91ÊÓƵ

Ford Motor Co. has acquired a startup that specializes in managing charging networks for commercial electric vehicles, a business the automaker hopes could generate as much as $1 billion in revenue by 2030.

The American father-son duo charged with helping former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee trial in Japan a year and a half ago pleaded guilty in a Tokyo court June 14.

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley made a bold bid for electric supremacy May 26 by boosting his company’s bet on plug-in models by more than a third, to $30 billion, and promising to electrify virtually the entire lineup.

The shift to electric vehicles won’t happen like the flip of a light switch.

Renesas Electronics Corp., one of the biggest makers of automotive chips, said a fire halted production at one of its Japanese plants. The incident may exacerbate a shortage of semiconductors that has already curbed vehicle output across the industry.

The Biden administration is working to address the global semiconductor shortage that has caused auto manufacturers and other U.S. industries to halt production, a White House official said.

Investors are rewarding U.S. automakers as they embrace electric vehicles to boost growth amid a burgeoning demand for environment-friendly cars.

American automakers are asking the U.S. government to help solve a debilitating shortage of computer chips that is closing auto factories worldwide and could restrict production until the fall.

A semiconductor shortage is pinching some of the world’s biggest auto manufacturers, costing Daimler AG, Nissan Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV production for a range of cars.

Demand for higher-priced vehicles from retail buyers at the end of 2020 helped lift U.S. auto sales out of a springtime slump and buffered the impact of a sharp drop in fleet sales to rental car companies.