Freedom of Mobility Forum Announces Agenda, Panelists for March 29 Live Debate

 

An international panel of six selected to debate the environmental, social and financial costs of providing accessible, s


https://www.stellantis.com/en/news/press...ive-debate

Stellantis Announces Launch of the First Tranche of Its Share Buyback Program

AMSTERDAM - Stellantis N.V. (“Stellantis” or the “Company”) announced today that pursuant to its Share Buyback Program (the “Program”) announced on February


https://www.stellantis.com/en/news/press...ck-program

ABB Robotics to invest $20M in Michigan plant expansion

<p>Zurich-based <strong><a href="https://www.autonews.com/topic/robots" target="_blank">robotics</a></strong> giant ABB Ltd. is planning to invest $20 million and create 72 jobs at its Auburn Hills, Mich., plant in response to the growth of automation in the automotive industry and others.</p>

<p>The company will increase robot production at its 538,000-square-foot building, adding new equipment to its manufacturing space and renovating its offices and demonstration center, said John Bubnikovich, ABB's U.S. Robotics division president.</p>

<p>The renovations at the plant, where the company has operated since 1993, are expected to be complete by November. The project is being supported with a $450,000 performance-based grant from the <strong><a href="http://autonews.com/topic/michigan" target="_blank">Michigan</a></strong> Economic Development Corp.</p>

<p>Automation continues to expand in the auto industry as carmakers accelerate electrification plans. Automotive is roughly half of ABB's robotics business, which supplies the major automakers, Bubnikovich said, declining to name customers.</p>

<p>At the same time, the company is seeing major growth in warehousing, logistics and health care. Besides needing more robots, the common demand among customers is having more control of what they do.</p>

<p>"We need to increase our production capacity to keep up with the market," Bubnikovich said. "How do we streamline our delivery process and become more intimate with the market here in North America?"</p>

<p>The answer has been to build robots locally, which allows for customers to be more involved in the process, Bubnikovich said. About 80 percent of ABB's robots sold in the Americas are delivered from local factories, and that is soon to be 90 percent, according to the company. Most of the robot parts are imported, though Bubnikovich said the company is looking at ways to localize production.</p>

<p>The Auburn Hills renovations will add a third manufacturing line, allowing the company to increase capacity by 30 percent.</p>

<p>Prior to launching its manufacturing plant in Auburn Hills in 2015, ABB focused primarily on systems integration and building assembly lines for automotive companies. It has prioritized diversifying the company in recent years.</p>

<p>ABB's, which has its U.S. robotics base in North Carolina, employs 105,000 people around the world, including 350 in Auburn Hills. The 72 new jobs will be manufacturing positions.</p>

<p>The jobs pay an average of $26 per hour and offer full benefits, according to an MEDC briefing memo. <em>Crain's Detroit Business</em>, an affilaite of <em>Automotive News</em>, requested pay details from the MEDC.</p>

<p>ABB joins other robotics companies growing their footprints in the Detroit suburbs. Last year, robotics giant and ABB competitor Fanuc announced an<a href="https://www.crainsdetroit.com/auto-suppliers/fanuc-expand-former-cooley-law-school-site-auburn-hills" target="_blank"> $86 million expansion in Auburn Hills</a>, following a <a href="https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180726/news/667006/fanuc-plans-461000-square-foot-robotics-facility-with-up-to-300-workers" target="_blank">$51 million add-on in 2018</a>. JR Automation, a customer of ABB, opened a<a href="https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufacturing/jr-automation-opens-new-plant-orion-township" target="_blank"> new 227,500-square-foot systems integration plant</a> in Orion Township late last year.</p>

<p>ABB, which recorded $29.4 billion in revenue last year, said it expects future investments in Michigan and the U.S.</p>

<p>"As the global mega trends of labor shortages, uncertainty, the near and reshoring of production, and a desire to operate more sustainably accelerate, more businesses are turning to automation to build resilience while improving efficiency and flexibility," Sami Atiya, president of ABB robotics and discrete automation, said in a news release.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/suppliers/abb-r...an-detroit

Ford Pro Working with Ernst & Young LLP to Help Customers Understand Electric Vehicl

Ford Pro™ is expanding its one-stop shop for commercial customers with the announcement of a new program designed to help fleets understand Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) electric vehicle tax credits.


https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia...nders.html

Miss. governor signs bill putting new restrictions on how EV-only manufacturers can

<p>The law grandfathers in an existing Tesla location, according to the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/dealers/miss-ba...ed-dealers

Audi: Decision on new U.S. plant will come this year

<p>Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said the German brand will make a decision in 2023 on whether to build an assembly plant in the United States to take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act's EV subsidies.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/a...smann-says

VW ID.2all concept previews affordable EV due in 2025

The Volkswagen Group is preparing a family of subcompact electric vehicles that will include a member for the Volkswagen brand. VW previewed a potential design for its EV in 2021 with the ID.Life concept, though the automaker has now abandoned the boxy crossover design of that earlier concept in favor of a more traditional hatchback shape with the...


https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1139...t-revealed

Ford recalls more than 1.3M Fusion, Lincoln MKZ cars globally for braking defect

<p>The recall covers certain 2013-18 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. It affects nearly 1.3 million vehicles in the U.S., about 66,000 in Canada and 18,000 in Mexico, Ford said.</p>

https://www.autonews.com/regulation-safe...ack-brakes

Cryptojacking Group TeamTNT Suspected of Using Decoy Miner to Conceal Data Exfiltrat

The cryptojacking group known as TeamTNT is suspected to be behind a previously undiscovered strain of malware used to mine Monero cryptocurrency on compromised systems.
That's according to Cado Security, which found the sample after Sysdig detailed a sophisticated attack known as SCARLETEEL aimed at containerized environments to ultimately steal proprietary data and software.
Specifically, the

https://thehackernews.com/2023/03/crypto...ected.html

Mike Keogh

Mike Keogh is chief financial officer for Ford Model e, effective October 2022. In this role, he leads the finance team responsible for financial planning, strategy, capital allocation and investment in building Model e.


https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia...keogh.html