offered incentives to empty stock before new emissions rules came into effect, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).

“Ahead of the introduction of the new WLTP test in September, car registrations jumped by 31.2 percent in August, which has led to a drop in demand in the following months,” the ACEA said in a statement Friday.

The EMEA added that car demand for November had shrunk in all of Europe's five biggest markets.

Aside from the technology hurdle that prompted a summer rush of European car registrations, one analyst at Citi told “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday that said there was also evidence of a slowdown in the consumer's desire to borrow and spend.

“It is about lending conditions. It is not only the nominal rate but what kind of coverage is the bank charging on the loan,” said Luis Costa, head of CEEMEA FX and rates strategy at Citi.

Costa cautioned however that there had been no “massive tightening of lending conditions yet.”

European stocks as a whole have performed poorly Friday morning as the drumbeat of weak data has continued from China. Overnight investors learned that November's retail sales in China grew at their weakest monthly pace since 2003, hurting autos and other stocks with exposure to the country.

Musk, GM weigh fate of Ohio plant Trump wants saved

DETROIT (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk raised hopes again on Thursday that he could ride to the rescue of a threatened General Motors Co (GM.N) car plant at the center of a political storm about auto jobs, and GM replied, saying the Ohio factory’s fate depends on union talks next year.… Continue reading Musk, GM weigh fate of Ohio plant Trump wants saved

Fate of Ohio car plant to be settled with union next year: GM

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co said on Thursday the fate of its Lordstown, Ohio, car assembly plant, which Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk has suggested he might buy, is a matter to be settled with the plant’s union next year. FILE PHOTO: A view of the entrance to the West Plant at the… Continue reading Fate of Ohio car plant to be settled with union next year: GM

Steering failure complaints in some Ram pickups probed

Steering failure complaints in some Ram pickups probedDetroit – The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating complaints that the steering can fail on some Ram pickup trucks.
The investigation covers about 200,000 Ram 2500s from the 2015 and 2016 model years.
The government agency said Thursday that it has two complaints that the linkage between the steering box to the front wheels can come apart.
One owner complained that the problem happened while rounding a curve at 65 to 70 mph. The driver lost steering and the truck went off the right side of the road, hitting ditches before stopping on the shoulder. One injury was reported.
In both cases the problem was traced to a mechanism used to align the steering system.
Investigators will determine how often the problem happens and whether a recall is needed.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Ex-UAW official Nancy Adams Johnson sent to prison

Ex-UAW official Nancy Adams Johnson sent to prisonDetroit — A high-ranking United Auto Workers official who implicated President Dennis Williams and others in a corruption investigation involving Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison Tuesday.
Nancy Adams Johnson betrayed the trust of blue-collar workers by accepting thousands of dollars in illegal payments from Fiat Chrysler and spending the money on $1,100 Christian Louboutin shoes, private accommodations, golf resorts and lavish meals, according to the government. She also funneled tens of thousands of dollars of illegal payments from Fiat Chrysler to other senior UAW officials.
Johnson, 58, of Macomb Township is the seventh and final person sentenced in a widespread conspiracy to violate federal labor laws, a conspiracy that has reshuffled the top ranks of the auto industry and the labor union that represents 450,000 workers.
She, along with several others convicted so far, including former Fiat Chrysler Vice President Alphons Iacobelli, are cooperating with investigators and could serve as a bridge to a second round of criminal charges against additional union and auto executives.
Johnson choked back tears while asking U.S. District Judge Paul Borman for mercy and leniency and apologizing for her role in a conspiracy that has raised questions about the sanctity of labor negotiations.
“I hope the membership of the UAW and other labor unions find in their heart to forgive me for any wrongdoing I have done,” Johnson said while dabbing tears from her eyes. “The membership deserves better.”
Johnson's lawyer wanted her to spend no time in prison, pointing to her ongoing cooperation with the government, contrition and health problems that include a brain tumor. Though she could have faced up to 18 months in prison, prosecutors requested a 12-month sentence.
“Instead of helping rank-and-file workers provide food for their families, Ms. Johnson provided a high-flying lifestyle for senior officials and herself,” Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gardey told the judge.
Johnson was sentenced five months after pleading guilty to violating a federal law prohibiting labor officials from receiving cash and valuable items from employers.
In the ensuing months, Johnson has evolved into a key witness for the government in hopes of receiving a reduced sentence, telling investigators that Williams directed subordinates to save the union money by using funds from Detroit’s automakers, funneled through training centers, to pay for union travel, meals and entertainment.
Prosecutors have referenced as many as five unindicted co-conspirators, including Johnson's former boss, UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell, who retired in January after his home was raided by investigators.
Ex-UAW official got Disney tix, trips
While meeting with investigators, Johnson has been diligent, truthful and forthcoming about corruption within the auto industry, Gardey told the judge.
“Ms. Johnson is genuinely a good person,” he said. “Unfortunately, she gave way to temptation.”
In pushing for a 12-month sentence, prosecutors revealed a vignette that portrayed senior UAW officials dining on $15,000 worth of steaks, liquor and cigars paid for by Fiat Chrysler at a time when they were supposed to be negotiating against the automaker for a new contract for rank-and-file autoworkers.
She is continuing to provide insight into what prosecutors call the corrupt senior ranks of the UAW so the U.S. Attorney's Office successfully pushed to delay Adams Johnson's arrival at prison for six months.
Prosecutors last month labeled Jewell, who oversaw the union's Fiat Chrysler department before abruptly resigning in January, an unindicted co-conspirator. They also refer to him in hundreds of pages of criminal filings as a high-ranking union leader who received approximately $50,000 worth of lavish gifts and benefits from Fiat Chrysler executives.
The gifts include a $2,180 Italian shotgun and a $30,000 party that featured strolling models who lit labor leaders' cigars, all paid for with Fiat Chrysler cash that was supposed to be spent training blue-collar workers.
Investigators also have learned Jewell tapped a training fund to pay for more than $10,000 worth of golf resort accommodations in Palm Springs, California, and Disney World tickets, sources told The News.
“Today’s sentence rightfully punishes the unacceptable misconduct of a former UAW official who betrayed our members' trust,” union spokesman Brian Rothenberg said in a statement Tuesday. “The UAW is confident that Ms. Johnson’s misconduct had no effect on the collective bargaining agreement between the UAW and Chrysler — which has numerous checks and balances and requires a vote by the entire membership, among other things.”
Federal prosecutors have labeled the UAW, Fiat Chrysler and the jointly operated UAW-Chrysler National Training Center as co-conspirators. The allegation potentially exposes the automaker and the UAW to criminal charges, fines and governmental oversight, according to a former federal prosecutor.
rsnell@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2486
Twitter: @robertsnellnews
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Feds: FCA spent $15K on steak dinners for UAW

Feds: FCA spent $15K on steak dinners for UAWDetroit — Senior United Auto Workers leaders launched 2015 UAW contract negotiations with an $8,494 meal at a Detroit steakhouse paid for by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, according to a new federal court filing.
And once negotiations with Fiat Chrysler appeared to be wrapped, officials book-ended the talks with a second lavish meal paid for by the carmaker at the same restaurant.
After UAW leaders ate, drank and smoked $15,000 worth of filet, liquor and cigars for the two meals paid for by the rival across the negotiating table, rank-and-file union members at Fiat Chrysler voted down the proposed contract.
Federal officials say the meals are examples of corruption surrounding the 2015 Fiat Chrysler-UAW contract negotiations.
U.S. District Attorneys David Gardey and Erin Shaw wrote in a court filing that spending on meals such as those at the London Chop House in downtown Detroit corrupted the bargaining process, and the “freebies” and “lavish entertainment” UAW officials allowed Fiat Chrysler to pay for were “the rule rather than the exception.”
The UAW officials violated the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 when they let the automaker pay for those meals, the attorneys wrote.
The details emerged as the UAW and Detroit automakers are poised to negotiate new contracts next year at a time when both General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. are pruning excess white-collar workers, and GM is signaling the possibility of closing U.S. plants.
Prosecutors leveled the allegations Wednesday while urging a judge to sentence one of those high-ranking UAW leaders to federal prison for one year. That official, Nancy Adams Johnson, has emerged as a pivotal participant and witness to a years-long conspiracy involving Fiat Chrysler and the UAW, and she has linked former union President Dennis Williams to the scandal.
UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg said in a statement that the UAW confronted Johnson when they found out she “had stolen thousands of dollars” from the union's National Training Center.
“The UAW also provided information about Ms. Johnson’s illegal conduct to the federal prosecutors at that time,” Rothenberg said. “The money Ms. Johnson stole and misused belonged to the NTC, not to Chrysler — and the NTC has filed papers with the Judge in Ms. Johnson’s case seeking to recover the money she stole from it. The UAW is confident that Ms. Johnson’s misconduct had no effect on the collective bargaining agreement between the UAW and Chrysler – which has numerous checks and balances and requires a vote by the entire membership, among other things.”
Fiat Chrysler did not immediately respond to request for comment.
No Fiat Chrysler officials were present for either meal, according to court documents filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, and the meal had “nothing to do with the National Training Center.” The UAW had used a National Training Center credit card to pay for the two meals.
“These corrosive and poisoning circumstances are exactly what the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor Management Relations Act of 1947) was intended to avoid,” Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gardey wrote in the court filing.
“Over 45,000 hourly employees for FCA were represented by the UAW during the period of the conspiracy. These men and women believed that their union leaders were looking out for their best interests and negotiating in good faith, not double dealing them for personal gain.”
Adams Johnson was the UAW's No. 2 official in the union's Fiat Chrysler department, serving as the top administrative assistant to UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell.
Jewell tapped a training fund to pay for more than $10,000 worth of golf resort accommodations in Palm Springs, California, and Disney World tickets, a spending spree that is the focus of the ongoing investigation, sources told The Detroit News.
In July, Adams Johnson entered a guilty plea, telling U.S. District Judge Paul Borman she violated a federal law prohibiting labor officials from receiving cash and valuable items from employers. In this case, she received tens of thousands of dollars in illegal payments and benefits from Fiat Chrysler during the conspiracy, including $1,100 designer shoes, first-class flights to California, resort stays and limousine rides, according to federal prosecutors.
Adams Johnson was the seventh person to plead guilty in the widening scandal.
She could be sentenced to as much as 18 months in prison for her role in a widening corruption scandal involving Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and its contract negotiations with the UAW, according to the filing. Johnson's lawyer, Harold Gurewitz, is requesting a lighter “non-custodial” sentence that is not “greater than necessary.”
Adams Johnson, 58, at the direction of more senior UAW officials “directed tens of thousands of dollars of prohibited payments from Fiat Chrysler for the personal benefit of those senior UAW officials and for the personal benefit of other UAW officials,” according to Wednesday's sentencing memorandum.
Gardey writes that Johnson betrayed thousands of UAW members and their families through her actions in 2015, and the “court needs to deter other union officials from engaging in similar misconduct.”
Gardey also requested Johnson's sentence be delayed six months so that she could continue to cooperate in the ongoing federal investigation into the 2015 UAW contract negotiations federal prosecutors have said Fiat Chrysler and the UAW conspired to corrupt.
ithibodeau@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Ian_Thibodeau
Staff writer Rob Snell contributed.
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