February 13, 2019 NADA End-of-Day Auto News Recap: Ford-VW; BMW On Tarriffs; Rivian Electric Pickup Hopefull Seeks Big Bucks Investmeent; Tesla Spare Parts Spare
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Partners Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co are at odds over how much the German automaker will invest in the No. 2 U.S. automaker’s self-driving vehicle unit, with Ford seeking at least $500 million, people familiar with the negotiations said. Analysts and investors have focused on the potential savings their alliance could generate, so any sign of problems in the negotiations is not welcome news.
Source: Reuters
BMW's North American boss has some tough words on tariffs, as automakers await a potentially pivotal decision on tariffs from the Trump administration. The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to deliver a report within days that many industry experts say could deem auto imports into the United States a threat to national security and seek tariffs as high as 25 percent on all vehicles imported into the U.S.
Source: CNBC
Rivian Automotive LLC is moving to gain an edge over bigger electric-car rivals before it even starts manufacturing plug-in pickups. The startup is in talks with General Motors Co. and Amazon.com Inc. about an investment that would value the company at $1 billion to $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said. If the deal closes, Rivian would get a partner in GM that brings manufacturing expertise ...
Source: Bloomberg
Gus Schmidt damaged the bumper on his Tesla Model 3 sedan in a low-speed collision and then had to wait three months for the repair shop to get the spare parts from Tesla and fix his car. The unusually long wait for a repair underlines a drawback of being a Tesla customer. Part of the problem is that Tesla, unlike other auto makers, doesn’t have a network of hundreds of franchise dealerships to sell and service its vehicles.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
