Ford Cancels Key Software Project

Ford Motor Co. has abruptly canceled its flagship software architecture project, known as FNV4, which executives once described as vital to competing with electric vehicle (EV) leaders like Tesla. The decision, revealed to select employees last week, ends a multi-year effort to modernize the digital foundation of Ford’s vehicle lineup and streamline costly software systems. Three sources who spoke with Reuters reported that the project was facing an end due to rising costs and persistent delays. The team designed the now-defunct FNV4 to unify and simplify vehicle software across electric and gasoline models.

Source: CBT News

Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. is seeking a buyer for either its business or assets as it runs low on cash and a possible tie up with mining giant Glencore has failed to materialize. The Toronto-based battery recycling startup, which has ties with General Motors, said May 1 that it has hired Hilco Corporate Finance to assist in finding a buyer for all or part of the company. Failing to secure a deal could force Li-Cycle to seek creditor protection, the company warned.

Source: Automotive News

Reports out of Maranello say it will hit the streets in October 2026.

The car they once said would never come is coming: an electric Ferrari. Ferrari is still tight-lipped about its first all-electric BEV, a step beyond the hybrid drivetrains in the SF90 and 296, but we can expect to see the powertrain, what Ferrari called the—“technological heart”—of its first fully electric car, on October 9 as the first part of a three-stage unveiling process culminating with its world premiere in the spring of next year. “Deliveries... will commence just months after that, in October 2026,” Benedetto Vigna, Ferrari CEO, told analysts in a post-earnings call, as reported by Reuters this week. Hybrid development will also continue. “We continue to enrich our product offering—in line with our plans—with six new models this year, which include the newly launched 296 Speciale, 296 Speciale A, and the much-anticipated Ferrari Elettrica through a unique and innovative unveiling,” Vigna said. “We are very excited about what lies ahead.”

While no photos, drawings or sketches have been released by Maranello, our friends at Car and Driver had this rendering put together by the professionals at Avarvarii Automotive Artworks, a firm that specializes in such things.

While Ferrari’s first fully electric car breaks tradition of the world’s greatest V12s, V8s, and now V6s, it’s an inevitability. Ferrari has said it will keep building V12s and other internal-combustion engines as long as it’s allowed to, but it must also yield to the future. And what will that future look like? “It will be something completely different. But we’ve been developing skills on components for EVs for more than a decade,” chief marketing and commercial officer Enrico Galliera said. Indeed, Ferrari opened a new production facility in Maranello last June specifically to include production of electric vehicles. Called the e-building, the factory will produce internal combustion-engined cars, hybrids, and Ferrari’s first electric model. It is “a plant that combines the centrality of the people in the workplace with respect for the environment,” said Ferrari President John Elkann. “Investing in our territory is essential to prepare ourselves for Ferrari’s future with confidence.” The fact that it will house the production and development of internal-combustion engines, hybrid engines, and electric motors, “each capable of delivering Ferrari’s signature driving excitement,” and that production can be adjusted to fit whatever drivetrain is selling the best, should reassure the tifosi that roaring V12s are not going away anytime soon. Vigna reaffirmed this month Ferrari would continue to make gas and hybrid cars, as well as EVs, Reuters said. He added the company would launch a total of six new models this year, including the fully electric one.

The other new models are special versions of the plug-in hybrid Ferrari 296 GTB and 296 GTS: the 296 Speciale and 296 Speciale A. They were unveiled last week. “These new models are based on the current berlinetta in our range, the 296 GTB and 296 GTS, and they mark further progress in both performance and features, embodying solutions derived from our racing cars: the 499P, the 296 GT3, the 296 Challenge and the Formula 1 single-seater. Prototypes of what may be the Elettrica have been seen, and heard, in Maranello, suggesting Ferrari my add some form of “engine” sound.

Source: Autoweek

Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis said when he returned from a brief retirement last year that the truck brand needed more offerings under $50,000. Ram is taking aim at that price point with the 2026 1500 Express, a trim it says is targeted toward customers seeking a “combination of attitude and value.” The Express starts at $44,495 with shipping. It will be assembled in Sterling Heights, Mich., and arrive at dealerships in the third quarter. Buyers can choose from crew cab and quad cab body styles with 4x2 or 4x4 drivetrains. Kuniskis told Automotive News at the Detroit auto show in January that Ram had to be more aggressive in the sub-$50,000 space after discontinuing the 1500 Classic, which served as an economical option at the bottom of the lineup. Ram said the Express first was offered in 1939 with 78 hp. 

Source: Automotive News

Jaguar Land Rover has resumed shipments of vehicles to the U.S. after pausing them following the announcement of tariffs by President Donald Trump’s government. The U.K. company had put shipments of its Britain-made cars on hold in early April as it looked at ways to address the new trading terms. “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands and 25 percent tariffs on autos remain in place,” a JLR spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday. “As we work to address the new U.S. trading terms with our business partners, we are enacting our planned short-term actions,” the spokesperson said. JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, is developing mid- to long-term plans and will give a further update at its full-year results, which are scheduled for release May 10.

Source: Bloomberg News via Automotive News

AutoCanada Inc. has ended its marketing relationship with Trader Corp., the parent of online vehicle marketplace AutoTrader.ca, as the dealership group looks to trim expenses and employ artificial intelligence to get in front of buyers, according to an internal company memo. In the April 22 missive to staff obtained by Automotive News Canada, AutoCanada Executive Chair Paul Antony said the company recently completed a “deep analysis” of its digital marketing performance across its 64 new-vehicle and three used-car stores in Canada. “The findings were clear: Trader is no longer delivering the value [AutoCanada] demands. In many cases, we found ourselves having to raise vehicle prices just to cover the cost of listing, making us less competitive in the market.” 

Source: Automotive News Canada

Ford Motor Co. is hiking prices on three of its Mexico-produced models effective May 2, becoming one of the first major automakers to adjust sticker prices following President Donald Trump‘s tariffs. Prices on the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover, Maverick pickup and Bronco Sport will increase as much as $2,000 on some models, according to a notice sent to dealers reviewed by Reuters. Ford’s decision to hike prices comes just days after it said the effects of Trump’s trade war would add about $2.5 billion in overall costs for 2025, and as it suspended its annual earnings guidance. Rival GM also said tariffs would cost it billions of dollars following the hefty levies Trump imposed on imported automobiles. A Ford spokesperson said the price hikes will affect vehicles built after May 2, arriving at dealer lots in late June. 

Source: Automotive News

A closely watched barometer for used vehicle pricing jumped last month to its highest level since October 2023 as consumers rushed purchases amid fears of price hikes due to auto tariffs. Cox Automotive’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index — which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions — increased 4.9% last month compared with a year earlier to a level of 208.2. It also marked a 2.7% increase from March. That’s a significant rise compared with a historically typical month-to-month index move of 0.2%, according to the auto data and logistics firm. “The ‘spring bounce’ normally ends the second week of April, but this year, wholesale appreciation trends continued for the entire month and were much stronger than we typically observe,” said Jeremy Robb, Cox Automotive senior director of economic and industry insights. “We expected to see strong price appreciation in response to the tariffs, and that’s exactly what came.” 

Source: CNBC

Volvo Cars said it will cut approximately 125 jobs, or 5% of the workforce, at its Charleston, South Carolina factory as the company adjusts to shifting market conditions and evolving trade policies. The company made the announcement on Wednesday as part of a broader effort to realign operations and sharpen its U.S. strategy. The production changes affect Volvo’s only American plant, which currently employs about 2,500 workers and builds the EX90 electric SUV and the Polestar’s model 3. Despite having a capacity to produce 150,000 vehicles annually, the facility has seen relatively low output, with only 1,316 EX90s sold in the U.S. so far in 2024. Volvo, which is majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding, emphasized its long-term commitment to U.S. manufacturing. The automaker said it remains on track to create 4,000 jobs in South Carolina and plans to expand output at the Charleston site in the future. 

Source: CBT News