Trade News

Recent changes in the automotive industry have given way to a seismic shift. Supply chain struggles, the rise of online marketplaces, and increasing consumer expectations have forced a new focus on the customer experience. Today’s automotive dealerships need to evolve to build and maintain loyalty among buyers.

With these struggles comes great opportunity: automotive dealers that deliver a strong, holistic customer experience from start to finish will win big. In our e-book, we share new strategies and tools to help build customer loyalty.

Learn how your dealership can evolve your focus on customers in our e-book. You’ll find:

How to create a holistic customer journey Strategies to ease EV growing pains Tools to build long-term loyalty Download this e-book to learn how your dealership can thrive in the face of today’s challenges.

Attempting to pitch a dubious finance-and-insurance product will hinder the overall F&I presentation at an auto dealership, a product provider trainer warns.

"When I work with F&I managers, one of the things I say is 'If you don't believe in a product, don't offer it,'" Mike Connelly, director of training and development for Smart AutoCare, told the Ethical F&I Managers Conference on Sept. 20 in Las Vegas. Doing so will destroy the finance manager's credibility for all of the products, not just the offending item, he said.

"Every other part of your presentation will be weaker because you have in your head, 'I've got to offer this product, and I think it's stupid,'" Connelly said. "It poisons it."

The customer will detect an F&I manager's stress and their disinterest and start "poking holes" in the F&I presentation, Connelly said.

Have a good F&I tip to share? Email John Huetter at [email protected] and Paige Hodder at …

AutoNation Inc. has followed two rivals into the bidding war for Pendragon, the large auto retailer in the United Kingdom that just a week ago looked poised to be sold to Lithia Motors Inc.

In a Tuesday regulatory filing, Pendragon said it received an unsolicited proposal from AutoNation to acquire the company for 32 pence, or 39 cents, per share in cash.

AutoNation, also in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, confirmed that it submitted a non-binding preliminary proposal for Pendragon but said there can be no certainty as to whether it will make a binding offer for Pendragon.

AutoNation said it will make a "further announcement if and when appropriate." An AutoNation spokesperson referred Automotive News to the 8-K filing.

Reuters valued the AutoNation offer at $544.2 million.

Pendragon, in the filing, said its board will consider the proposal and "provide an update in due course."

Lithia on Sept. 18 said it planned to buy Pendragon…

Ford halts work on an EV battery plant in Michigan. Unifor picks General Motors Canada as its next bargaining target. Plus, a conversation with Harvard Visiting Fellow David Zipper on micromobility and this week’s MOVE America conference in Austin, Texas.

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Joe Biden on Tuesday became the first sitting U.S. president in modern history to join a picket line, standing with striking workers at a General Motors parts depot in an extraordinary show of support for the UAW on the 12th day of its strike against the Detroit 3.

Biden, who has billed himself as the most pro-union president ever, spoke to workers via megaphone, saying the automakers have been doing incredibly well and that “you should be doing incredibly well, too.”

“You deserve what you’ve earned, and you’ve earned a hell of a lot more than what you’re getting paid now,” Biden said, wearing a black hat with the UAW logo. 

UAW President Shawn Fain, also speaking to workers, billed the union’s fight as a war against corporate greed.

“We have the power,” Fain said. “The world is of our making. The economy is of our making. This industry is of our making. … When we withhold our labor, we can unmake it.”

Fain, who has withheld the union…

Samsung's automotive battery division is planning to expand a pair of factories in suburban Detroit by 218,000 square feet in a $41 million move that would add 368 jobs.

Samsung SDI America Inc., which has its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., would add to its 628 employees in Michigan with the new positions, expected to pay $37.50 per hour plus benefits, according to a briefing memo from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The expansion will support the company's fast-growing lithium-ion battery business for electric vehicles, leading to a doubling of manufacturing capacity with the addition of a second production line, the memo said.

A $5 million performance-based grant, approved Tuesday by the Michigan Strategic Fund board, was needed to keep the investment from going to Kokomo, Ind., where the company is teaming with automaker Stellantis on a 34-gigawatt hour battery factory expected to launch in 2025.

"Additionally, t…

WASHINGTON — U.S. auto supplier group on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden to provide federal assistance to help auto parts companies impacted by the ongoing UAW strike against the Detroit 3 automakers.

MEMA, which includes the association’s Original Equipment Suppliers and Aftermarket Suppliers groups, said in a letter urging Biden to "effectuate federal assistance to ensure the viability of this critical industry sector. Without federal assistance, the ability of the automotive industry to resume full manufacturing capacity is at risk."

The group wants the Biden administration to provide low-interest loans and consider loan forgiveness for struggling small suppliers. Biden was in Detroit Tuesday to show support for striking UAW workers.

The White House did not immediately comment and has previously declined to comment on whether it is considering programs to support auto suppliers.

The ongoing strikes have already forced some auto suppliers t…

The shrinking car market — mass market and luxury — means automakers are making tough choices.

Mercedes-Benz is the latest to acknowledge that there are just not as many buyers today to embrace its expansive lineup of sedans, coupes and convertibles.

Coupes, in general, appear endangered across the industry with automakers reviewing every expense as the costly transition to electric vehicles rolls on.

So the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE coupe will become a single replacement for what was the venerable C- and E-Class coupes and convertibles.

A direct rival to the BMW 4 Series, Audi A5, Jaguar F-Type and Lexus RC, the CLE is 6.5 inches longer than the last C-Class coupe and 0.6 inches longer than the outgoing E-Class coupe.

Mercedes says its bigger footprint mostly benefits rear seat passengers, who will enjoy more head, shoulder and elbow room compared with the outgoing C-Class coupe.

The trunk also g…

TOKYO — Honda aims to wow with three world premieres at next month's Japan Mobility Show, including a concept model of an electric sports car that could be a spiritual successor to the NSX.

Also on tap will be a pint-size EV concept called the Sustainia-C made of recycled acrylic resin in a nod to environmentally sustainable technologies planned for tomorrow's cars.

Among the new four-wheeled offerings on display, Honda Motor Co. also plans a two-seat micro EV pod car called the CI-MEV. It uses "cooperative intelligence" and automated driving technology to deliver easy last-mile mobility for people in areas with no public transportation.

Honda outlined the debuts in a Tuesday statement detailing its plans for the Japan Mobility Show. The reincarnated Tokyo Motor Show runs Oct. 25-Nov. 5, with media days on Oct. 25-26.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, which organizes the event, wants to cast a wider net beyond traditional automake…

An armed man shot and killed a female employee at a Calif. dealership last week, authorities said. The suspect was later shot and killed by police.

The shooting occurred at Toyota of Berkeley Certified Service Center last Thursday, according to a statement released by Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín. The shooting was an act of domestic violence, the Alameda Co. Sheriff's office said.

The center is in Albany, Calif., but authorities from Berkeley and Alameda Co. responded to the shooting along with Albany police. Berkeley police officers were the first to arrive at the scene after authorities received reports of an active shooter shortly after 11 a.m., the sheriff's office said.

Berkeley police found the suspect on the second floor of the building and multiple officers discharged their weapons. The suspect was shot in the exchange; his death is being investigated as an officer-involved shooting by the sheriff's department.

Berkeley police's "rapid…

Porsche will switch its flagship model — the Cayenne crossover — to battery power in 2027.

Meanwhile, the sports car maker is broadening the nameplate's lineup with plug-in hybrid offerings.

The 2024 Cayenne S E-Hybrid, available in coupe and crossover body styles, will be the third electrified Cayenne model when it arrives in the U.S. in spring.

The midsize crossover will start at $100,750, while the coupe launches at $105,650. Both prices include shipping.

The third-generation Cayenne is likely the final internal combustion engine version. Production is expected to end in early 2029, according to AutoForecast Solutions.

The Cayenne is Porsche's second-bestseller after the Macan compact crossover, accounting for 8,911 U.S. sales in the first half of this year.

The new Cayenne variant, which slots between the E-Hybrid and the performance Turbo E-Hybrid PHEV models, delivers on the attribute that Porsche buyers crave — power, said …

Australian carbon-fiber wheel supplier Carbon Revolution named former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz and other veteran U.S. auto executives to its board, pending the completion of its upcoming merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

Lutz will be joined on the company's board by Burt Jordan, former vice president of global purchasing operations and supply chain sustainability for Ford Motor Co., as well as Jacqueline Dedo, previously an executive with several suppliers and co-founder of Aware Mobility, and Matti Masanovich, former CFO of Tenneco Automotive.

The appointments will be effective upon completion of the company's SPAC merger, expected to take place in October. Carbon Revolution is set to merge with Twin Ridge Capital Acquisition Corp., at which point the company's shares will be traded on the Nasdaq.

"I have full confidence they will bring to the company a high degree of additional experience, skills and insights that will be…