1966 Chrysler Imperial Convertible on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Which car companies are creating new jobs in America?

Since January, automakers have announced investments totaling $9.5 billion in U.S. plants, creating or retaining more than 12,000 jobs. Some of those companies have yet to announce just how many jobs will be created given their investments, with the location of many of those jobs still to be determined. Specifically, the 4,000-job Toyota-Mazda joint venture plant still hasn't announced its location, with numerous states jockeying for it. Hyundai has plans to invest $1 billion but has not announced a jobs number yet. And likewise Ford is investing $1.2 billion in Michigan without specifying a number of jobs. Volvo this week announced plans to add a second line to its factory under construction in South Carolina, spending another $500 million and adding 2,500 jobs to the 2,000 it was already trying to fill. Then Thursday, Daimler announced a $1 billion expansion to its facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to produce EV batteries and electric SUVs, a move that will add 600 jobs to its hiring this year. Above, we've created a handy pie chart showing you which companies have announced new jobs and how many there will be. Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit News Source: Reuters Plants/Manufacturing BMW Chrysler Ford GM Honda Hyundai Mazda Mercedes-Benz Toyota Volvo jobs

FCA under investigation for fraud by FBI, SEC, and DOJ

The US Justice Department is currently in the initial stages of investigating Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for fraud, according to two anonymous sources that spoke with Bloomberg. According to the unnamed sources, prosecutors are examining whether FCA violated US securities laws. As part of a coordinated investigation into FCA's sales reporting practices, investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission visited the automaker's field staff in their offices and homes earlier this month, reports Automotive News. According to an anonymous source that spoke to Automotive News, federal staff attorneys visited FCA's US headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI on July 11. The unnamed source told the outlet that employees were advised to seek counsel before speaking with investigators. Investigators also visited the automaker's offices in Dallas, California, and Orlando, the unnamed source told Automotive News. The investigation comes after FCA claimed it had recorded the best month of sales in the US in the automaker's history in December with a total of 217,527 vehicles sold, reports Bloomberg. The claim now seems untrustworthy. According to a previous report from Automotive News, a Chicago-based dealership group filed a lawsuit against FCA earlier this year. The suit accused the automaker of paying dealers to fake new-vehicle sales. At the time, the automaker claimed the allegations were baseless and had no merit. After the lawsuit, FCA started to add an extended disclaimed at the end of its monthly sales reports, according to Automotive News. In a statement, FCA claimed that the automaker is cooperating with the SEC investigation and pointed out that it records "revenues based on shipments to dealers and customers, not on reported vehicle unit sales to end customers." We'll have more on the investigation as it unfolds. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News-sub.req., Automotive News-sub.req, Bloomberg, GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Chrysler Fiat FCA USDOJ investigation

Waymo picks Detroit factory to build self-driving fleet by mid-2019

SAN FRANCISCO — Alphabet Inc's Waymo said on Tuesday it had chosen a factory in Detroit to mass produce self-driving cars, looking to the historical heart of the auto industry to build the vehicles of the future. The company's chief executive, John Krafcik, said in a blog post that Waymo would partner with American Axle & Manufacturing to lease and repurpose an existing Detroit facility that will be operational by mid-2019. The facility belongs to American Axle, next to the GM Hamtramck facility that is at risk of being shuttered, and is across the Detroit River from Windsor, where the Chrysler Pacificas that Waymo uses are built. Presumably Waymo will do the self-driving fitment of Pacificas at the new facility. Waymo said in January it had chosen Michigan for its first production facility, adding it would receive incentives from the public-private partnership agency, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and create up to 400 jobs over time exclusively related to self-driving. Krafcik said in his blog post Tuesday that it's the "perfect facility," with up to 200,000 square feet to expand into. He said Waymo will hire the region's auto manufacturing talent. Waymo plans to buy 62,000 Pacificas and 20,000 Jaguars and convert them for autonomous driving. By 2022, it intends to conduct about 1 million trips per day. In a sea of rivals, Waymo is generally thought of as far ahead in the self-driving race. It already operates a robotaxi service in Arizona that it plans to expand geographically over time. Global automakers, large technology companies and startups are all engaged in self-driving efforts, but experts expect it will be years before systems are ready to be rolled out in all areas, with software and regulations among the many challenges. Waymo is competing with rivals General Motors and Uber Technologies to deploy such vehicles for the masses. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also announced the company plans to launch a robotaxi service in 2020. Waymo, which has been working on self-driving technology for a decade, provided few new details. American Axle, with which Waymo is partnering for its Detroit facility, was formed in 1994 when an investment team purchased five plants that General Motors had put up for sale. GM plans to end output at its last Detroit factory next year, after announcing in November a plan to halt production at five North American assembly plants and cut about 15,000 jobs.