GM’s Barra sells shares

General Motors CEO Mary Barra sold about 40% of her personal stock and options in the company in August, according to a government and company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In total, Barra sold stock and exercised options worth approximately $35.4 million from the sale of 994,863 shares of stock last month, a GM spokesperson confirmed Sept. 4. In the past six months, Barra has cashed out nearly $58 million across four transactions. Wall Street immediately took notice because insider selling at this scale — especially by a long-tenured CEO — raises questions. Was this routine profit-taking, a signal of caution, or something deeper about GM’s near-term prospects?

Source: Detroit Free Press

Quebec and Northvolt are parting ways after the province announced it was ending its funding for a planned $7-billion factory and taking a $270-million loss from its total $510-million investment. It’s been a rocky few years for both Quebec and Northvolt since the joint announcement in September, 2023 that the Swedish battery maker would be building a battery-cell manufacturing plant in McMasterville, Que. After the announcement Northvolt was rocked by global EV supply issues throughout 2024, the election of Donald Trump in the United States late last year and then, finally, the bankruptcy of its parent company in March 2025.
In the midst of the turmoil, Northvolt announced it was pausing its plans to open a factory in Quebec in January 2024, but stated multiple times that the project — at least from the company’s perspective — was not dead.

By taking the action to end its arrangement with Northvolt, Quebec will have to write off the $270 million already paid out to the parent company in Sweden. The province originally committed to a total investment of $510 million, including what it calls a $240-million guaranteed loan which was to be used to purchase land for the factory site. “We are obviously disappointed,” said Christine Fréchette, Quebec’s minister of economy. “However, the outcome of the project does not mean the end of the battery industry here.”

Rising from the ashes?
After the province’s announcement, Northvolt issued a statement expressing disappointment at the decision and noted that it still has “substantial resources to relaunch the project.” It’s unclear, however, how or in what form the project might be resurrected.

The Canadian Press reports that Quebec has already filed documents with the Quebec Superior Court asking that Northvolt be declared insolvent. Having the court take that action would allow the province to recover not just the $240-million principal of its loan but also $30-million in already accrued interest.

One possible outcome of the judicial process could see the court ordering that the land be sold immediately. Should that happen, it’s unclear where Northvolt would relocate . For now, however, the company says it’s focussed on its employees. “We wish to underscore that Northvolt North America is not in bankruptcy,” reads Northvolt’s statement.
“[W]e remain committed to ensuring a smooth transition and to supporting our employees and partners throughout this difficult period.”

Meanwhile, Quebec is turning its attention to its other battery projects, says Fréchette.
“Our industry is very much alive with several companies active in this ecosystem. We remain convinced that it has a bright future, particularly in Bécancour, where nearly 3,000 people are working on the construction of the plants.”

Source: Electric Autonomy

Jaguar Land Rover reveals it has been the victim of a cyberattack that “severely disrupted” its retail and vehicle-production activities. The British luxury brand is working fast to restart computing capabilities in the areas affected by the cybersecurity attack, it says in a statement. It also stresses that “there is no evidence any customer data has been stolen.” The company informed its parent company, Tata Motors, while the attack was taking place, immediately shutting down affected systems and that it is now in the process of working to “resolve global IT issues,” the BBC reports. Production at its Solihull, Halewood, Wolverhampton and Castle Bromwich plants is now suspended, according to The Times newspaper, and the staff has yet to be given a date to return to work.

Source: WardsAuto

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to consolidate production of its luxury Lexus brand cars in the U.S. into a single location from two in the face of high tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, the Nikkei reported Sept. 9. The report said the move is aimed at strengthening U.S. production of hybrid vehicles while shifting some production of high-end Lexus cars to Japan. Toyota currently makes Lexus ES sedans in Georgetown, Ky., and Lexus TX utility vehicles at its plant in Princeton, Ind. After the consolidation, Toyota will end production of Lexus cars at the Kentucky plant, according to Nikkei. A Toyota spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on the report.

Source: Reuters via Automotive News

Tesla’s Model Y was a game-changer in the auto industry, blowing away fusty old manufacturers to become the bestselling vehicle globally. Now the world’s top luxury car brands are fighting back. In recent days, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have revealed new electric sport-utility vehicles—a category dominated by the Model Y—that will test car buyers’ appetite for expensive European brands at a time when technology from the U.S. and China increasingly sets the auto industry’s agenda. The fruits of billions of dollars of investment, the SUVs will travel farther and charge faster than most of today’s electric vehicles.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

New vehicle prices increased in August as 2026 models reached dealerships and automakers raised prices to offset rising costs, according to Kelley Blue Book. The average transaction price (ATP) for new vehicles hit $49,077, up 0.5% from July and 2.6% from a year earlier, marking the largest annual gain in more than two years. Retail sales climbed 2.5% year over year despite higher prices. The average manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) rose to $51,099, up 3.3% annually, the largest increase in 2025. Incentive spending softened slightly to 7.2% of ATP, remaining steady compared to last year. Of 31 major brands tracked, only five reported lower prices year over year, led by Acura (-6.5%) and Tesla (-5.5%), while seventeen brands posted gains exceeding 3%. Full-size pickups, including the Ford F-Series ($66,934), Chevrolet Silverado ($61,023), GMC Sierra ($70,150), and Ram ($65,849), contributed significantly to higher ATPs.

Source: CBT News

The Gravity SUV is gaining momentum, but Lucid now has to juggle higher materials prices due to tariffs.

Lucid revealed a more sour than expected forecast for the rest of 2025 this week in posting its second-quarter results, with the company producing 3,863 electric vehicles in the past three months and delivering 3,309 in the same time frame.

These results represented a 38.2% bump over the second quarter of 2024, but they were upstaged by the unexpected tariffs that materialized during the second quarter, dinging its profit margin. "We had our sixth consecutive quarter of record deliveries in Q2 and expect to continue this trend as we ramp up Lucid Gravity production in the second half of the year," said Marc Winterhoff, interim CEO at Lucid. As a result, Lucid has gone as far as cutting back its annual production forecast, with the automaker now expected to produce between 18,000 and 20,000 vehicles by year's end, instead of the predicted 20,000.

This may seem like a trivial downgrade, but it was enough to depress Lucid stock by 10% this past Tuesday. The reason, we suspect, is that these trends are indicative of a new landscape that Lucid will have to contend with just as it works to get Gravity SUV production up to full speed.

Tariff Trouble, Despite US Manufacturing
And it mostly has to do with sourcing raw materials used in EV manufacturing, which are imported, even though Lucid itself is one of the rare few automakers building its vehicles in the US.

New US tariffs pushed by the White House on crucial metals are altering the supply chain equation in real time and are far from settled, for now saddling EV makers with a US presence with higher materials costs. Admittedly, it's an odd problem to have for an EV maker whose manufacturing presence needs no reshoring.

Still, Lucid put a brave face on an increasingly uncertain future that is also affecting its rivals, including Tesla. "We delivered solid performance despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, thanks to the adaptability and focus of our team in navigating a dynamic environment," said Taoufiq Boussaid, CFO at Lucid.

One development that has buoyed Lucid in recent weeks was its deal with Uber to produce some 20,000 Lucid Gravity SUVs to be converted into robotaxis—an ambitious but risky plan that also includes autonomous software and hardware from Nuro AI.

Source: Autoweek