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At meeting with automakers, Trump launches new attack on NAFTA

WASHINGTON — Ten American and foreign automakers went to the White House on Friday to push for a weakening of U.S. fuel efficiency standards through 2025, while President Donald Trump used the occasion to launch a fresh attack on the North American Free Trade Agreement that has benefited the companies. A draft proposal circulated by the U.S. Transportation Department would freeze fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels through 2026, rather than allowing them to increase as previously planned. Trump's administration is expected to formally unveil the proposal later this month or in June. "We're working on CAFE standards, environmental controls," Trump told reporters at the top of the meeting, referring to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for cars and light trucks in the United States. Trump said he wants automakers to build more vehicles in the United States and export more vehicles. But much of the hour-long meeting focused on NAFTA. Trump blasted the pact involving the United States, Canada and Mexico as "terrible" and noted that negotiations to make changes sought by his administration were ongoing. "NAFTA has been a horrible, horrible disaster for this country and we'll see if we can make it reasonable," Trump said. Automakers have called NAFTA a success, allowing them to integrate production throughout North America and make production competitive with Asia and Europe, and have noted the increase in auto production over the past two decades with the deal in place. They have warned that changing NAFTA too much could prompt some companies to move production out of the United States. The chief executives of General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler, along with senior U.S. executives from Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, Hyundai Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, Honda Motor Co , BMW AG and Daimler AG met with Trump, as did the chief executives of two auto trade groups. Major automakers reiterated this week they do not support freezing fuel efficiency requirements but said they want new flexibility and rule changes to address lower gasoline prices and the shift in U.S. consumer preferences to bigger, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

Daimler relocating North American headquarters to Michigan

While Mercedes-Benz is moving its American headquarters from New Jersey to Georgia, its parent company Daimler is also relocating from the Garden State. But rather than join its automotive unit down south, Daimler North America is moving to Michigan. The relocation was announced by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder while visiting the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany this week, and has been confirmed by Daimler in correspondence with Autoblog. Daimler's North American headquarters are currently located in Park Ridge, NJ, a mere five-minute drive from Montvale where Mercedes-Benz USA has been based prior to its move to Georgia. The relocation will see Daimler's North American head office move into the facility that currently houses the company's financial services division in Farmington Hills, MI. The move will bring 30 jobs to Michigan, and is slated to commence in 2016 and conclude "sometime in 2017," according to the company. Now if you're wondering why Daimler is going to Michigan while Mercedes is going to Georgia, bear in mind that a number of Daimler's facilities are already located in the Great Lakes State. In addition to the financial services office, Daimler also operates an R&D facility in Ann Arbor. It also owns Redford-based Detroit Diesel, where the photo above was taken during President Obama's visit in December 2012. Along with the Daimler facility, the governor's office also announced the opening of a new Michigan Europe Center that will seek "to promote trade and export development between the state and European markets." The center will also operate satellites in London and Berlin in order to further its mission on behalf of small- and medium-sized businesses based in Michigan, of which we can expect many will come from the automotive sector. Gov. Snyder in Germany: Daimler North America moving headquarters to Michigan State opens Michigan Europe Center to promote trade and investment Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015 FRANKFURT – Daimler North America Corporation, the holding company for all of the company's business units in the United States, will move its headquarters to Michigan from New Jersey, Gov. Rick Snyder announced as he completed an investment mission trip to Japan and Germany. "Michigan is the world's automotive leader, and Daimler's decision to increase its presence in state is another indication that we intend to hold that position for generations to come," Snyder said.

Aston Martin and Daimler continue talks on SUV project, CEO required

The Aston Martin Lagonda SUV concept revealed at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show didn't earn the plaudits the company is used to when it reveals new models, and it has lived an uncertain life ever since. Thought to have been scrapped along with the entire revival of the Lagonda brand, then thought to have been resurrected due to Chinese, Middle Eastern and Russian demand, another year passed before we heard more definitive talk about an Aston Martin expansion when AutoCar reported that the Lagonda could be built on one of Mercedes-Benz's AMG SUV platforms.
A report in Automotive News Europe indicates plans have gotten serious, its unnamed sources saying that the English carmaker is talking to Daimler "to extend their cooperation to building an SUV." Neither Daimler, Aston Martin nor Investindustrial, the managing partner among Aston Martin's ownership consortium, would comment. But with Investindustrial having pledged to expand the range, competitors like Bentley, Maserati and Lamborghini getting into the SUV racket and clear demand from current and future customers, it's easy to believe Aston Martin is working hard to put the pieces together.
One further potential bump on the road to an Aston SUV is the company's search for a new CEO. Ulrich Bez relinquished to top spot at the company at the end of 2013, and Aston reportedly will not finalize its model strategy without a new CEO in place.