Concerns about the spreading coronavirus forced most of North America’s auto plants to close, at least temporarily.

The U.S. government is coming out with new regulations aimed at changing automotive passenger safety standards that could be barriers to autonomous vehicles.

DETROIT — General Motors, trying to refashion itself as a futuristic company with technology to compete against Tesla, rolled out plans March 4 for 13 new electric vehicles during the next five years.

Kia is joining its affiliate Hyundai in recalling thousands of vehicles in the U.S. because water can get into a brake computer, cause an electrical short and possibly a fire.

Shares of Tesla rose about 1.5% in trading the morning of Feb. 13 after the electric vehicle and solar panel maker said it would sell over $2 billion worth of additional shares.

General Motors is recalling about 162,000 full-size pickup trucks worldwide for a second time because of faulty brake control software that was installed in a recall from last year.

For the first time, the U.S. government’s highway safety agency has approved a company’s request to deploy a self-driving vehicle that doesn’t meet federal safety standards for human-driven cars and trucks.

Ford is recalling its popular F-150 pickup truck in Canada to fix a problem with electric tailgate latches, but identical trucks aren’t being recalled in the U.S.

The Toyota recall concerns air bags that may not inflate; the Honda recall covers air bags that may hurl shrapnel at drivers and passengers.

The Trump administration is signaling that it could increase fuel economy standards, possibly compromising on its push to freeze them at 2020 levels.