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DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union has reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford after three days of intense bargaining.

Ford Motor Co. will debut its first battery-electric crossover Nov. 17, the automaker said Oct. 24.

General Motors Co. posted a quarterly sales gain, and Ford Motor Co. sales fell less than expected. But both are having trouble shrugging off concerns that the U.S. auto market is taking a turn for the worse.

Ford Motor Co. will begin testing self-driving cars in Austin, Texas. The automaker said Sept. 25 it will begin testing there in November, when hybrid Ford Fusions equipped with hardware and software developed by self-driving partner Argo AI will hit Austin roads.

General Motors Co. now employs fewer union-represented American workers than its domestic rivals for the first time since the United Auto Workers started organizing Detroit’s carmakers eight decades ago.

Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co. will cooperate on electric and self-driving car technology, sharing costs on a global scale to take a major step forward in the industry’s disruptive transformation.

The soon-to-expand alliance between Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG has the potential to transform the global auto industry and increase pressure on other manufacturers developing electric and self-driving cars, analysts said.

Ford Motor Co. is going after a greater cut of a lucrative business: those willing to pay big bucks for pricey pickup accessories such as big, off-road tires and kits to jack up their trucks.

Ford Motor Co. will eliminate about 20% of its workforce across Europe in a sweeping overhaul to tackle the carmaker’s falling sales in the region and lift weak profitability.

Volkswagen AG’s supervisory board plans to discuss and possibly approve next steps toward expanding an alliance with Ford Motor Co. when it meets in two weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.