Ford Motor Co., responding to a global semiconductor shortage that has crimped profits and production, will explore buying chips directly from GlobalFoundries Inc.

After sounding an optimistic note in the first half of the year as soaring car prices padded their profits, auto executives have become more resigned to supply chain headaches after recent COVID-19 outbreaks in Malaysia hampered semiconductor production.

General Motors Co.’s electric van unit plans to build a new midsized cargo hauler called the EV410, and has signed up Verizon Communications Inc. as the first buyer, the company said Sept. 28.

General Motors Co. is suing its competitor Ford Motor Co. for violating a trademarked driver-assist technology that’s used for hands-free features, according to a lawsuit.

Mercedes-Benz is bringing production of its new electric delivery van to the U.S. in the second half of 2023, joining a herd of automakers seeking to capitalize on the greening of e-commerce.

LG Chem Ltd. plans to invest $4.5 billion in the U.S. by 2025 and hire 10,000 workers to expand battery capacity.

Aeva, a laser-sensor startup founded by two ex-Apple Inc. engineers, is poised to increase its war chest by $200 million with an investment by a Hong Kong-based hedge fund ahead of its public listing via a reverse merger.

Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv Plc’s $4 billion self-driving venture received permission from the state of Nevada to test autonomous vehicles on public roads without a safety driver, the company said.

Daimler AG’s truck unit is investing in a laser-sensor startup to bolster its development of self-driving trucks in the U.S. less than a week after striking a deal to use driverless technology from a unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc.

The promise of self-driving cars and robotaxi fleets once seemed just around the corner, but reality is setting in. Makers of the underlying technology are pivoting to more realistic ways of making money in the here and now.