Ford’s F-150 Lightning Lariat. (Ford.com)

Editor’s Take: The rural problem with EVs

Electric vehicles have a chicken-and-egg problem in rural Canada. Until there are enough charging sites that drivers feel no constraints on travel, electric vehicle purchase will be a hard sell. And until there are enough electric vehicles to create demand for those charging stations, there isn’t an urgent push to install them. When Western Canada’s

Preproduction 2023 models of Ford’s F-series Super Duty pickup trucks. (Ford.com)

Ford to keep AM radio, CEO says

Amid rising concerns, Canada's premier automaker will not drop AM

Ford Motor Co. has gone back on its plan to phase AM radio out of its vehicles. Ford CEO Jim Farley made the announcement Tuesday via Twitter, after company officials said last month that AM would be dropped from new non-commercial vehicles. “After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as


(Zachary Thomas/iStock/Getty Images)

Potential loss of AM radio in vehicles a concern for farmers

Many farmers rely on AM range, signal; U.S. lawmakers launch legislation

Canadian farmers are expressing concern about the possibility of their access to AM radio disappearing. Ford, which has been Canada’s best-selling auto brand since 2009, has stated it plans to stop putting AM radios in non-commercial vehicles by 2024. The automaker’s decision follows those of companies such as Tesla, Mazda and Volkswagen, which have removed

A General Motors illustration featuring a display version of its 2024 Silverado EV pickup, due for release in the fall of 2023. (Media.GM.ca)

GM buyouts cut 5,000 jobs, CFO says

Not much more room seen to raise prices

Reuters — About 5,000 General Motors salaried workers took buyouts to leave the company, putting the company well on the way to hitting a US$2 billion cost-cutting target, the automaker’s chief financial officer said Tuesday. GM shares were trading down nearly two per cent at midday, even though CFO Paul Jacobson said demand for GM’s

Ford’s F-150 Lightning Lariat. (Ford.com)

Ford hikes electric F-150’s price again to battle high costs

Reuters — Ford Motor Co. has raised the base price of its popular F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck again, the automaker’s website showed on Thursday, the latest in a series of price hikes aimed at offsetting high costs. The base variant of Ford’s electric F-150 truck now starts at $59,974, excluding shipping and taxes, up


Production of Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickup at Dearborn, Mich. (Media.ford.com)

Ford hikes price of cheapest F-150 electric truck variant

Reuters — Ford Motor Co. has raised the price of the cheapest variant of its F-150 Lightning electric truck by nine per cent, to US$55,974, the company’s website showed on Thursday. The automaker has raised prices for its electric pickup trucks twice in a span of three months, as it navigates higher costs and supply


Concept art for the rear view of a Ram electric truck. (Ramtruck.ca)

Stellantis’ battery plans take shape in Italy, Canada

LG and Stellantis set up j.v. for Windsor gigafactory

Milan/Ottawa | Reuters — Stellantis took significant steps in its battery production plans in Europe and North America on Wednesday as carmakers race to meet rising demand for electric vehicles. The maker of Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat and Jeep vehicles said its Automotive Cells Co. (ACC) joint venture with Mercedes-Benz and TotalEnergies would build a


Production of Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickup at Dearborn, Mich. (Media.ford.com)

Electric truck battle heats up between Ford, GM

Ford to double output at Michigan

Detroit | Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it will nearly double annual production capacity for its red-hot F-150 Lightning electric pickup to 150,000 vehicles as the model has already attracted nearly 200,000 reservations ahead of its arrival this spring at U.S. dealers. Ford’s announcement comes a day ahead of rival General Motors’ public