The Dodge Charger and Challenger are officially dead as the last car rolled off the line on Dec. 22. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Ford F-Series trucks dominated truck sales in the United States for the 47th year in a row and remained the bestselling vehicle for the 42nd year in a row, says the company. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Chinese consumer electronics maker Xiaomi has unveiled its first EV, the SU7 sedan, which cost $1.4 billion to develop and is intended to compete against the Porsche Taycan. More at CNBC.
+ German authorities have reopened a criminal investigation of Martin Winterkorn, former Volkswagern chairman, over suspected market manipulation in the dieselgate scandal. More at Reuters.
+ Mercedes Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff says the team must not “give up” on its current recovery plan before the series adopts iits landmark new rules formula for 2026. More at Motorsport.com.
+ Toyota reported record sales of 986,262 vehicles in November, a 12 percent increase over the same period last year, while setting a production record of 1,067,446 units. More at The Detroit News.
+ Vietnamese carmaker VinFast will reportedly display two new concepts, a pickup and a tiny VF3 electric commuter vehicle, at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. More at Autoblog.
+ Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD announced it has obtained a conditional government testing license for level 3 (L3) autonomous driving on high-speed roads in China. More at World Auto Forum.
+ The Dodge Charger and Challenger are officially dead as the last car, a Pitch Black Challenger SRT Demon 170, rolled off the line at the Brampton, Ontario plant on Dec. 22. More at Car and Driver.
+ According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), better front crash avoidance systems are needed to reduce collisions with motorcycles and semi-trucks. More at Motor Authority.
+ Jeanetta Holder, the beloved Indianapolis 500 “quilt lady” who stitched custom-made quilts for every Indy 500 race winner since 1976 and other personalities, has passed away at 91. More at IndyStar.
Photo courtesy of Stellantis. .
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from December 25 here.
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Does anyone else find it curious that Ford pickups (and others) continue to sell so well despite their increasingly gargantuan size? Is that really what buyers want?
Yet ironically, at the same time Ford wasn’t able to build enough units of its compact Maverick pickup. Might still be the case.
I don’t understand why Ford doesn’t transfer more production to the Maverick. Maybe they don’t have the plant for it, I don’t know, but it is puzzling.