Even though sales of electric vehicles aren’t growing as fast as in past years and President-elect Donald Trump may ditch tax credits for EV buyers, automakers are moving ahead with new models that should appeal to mainstream buyers.

A major automaker, large truck stop chain and an electric vehicle charging company are proposing a network that would put charging plugs at 50-mile intervals along U.S. highways.

The global auto industry is closely watching what’s going on in Ukraine, and there is considerable concern about what could happen if this conflict lasts for a long time or spreads.

Watch Flashpoint every Sunday at 10 a.m. on Local 4 News.

DETROIT – What was Chrysler went to Daimler Chrysler then Fiat Chrysler and now Stellantis. The merger was announced over the weekend and the new CEO on Tuesday talked about how the enlarged company will compete. The one thing Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares, said Tuesday that should give FCA employees comfort is he doesn’t expect layoffs saying the company’s new global scale will put a shield around jobs. But the CEO says global scale provides strength to handle a lot meaning no layoffs. “I think Stellantis is at a point of strong fundamentals to do great things in the future,” said Tavares.

Ford Motor Company and GM have recently announced major plans and shown what they intend to do with electric vehicle manufacturing. But that doesn’t mean the internal combustion engine is going the way of the buggy whip. GM is ready to give the Hummer a new life as an electric SUV, Cadillac will build its luxury Lyriq SUV as an electric SUV and Ford is ready with the Mustang Mach-E and an electric F-150. Guidehouse Insights auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid said the Big Three are expected to have 100 new electric vehicle offerings in the next five years and 300 worldwide. This will change manufacturing considering it takes far fewer parts to make an electric vehicle.

DETROIT – Despite the coronavirus pandemic, automakers are holding their own as pickup truck sales remain strong. Automakers can charge much more than the cost for a pickup truck. “Even though they’re going flat out, and even though they are running three shifts and they’re going as fast as they can, that was two months of production that you cannot go back and make it up," Brinley said. So that has made a difference with new players in the segment," Brinley said. The more competitive it gets, the more they’re going to bring it," Brinley said.

DEARBORN, Mich. Ford Motor Company is looking to cut its North American workforce by 10% with more than 1,000 jobs on the chopping block. However, information technology workers and those responsible for rolling out new vehicles will not be affected. Ford has been working for several years to become more profitable and now the company sees it needs to make cuts to its most profitable corner to keep it profitable. The company intends to reduce salaried or white collar headcount by 1,400, using those retirement eligible by the end of this year. These layoffs and this restructuring are not in response to the current economic conditions, Brinley said.