This 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster brought $1.28 million in the Gooding & Company European Sporting & Historic sale. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing. 

Today’s Headlines:

+   Rivian, the electric truckmaker startup currently backed by Amazon and Ford, plans to  to go public as soon as September with a valuation of $50 billion, maybe more. More at Autoblog.

+   Despite the pandemic, General Motors booked $6.4 billion in net income for 2020, but the firm’s share price fell 3 percent due to worries over the semiconductor shortage. More at The Detroit News. 

+   Ford CEO Jim Farley publicly called for two South Korean battery suppliers, LG Chem and SK Innovations, to reach a voluntary settlement over LG Chem’s trade secrets. More at Reuters. 

+   Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso was hospitalized following a road accident with a car while bicycle training near his home in Lugano, Switzerland. More at Autosport. 

+   Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares all but confirmed that Peugeot’s plans to reenter the USA are shelved while the carmaker focuses on the domestic Chrysler brands. More at Car and Driver. 

+   Daimler Trucks will invest $20 million in the Detroit area’s Detroit Diesel plant to manufacture components for the company’s medium and heavy-duty electric trucks. More at the Detroit Free Press. 

+   Ride-sharing leader Uber reported a reduced net loss of $6.77 billion for 2020, as increased demand for the company’s delivery services offset the drop in ride sharing. More at CNBC. 

+   Members of the SRT (Street and Racing Technology) engineering team have been reassigned to other FCA/Stellantis divisions and the unit has been effectively dissolved. More at StellPower. 

+   Gooding & Company’s online-only European Sporting & Historic auction featured only nine cars, but achieved $11.6 million in sales and a 100 percent sell-through rate. More at Classic Cars.com Journal. 

+   Alex Bowman and William Byron were the top qualifiers for next Sunday’s Daytona 500, giving Hendrick Motorsports its fourth straight front row in the NASCAR points opener. More at Jayski.com.

Photo courtesy and copyright of Gooding & Company. 

Review the previous Executive Briefing from February 8 here. 

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