Automotive Financial News

Here's the latest and greatest financial news on Auto manufacturers and others in our industry.

Another Automaker Scandal

…Up to bat? Fiat-Chrysler (-10.28%), which has been accused by the EPA of installing software to deceive emissions tests for over 100,000 diesel vehicles. Yep, sounds a lot like Volkswagen. The case against Fiat isn’t as well-defined, however, since it is still unclear whether the software was as blatantly illegal as VW’s. CEO Sergio Marchionne has been vehemently denying any wrongdoing, and for good reason—if the Italian carmaker is found guilty, it could be hit with penalties totaling over $4.5 billion. Yikes. While the Fiat investigation is still in the works, another auto scandal is wrapping up. Takata (+16.5%) is expected to plead guilty today and pay a $1 billion penalty to settle its airbag recall case, which has affected over 42 million vehicles. By the way, that’s the largest safety recall in U.S history.

Volkswagen Agrees to Pay Up

…Again. As if we all didn’t know already, the German carmaker formally pleaded guilty in the U.S. to its emissions cheating scandal, agreeing to shell out yet another chunk of change—$4.3 billion to be exact. As a refresher...well, never mind, you know the deal by now. Volkswagen (+3.39%) cheated on emissions tests. A big no-no in the eyes of worldwide governments, environmental agencies and customers. And if that’s not enough, VW is also admitting to having obstructed the investigation when it was caught red-handed. Now the car-making giant is focused on getting this scandal wrapped up and its reputation out of a giant hole, but that won’t change the cost of this ordeal, which now stands at a whopping $23 billion. 

Uber Gives Back

…And hopes to get back, too. Uber is finally beginning to release access to its plethora of traffic data. The new service, dubbed Movement, will be Uber’s way to help city planners and researchers make better decisions about urban mobility. Don’t worry, though, your individual data isn’t at risk—Uber’s service will anonymize all its passenger data. It’s a win for a lot of groups, not to mention Uber itself. Not only does Uber stand to gain from improved infrastructure in cities, but it could also use a bit of goodwill with city governments after constant legal troubles. Give data, get leniency? Hopefully it’s not that simple.

Tesla has a new vice president heading up Autopilot efforts — Chris Lattner, whose departure from Apple was reported only earlier today. Lattner worked at Apple for 11 years, where his chief contribution was creating Swift, Apple’s most recent programming language, which is relatively easy for beginners to pick up and begin using to create apps for macOS, iOS and beyond.

Fiat Chrysler (+1.44%) announced that it will shift production of some of its models from Mexico to the U.S. On top of that, it’s adding a welcome 2,000 jobs in Michigan and Ohio.

In the next five years, Toyota (-0.32%) plans to invest $10 billion in the U.S., including its new North American headquarters in Texas