The CLA lineup is a compact car series containing four models built on the new Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA). When it enters production, the new battery-powered CLA four-door coupe showcased at the IAA summit will see the first application of the MMA platform, which is designed to support both ICE and electric vehicle manufacturing. Silhouettes of the three remaining models in the series, revealed by Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius to be two SUVs and a shooting-brake-style station wagon, were also shown at the event.

In a LinkedIn post, Källenius offered additional details on the first entry in the CLA lineup. The all-wheel-drive concept sedan features a driving range of 466 miles, with 12 kWh consumed for every 62 miles driven. Fast-charging capabilities are also included, with 246 miles of range available from only 15 minutes of charge. The car comes with a glass roof inlaid with low-energy LED lights that display an animated star pattern when powered on. The vehicle will also be one of the first to feature the Mercedes-Benz Operating System, which includes a suite of driver assistance and safety software. The CLA lineup is expected to launch in 2025.

The new CLA lineup builds on trends established by other premium car manufacturers, who have sought to ramp up excitement for electric vehicles through high-tech entries and luxury trims. Mercedes has been at the forefront of technological innovation with its emphasis on vehicle software and has established partnerships with both Microsoft and Google to develop “supercomputer” like navigation, automated driving and artificial intelligence tools. However, mass-market brands continue to fall behind in the EV segment, as companies such as Toyota and Honda drag their feet on developing competitive battery-powered models.

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The South Korean companies’ announcement builds on a three-month-old partnership to produce batteries at the same location west of Savannah, where Hyundai intends to begin EV production in 2025.

The development increases the firms’ overall investment in the Georgia factory to more than $7.5 billion and the site’s anticipated employment to 8,500.

Additionally, Hyundai said it would invest $5.5 billion in 2022 to build EVs and batteries on 2,900 acres in the Ellabell neighborhood.

According to Hyundai spokesperson Michael Stewart, the increased investment and jobs announced do not indicate that the battery plant will create more batteries. The joint venture’s original capacity of 300,000 EV batteries per year is still the expectation of the business’s plant. Stewart’s email asserts, “The plant does have the potential to expand depending on market conditions and demand,” it adds, “Hyundai remains very optimistic about the transition to EVs.”

Hyundai’s first U.S. plant dedicated to EV manufacturing was hailed as the most significant economic development project in Georgia’s history when it was first announced in 2022. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp praised Hyundai and LG’s new investment in the facility. He added, “Today, we’re building on that success as we continue to make Georgia the e-mobility capital of the nation.”

According to Jessica Atwell, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Economic Development, Georgia and local governments will provide further incentives. She clarified that those would only be made public once the paperwork is complete.

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United Auto Workers rebuffed Ford’s contract proposal over Labor Day weekend for failing to meet the union’s demands, pushing talks back to square one. President Fain addressed auto workers in a live-streamed event on Saturday, September 2, where he criticized the car manufacturer for attempting to implement new rules around temporary workers and offering a wage increase of 9% (15% including benefit improvements), substantially lower than the 46% sought by UAW members. “In inflation-adjusted dollars, our starting pay today is $10 an hour less than what it was in 2007…Ford’s wage proposals not only fail to meet our needs, it insults our very worth.” Fain went on to note that the remaining Big-Three manufacturers, General Motors and Stellantis, had yet to submit counteroffers. The organization filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the two OEMs last Friday.

The deadline for United Auto Workers leaders and automaker executives to reach an agreement is September 14, when the current union contract expires. Although UAW members have already voted to strike if negotiations fail, President Biden dismissed the concern ahead of a Labor Day parade in Philadelphia. “No, I’m not worried about a strike until it happens,” he said to reporters. “I don’t think it’s going to happen.” Fain expressed shock over the President’s statements. “He must know something we don’t know,” he remarked, speaking to The Detroit News. “Our intent is not to strike…But as we get down to the wire here, there’s three companies to bargain with and there’s 10 days left to do it. So I know what it looks like to me.”

United Auto Workers members have been preparing to strike for several weeks. Recently, Fain led the union in a mock demonstration outside of a Stellantis facility. “Today, I want you guys to have some fun practicing for what we’re going to have to do if these companies don’t give us our fair share,” the UAW chief proclaimed.

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On August 28, the federal office reported the trademark application is specifically for “Motor vehicles such as gas, EVs, pickup trucks, sports utility vehicles, and their structural parts.” 

Although there is no way to know for sure what the new trademark will be used for, we can assume that it has something to do with Project T3, Ford’s brand-new all-electric pickup truck that will be unveiled in 2025 and manufactured at the company’s Tennessee site in BlueOval City.

Jim Farley first referred to the new zero-emissions pickup as “different” and said that while it might not appear like a truck, it will function like one. In March, Farley stated, “We’ve challenged ourselves to build a truck people can trust in the digital age. This vehicle will be upgradable in terms of software. To improve your truck, we’ll send software to it every day, every week, every month, and every year.”

Another cool feature of the new yet-to-be-seen Project T3 pickup, which means “Trust the Truck,” is the ability to export power from the high-voltage battery at much higher rates than is currently available in the F-150 Lightning, which can provide up to 9.6 kilowatts of power through the Pro Power Onboard system and its 11 outlets.

In addition, Farley compared the new electric truck to a “Millennium Falcon with a porch attached,” alluding to the technology and speed of the venerable Star Wars sci-fi spaceship. The CEO’s statement referenced a vehicle that is “impossibly quick.”

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According to the automaker’s report, last month’s U.S. sales reached 65,046 units, an increase of 1% compared to August 2022. However, the number is slightly behind July’s sales numbers, which amounted to 66,527 units. This marks the fifth consecutive month that Hyundai has seen lower month-over-month sales after hitting a peak of 75,404 units in March. August also saw the smallest yearly sales gain for the automaker so far in 2023, with January through July seeing an average year-over-year increase of 14%. Nevertheless, the company has sold 526,186 ICE, hybrid and electric vehicle units in North America to date, an increase of 12% or 57,353 units from the same point last year.

While August saw only minor improvements in overall sales comapred to the previous year, the company’s electric vehicle lineup was substantially more successful. Sales of eco-friendly models rose 80% year-over-year throughout the month, with sales of the IONIQ 5, Sante Fe HEV, Santa Fe PHEV, Kona EV, Tucson HEV and Tucson PHEV all beating prior sales records. As Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, commented: “Hyundai’s commitment to providing consumers with a multitude of eco-friendly products has once again delivered positive results with August total sales compared to last year.”

Ultimately, Hyundai is performing quite well in 2023, especially when compared to 2022. While the automaker did see sales decline from July and barely eked out a victory over last August, most car manufacturers are also seeing demand stagnate as consumers struggle to afford inflated car prices amidst economic issues caused by the COVID pandemic. Furthermore, the brand’s success in the electric vehicle segment is impressive. Although EVs remain a niche market, the rapid acceleration of sales is an encouraging sign for OEMs with more battery-powered models in the pipeline.

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The department has yet to announce where the funds will be directed, although a spokesperson did not that facilities offering higher quality labor conditions would take priority over others. According to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, the initiative is aimed at protecting local communities that depend on ICE car factories for jobs. “While we transition to EVs, we want to ensure that workers can transition in place, that there is no worker, no community left behind,” she commented. Plant closures have becom an increasing concern for car manufacturer employees. Although OEMs have launched projects to convert some facilities into electric vehicle production lines, the futures of many sites are unclear. Since most U.S. automakers plan to end prodution of diesel and gas cars within the next 15 years, these plants could become obsolete without EV-related upgrades.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has frequently clashed with automakers over the electric vehicle transition. Organization president Shawn Fain has vowed to keep car factories open, such as the Jeep Cherokee plant in Illinois. Stellantis, which has born the brunt of the UAW’s criticisms, plans to end Cherokee production in the coming months, and has yet to announce any future plans for the facility. Fain praised the Biden Administration for launching the initiative soon after the Energy Department’s announcement, noting that the move “makes clear to employers that the EV transition must include strong union partnerships with the high pay and safety standards that generations of UAW members have fought for and won.”

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Grieco Honda supplied the vehicle to Ciarra Muller, who recently started her major in journalism at the Community of College of Rhode Island. Muller and her family originally contacted the company to refit their family van for a wheelchair. “We heard about their story, saw the van they had, and it was nowhere where she could take it to school as safe transportation,” said co-owner of the Honda dealership Robert Greico, speaking to local media station 10WJAR. “We happened to have a van that we traded that was a handicapped van, so what better way to give them a new van than to surprise them with it.”

Greico Automotive Group, which owns 13 locations across Rhode Island, Florida, California, and Massachusetts, also presented Muller with a $3,000 check to help her purchase school supplies. Her van will also receive free maintenance from the Honda dealership. Speaking to the Johnston Sunrise, Muller’s mother, Lacie Messier, said the family was “grateful beyond words.”

Like many automotive retailers, the Greico Honda dealership is an integral part of its community. Thanks to the lucrative nature of the automotive industry, dealers have immense power to support those in need and are among the largest contributors to local charities and nonprofits. With school starting up once more and the holidays around the corner, there are more opportunities than ever for storefronts to make a positive impact.

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Fain branded the negotiation stance of GM and Stellantis as “insulting and counterproductive” in a Facebook Live update to union members. However, GM and Stellantis expressed astonishment at the filing and denied the allegations, Reuters reports.

Gerald Johnson, the head of global manufacturing at GM, said, “We believe it has no merit and is an insult to the bargaining committees. We have been intensely focused on engaging in direct and sincere negotiations with the UAW and are moving forward.”

According to Johnson, the union has made nearly a thousand demands.

Despite not receiving the file yet, Stellantis stated it is “shocked by Mr. Fain’s claims that we have not bargained in good faith.” Additionally, Stellantis noted via email, “This is a claim with no basis in fact, and we are disappointed to learn that Mr. Fain is more focused on filing frivolous legal charges than on actual bargaining. When the time comes, we will strongly defend against this accusation, but for now, our main priority is to carry on with our sincere negotiations for a new contract. We won’t let Mr. Fain’s strategies divert us from our pressing task of securing the future of our workforce.”

The tension is the latest sign of the pressure stemming from negotiations. The union and Fain have made significant demands, including a 40% pay raise over four years and the restoration of benefits that workers gave up around the time of the Great Recession. The automakers have warned that they cannot grant the employees everything they desire and still compete with non-unionized automakers like Tesla.

The NLRB complaint does not name Ford, which claims to have given a “substantial” and “generous” contract offer with increased benefits and the most significant wage raise for UAW employees since 1999.

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Thanks to the refreshment of vehicles, the Model S base price is now $3,500 cheaper, and the Model X is $8,500 more affordable. Beyond that, the current “base model” features a larger battery with an estimated EPA range of 348 miles for the X and 405 miles for the S. Additionally, The base price now includes all paint colors, so you aren’t restricted to just one “standard” paint color. As a result, you can select between white, black, grey, blue, or red for free.

However, the Inflation Reduction Act allows only vehicles with MSRPs below $55,000 for cars and $80,000 for trucks and SUVs to be eligible for the $7,500 tax credit. The Model S and X were previously over that threshold; the S is still above, but the X is now below the SUV cap. This implies that specific consumers can obtain an X for less money than an S, provided that.

On the other hand, the EV makers’ software’s capabilities saw some substantial additions with the release of FSD Beta 10.69. According to the notion, FSD should become more valuable as it improves, increasing the price in the process.

However, Tesla’s configurator currently lists the cost of FSD in the U.S. as $12,000, a 20% discount. The price reduction applies to all Tesla models in the U.S. and is also available in Canada.

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In addition to the $92,000 wages and bonuses, workers would receive $17,500 in health care coverage and an additional $20,500 in the first year, according to a press release.

In a statement attributed to Jim Farley, “Ford has surpassed its obligations to invest and add employment throughout the last three contracts, most notably creating or retaining 5,600 additional UAW-represented positions than the 8,500 we first promised and investing $1.4 billion more than we initially promised during the 2019 contract.”

At the top compensation rate, full-time permanent Ford employees may earn $98,000 in wages, cost-of-living adjustment bonuses, ratification bonuses, profit sharing, and overtime in the first year. 

“This offer is much better than what employees at Tesla and other foreign manufacturers with U.S. operations earn,” said Farley.

Furthermore, every UAW employee will have the chance to develop their careers with Ford and join the company permanently, earning good middle-class salaries and benefits. Ford’s proposal eliminates wage tiers, accelerates the growth period to reach the top salary rate by 25%, gives temporary workers a 20% pay boost, and gives them the same ratification bonus as permanent workers. This allows all employees to obtain salaries that are among the highest in the industry. Ford employs between 2% and 3% of temporary workers hourly, the lowest among the Detroit 3. 

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