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Four VW execs found guilty
Trial that transformed Europe's auto market
Four former Volkswagen executives received prison sentences Monday for their role in the emissions-cheating scandal that fundamentally transformed Europe's car market. The verdict, delivered after a three-year trial in Braunschweig, Germany, marked the latest chapter in a 10-year-long saga that reshaped the continent's relationship with diesel technology.
Jens Hadler, who oversaw diesel engine development, received the harshest sentence of four and a half years for orchestrating what judges called "particularly serious" fraud. His team had installed software allowing vehicles to recognize emissions testing, temporarily increasing pollution controls during inspections while running dirty the rest of the time.
The scandal's impact extended far beyond corporate boardrooms. Before 2015, diesel vehicles commanded over half of Europe's car market, marketed as environmentally friendly alternatives to gasoline. Today, that figure has collapsed to just 10% of new car sales.
The whole affair also accelerated Europe's transition toward electrification. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids now account for 25% of new car sales, while Volkswagen itself has become Europe's leading EV manufacturer, selling three times as many battery-powered cars as Tesla in April, reports The New York Times.
Source: TechCrunch
Toyota considering a small pickup
Toyota is considering launching a compact pickup truck in the United States to compete in the growing market for smaller, more affordable utility vehicles. The move would then position Toyota alongside Ford and Hyundai, which have seen success with their compact Maverick and Santa Cruz models. Toyota executives confirmed they are actively evaluating the segment following requests from U.S. dealers for a vehicle smaller than the brand's current Tacoma midsize and Tundra full-size pickups.
Source: CBT News
Used car prices continue to climb
According to a new report from auto industry experts, used cars are more expensive than they've been in years. A May 22 report from Edmunds indicated that in the first quarter of 2025, the average transaction price for used cars 3 years old or less jumped above $30,000 for the first time since 2023. The price of lightly used vehicles closed in on the average sales price of brand-new cars, making it just $17,000 less expensive to buy used, rather than new. That is the narrowest difference between new and used car prices since 2022, Edmunds reported. The report also indicates that the average age of vehicles traded in has grown from 7.3 years old to 7.6 years old in the span of a year.
Source: Detroit Free Press
GM small block V8 continues in 6th generation
General Motors Commits $888 Million to Build Next-Gen V-8 Engine in New York
General Motors is investing $888 million in its New York propulsion assembly plant to produce the next generation V-8 engine, the company said May 27. GM said it is the automaker's largest ever investment in an engine plant and the latest adjustment to electric vehicle production. GM previously announced a $300 million investment to retool Tonawanda Propulsion near Buffalo, New York, to produce electric vehicle drive units. Outside New York, GM produces small block V-8 engines for its full-size trucks and SUVs at two other locations ― Flint, Michigan, and Toluca, Mexico, according to its website. Retooling for the next generation engine, its sixth, will take two years, the company said, meaning the fifth generation engine will continue to be produced in New York until 2027.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Used EV sales hit record high as new EV market cools
In April, the electric vehicle (EV) market showed clear signs of divergence: new EV sales declined, while used EVs posted record growth, underscoring a shift toward affordability amid rising prices and ongoing economic uncertainty. According to Cox Automotive, used EV sales rose 14.4% month over month to 38,763 units, representing a 60.6% year-over-year increase, and accounted for 2.3% of the used vehicle market, the highest share to date. Tesla led the used segment with a 27% month-over-month increase, capturing 47% of the market. Chevrolet and Ford followed with market shares of 8.9% and 6%, respectively. In addition, affordability is driving the shift, with 41% of used EVs selling for under $25,000, making them an attractive option as the used EV tax credit remains available.
Source: CBT News
Volvo Car to cut around 3,000 jobs
Volvo Car said it would cut around 3,000 jobs as part of a wider plan to slash costs and become more efficient amid a challenging global auto market. The Swedish carmaker warned last month that job cuts were on the way and was aiming for 18 billion kronor ($1.89 billion) in cost and cash savings. Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson, who was reappointed to lead the company two months ago, said Monday that the plan was important as it builds a stronger and more resilient business."The automotive industry is in the middle of a challenging period. To address this, we must improve our cash flow generation and structurally lower our costs," he said in a statement.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Counterfeit automotive parts pour in can be a 'direct risk to safety'
Every part of your vehicle could be counterfeited. A counterfeit part could cause performance issues or, worse, even be fatal. "Counterfeit parts are more than just a failure in quality: They are a direct risk to safety, where shortcuts in integrity can threaten lives," said Bob Stewart, president of the Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council, an alliance of nearly a dozen North American vehicle manufacturers. The group indicated it's not possible to know how many vehicles on the road contain counterfeit parts. But the increasing circulation of these parts is a growing concern among federal officials and automakers. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a safety advisory notice in mid-January to the public, repair professionals and used car buyers and owners about the rise in counterfeit and substandard safety devices, such as air bags and other supplemental restraint system components.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Bridgestone to make all natural tires from guayule plant
To make tire production more sustainable, Bridgestone is turning to a desert shrub called guayule as a source of natural rubber. Native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, guayule is a heat-tolerant source of natural rubber that can be used to make tires, Bridgestone said in a recent press release. Natural rubber can be extracted from guayule's branches, bark, and roots, and it can be farmed with existing crop-row equipment, according to the company.
Cultivating guayule helps diversify the world's natural rubber supply, allows Bridgestone to produce more rubber locally for the U.S. market, and contributes to the tire maker's sustainability goals. Bridgestone aims to achieve carbon neutrality and make tires from 100% renewable materials by 2050.
To meet those goals, Bridgestone is looking at both increased recycling of end-of-life tires and alternatives to non-renewable materials like oil, silica and virgin carbon black currently used in tires. That's where guayule comes in.
Bridgestone started its guayule research in earnest in 2012, when it broke ground on a guayule processing and research center in Mesa, Arizona. Tires made with the plant were used for the first time in IndyCar racing earlier this year. Bridgestone hopes to commercialize guayule natural-rubber tires by 2030 in passenger cars and other applications.
Goodyear is also working on reducing the amount of petroleum that goes into tires, and has shown a prototype tires made from 70% sustainable materials. It wants to make a tire from 100% sustainable materials by 2030. Hyundai and Michelin are also partnering on a project to help make tires more environmentally friendly. Tire makers have in the past experimented with an ingredient from orange peels, mixed with natural rubber. All of these efforts are important because, as EVs eliminate tailpipe emissions, the environmental impact from other areas must be considered.
Meanwhile, there's growing concern about the microplastics in tires, and what happens when they get ground up as a result of tire wear. A series of controversial study results suggests that the weight gain of EVs could create a colossal increase of microplastic particulate emissions.
Source: Green Car Reports
Nissan financial plans
Nissan Motor Co., facing a huge loan repayment wall next year, is seeking to raise more than ¥1 trillion ($7 billion) from debt and asset sales to keep operations on track, according to internal documents seen by Bloomberg News. The struggling Japanese automaker plans to issue as much as ¥630 billion in convertible securities and bonds, including high-yielding U.S. dollar and euro notes, the documents show. Nissan also plans to take out a £1 billion ($1.4 billion) syndicated loan, guaranteed by U.K. Export Finance. Nissan operates Britain's largest automaking hub, in Sunderland.
Source: Automotive News Europe
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