Here’s the latest on business news from around the U.S., Canada and the world:
The founder of the battered General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ont., whose business quickly collapsed after voters rejected a contract proposal, has left the company and has been replaced by a former GM executive who will oversee the new plant from Germany. The new boss, Steve Carlisle, the former president of GM Canada, took over with a promise to cut costs and to stop outsourcing manufacturing. GM plans to close the plant next year if no new orders arrive.
Ford Motor Co. has begun selling a six-speed manual transmission that’s a recent departure from the automaker’s automatic transmission lineup. The new gearbox, available now for the 2019 Focus with a base price of $23,900, is intended to give automakers more options when designing vehicles to accommodate six-speed automatic transmissions. The switches could reduce the cost of each car sold and lead to less accidents on the road, making safety a common goal for automakers.
Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it is working with Renault SA and Honda Motor Co. to start producing self-driving electric minivans on a pilot basis this summer in Singapore. The partners said the first vehicles are intended for ride-hailing companies, and they are teaming up to share expertise in vehicle development, autonomous driving and electrification. They said more than $400 million in infrastructure investment had been secured in Singapore. The automakers didn’t say where the minivans will be built.