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Kayaba, Sumitomo to pay millions for price-fixing in US

Kayaba Industry Co, which does business in the US as suspension parts maker KYB, and Sumitomo Electric Industries are facing payments in the millions to settle price-fixing cases about the components that they make. As part of the Department of Justice's ongoing crackdown of price fixing in the auto industry, KYB agreed to pay $62 million and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to set the cost of shock absorbers from the mid '90s through 2012. The company allegedly worked with co-conspirators to keep the cost of the parts high, and those components then made it into vehicles from Honda, Kawasaki, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota. "Any collusive agreement among competitors to restrict price competition undercuts our free enterprise system and violates the law," said Carter M. Stewart, US Attorney of the Southern District of Ohio, in the DoJ's announcement. Over the past few years, the DoJ has brought cases against 37 parts suppliers and 55 executives, leading to over $2.6 billion in fines. The investigations haven't always been so successful – some of the Japanese execs fled from the US to avoid prosecution. Critics allege that price fixing is simply how business is done. According to Automotive News, Sumitomo Electric Industries is also facing a $50 million settlement in a civil lawsuit that's related to price fixing of parts like wiring harnesses and heater control panels. The plaintiffs include owners and dealers that purchased vehicles with these parts. The company asserts that the violations are from before 2010, and it now has different process in place to avoid further violations. KYB Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $62 Million Criminal Fine for Fixing Price of Shock Absorbers Kayaba Industry Co. Ltd., dba KYB Corporation (KYB) has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $62 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix the price of shock absorbers installed in cars and motorcycles sold to U.S. consumers. According to charges filed today, KYB conspired from the mid-1990s until 2012 to fix the prices of shock absorbers sold to Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (manufacturer of Subaru vehicles), Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Nissan Motor Company Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Company, including their subsidiaries in the United States.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla Model S in landslide, Plug'n Drive wants EVs

A woman and child survived a landslide in a Tesla Model S. The front of the car was severely damaged with the hood and front fascia badly crumpled. The rear hatch window glass caved in, but while the windshield was cracked, the safety glass held together. While in another vehicle, the occupants could have been crushed by the tree that landed on the car, the cabin structure of the Model S mostly withstood the pressure, saving the humans inside. It's not the typical situation most people think of when considering car safety, but it is a dramatic example of the protection the Model S offers. Read more and see the aftermath at Green Car Reports. The Renault-Nissan Alliance will provide 200 battery electric vehicles for the United Nation's COP21 climate conference in Paris. Together the cars will drive a combined 400,000 kilometers (about 248,550 miles) emissions-free. The cars - a fleet of Renault Zoes, Nissan Leafs and Nissan e-NV200s - will be used as shuttles for the conference attendees. The Alliance will set up a network of 90 chargers for the event, powered by low-carbon electricity. The residual emissions will be offset through a UN carbon offsetting program. Read more from Nissan, or at Green Car Congress. At the Queen's Park Electric Vehicle Day this week, the non-profit group Plug'n Drive called for Ontario to emphasize vehicle electrification. The group says that adding electric power to more cars, "can make a significant contribution to GHG emission reductions in Ontario, while at the same time benefitting the Ontario economy." GHG are, of course, greenhouse gases. According to the group, there are currently more than 12,140 EVs in Canada. Read more in the press release below. Plug'n Drive advocates for electrification of transportation as a key plank of Ontario's climate change action strategy First ever Electric Vehicle Day at Queen's Park demonstrates the benefits of electric vehicles TORONTO, ON, Oct. 26, 2015 /CNW/ - Plug'n Drive is hosting the first ever Queen's Park Electric Vehicle Day today at 11:00 a.m., providing MPPs from all parties, Ministers, public servants, stakeholders and the public the opportunity to test drive electric cars at all price points and to learn about the environmental and economic benefits of switching from gas to electric.

Foreign automakers pay from $38 to $65 per hour to non-union workers

As leaders for the United Auto Workers gather in Detroit for their Special Convention on Collective Bargaining to work out the negotiating stance for this year's new labor agreements with the Detroit 3 automakers, what they most want to do is figure out how to eliminate the two-tier wage scale. However, the lower Tier 2 wage has allowed the domestic automakers to reduce their labor costs, hire more workers, and compete better with their import competition. As it stands, per-hour labor rates including benefits are $58 at General Motors, $57 at Ford, and $48 at Fiat-Chrysler – a reflection of FCA's much greater number of Tier 2 workers. The Center for Automotive Research released a study of labor rates (including benefits) that put numbers to what the imports pay: Mercedes-Benz pays the most, at an average of $65 per hour, Volkswagen pays the least, at $38 per hour, and BMW is just a hair above that at $39 per hour. Among the Detroit competitors, Honda workers earn an average of $49 per hour, at Toyota it's $48 per hour, Nissan is $42 per hour, and Hyundai-Kia pays $41 per hour. The lower import wages are aided by their greater use of temporary workers compared to the domestics. Automotive News says the ten-dollar gap between those foreign camakers and the domestics turns out to about an extra $250 per car in labor, which adds up quickly when you're pumping out many millions of cars. That $250-per-car number is one that, come negotiating time, the Detroit 3 will want to reduce, as the UAW is trying to raise both Tier 1 and Tier 2 wages. Another wrinkle is that the domestic carmakers are considering the wide adoption of a third wage level lower than Tier 2. Some workers who do minor tasks like assembling parts trays kits and battery packs already make less than Tier 2, but the UAW will be quite wary about cementing yet another wage scale at the bottom of the system while it's trying to fight a bigger battle at the top. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req., BloombergImage Credit: AP Photo/Erik Schelzig Earnings/Financials UAW/Unions BMW Chevrolet Fiat Ford GM Honda Hyundai Kia Mercedes-Benz Nissan Toyota Volkswagen labor wages collective bargaining labor costs