Trade News

Today, inflation continues to drive up prices across the automotive sector, including auto repair parts and labor costs. In fact, service contract repair claims have experienced double-digit increases, threatening the profitability of this vital source of revenue.

In Assurant’s recent Global Auto Mechanical Repair Inflation Report, you’ll discover:

What’s driving repair inflation Where repair inflation is trending now How employment trends drive up dealer costs How dealers can maintain F&I profitability in an inflationary environment

Today's consumers are under pressure -- and it shows.

In recent US research, GfK Consumer Life learned that “price is the most important factor in my purchase decisions” is now the #8 leading attitude among 41 tracked – up from #13 in 2008. By contrast, Americans now are much less likely to say, “I'm a spender, not a saver.”

As they search for their next cars, today’s auto intenders are contending with powerful and sometimes competing marketplace forces.

In this all-new guide from GfK AutoMobility®, understand the desires, fears, and expectations that underlie these key issues, with guidance on how car makers and sellers can respond and move toward success.

Affordability – Learn which buyers and vehicle types are being hit the hardest by today’s affordability “crisis” – and what the future may hold when it comes to pricing and financing. Stay-at-home culture – Discover how work-at-home arrangements have transformed intender needs and preferences, and what other trends seem destined to be shaping the marketplace for years to come. Sustainability – Understand what consumers really expect of brands today when it comes to sustainability, and how can auto makers avoid claims of “green washing” from activist consumers?Download this rich and insightful playbook of the key issues facing auto maker…

Jaguar Land Rover will now be called JLR in a rebrand that shifts the focus onto four subbrands: Range Rover, Discovery, Defender and Jaguar.

JLR will become a "House of Brands" in a change of strategy that will help "amplify the uniqueness of our characterful British marques," Gerry McGovern, chief creative officer, said in a statement.

JLR has been trying in recent years to separate its mainly SUV lineup and create more distinction between vehicles by giving them discrete personalities.

The strategy within Land Rover since 2021 has been to separate vehicles into three "pillars," with Range Rover taking the lead on luxury, Discovery focusing on families, and Defender drawing on its off-road roots to major in durability.

With the updated strategy, each Land Rover pillar is turned into a fully fledged brand, joined by the newly luxurious Jaguar.

JLR announced Wednesday that Jaguar's first car under its new strategy will be a four-door elec…

BANGKOK — Chinese automaker Changan Auto will invest $285 million in a facility in Thailand to produce 100,000 electric vehicles annually, Thailand's Board of Investment said on Thursday.

The company aims to sell the EVs in Thailand, Southeast Asia, Australia, and South Africa, said the board's secretary-general, Narit Therdsteerasukdi. 

Thailand is Asia's fourth-largest autos assembly and export hub for carmakers like Toyota and Honda. The industry accounts for about 10 percent of Thailand's GDP and manufacturing jobs.

"Changan's decision to invest in Thailand is a significant milestone in promoting the country as the world's major EV production base," said Narit.

Other Chinese EV makers like BYD have also invested in Thai plants as demand heats up among domestic consumers choosing from brands like Great Wall Motors and Tesla.

NEW YORK — Lincoln's new president is working to galvanize the luxury brand's stalled revival by shrinking its dealer network, refocusing its electrification strategy and updating its products to spark interest from new and returning customers.

"We have to get our mojo back," Dianne Craig told Automotive News this week in New York as Lincoln introduced the redesigned Nautilus, a product she hopes will be key to that plan.

Lincoln executives spent much of the past decade working to make the brand relevant again in an increasingly crowded luxury market. Their efforts succeeded to an extent — U.S. sales topped 112,000 vehicles in 2019, a 12-year high — then flatlined when the pandemic hit.

Craig, who succeeded Joy Falotico in December, now vows that Lincoln will grow again.

"It's really very straightforward — great products, great service," she said. "That will define the future of the brand."

Many of Lincoln's retailers, however, may not be …

SHANGHAI – With the Chinese car market rapidly shifting toward electrified vehicles, Japan's top automakers are bleeding market share despite their advanced hybrid technology and fuel efficient powertrains. 

To shore up their presence in the market, they are ramping up development of EVs specifically for China, either on their own or with local partners.

At the Shanghai auto show, which began Tuesday, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Toyota division unveiled two concept crossover models under its bZ series of EVs – the bZ Sport Crossover Concept and the bZ FlexSpace Concept. 

Toyota said production models will hit the market next year. The bZ Sport Crossover Concept was developed with assistance from its technology partnership and China’s largest electrified-vehicle maker, BYD Co., Toyota said this week. 

The bZ Sport is the second EV model the Japanese auto giant has developed with BYD, following the bZ3 sedan, which went on sale on April 16…

Hyundai Motor expects the Genesis division to become a heavyweight luxury player as it continues to set sales records and attract both luxury and EV shoppers from competing brands.

"We're going to get to 100,000 relatively soon, probably before the end of the decade," Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America CEO Jose Muñoz told Automotive News at the New York auto show this month.

"We're going step by step, but we definitely see the potential," he said.

Genesis set a record in March, increasing 23 percent over its year-ago results, topping 5,656 sales, according to the Automotive News Data Center. In the first quarter, Genesis sales jumped 18 percent to 13,769 — another record. And in an overall market down nearly 8 percent, Genesis closed 2022 up 14 percent with 56,410 sales, setting an annual record for the make.

"It doesn't come without a strong effort every single time," Muñoz said about Genesis' continued sales records, noting the brand remai…

The Nissan Leaf — the OG of electric vehicles in the U.S. — has become a casualty of tightening battery sourcing requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Smyrna, Tenn.-built Leaf — among the least expensive EVs on the market — is no longer eligible for a tax credit under new rules that went into effect April 18.

The loss of federal support comes as the aging hatchback struggles to stay relevant in a tsunami of newer, better-designed, longer-range competitors. Leaf sales peaked in 2014 at 30,200. Last year, Nissan sold 12,025 units, down 16 percent from a year earlier. Production of the current Leaf will end mid-decade when a coupe-like crossover replacement arrives.

Acknowledging its predicament, Nissan is adjusting its lease offer.

Nissan has dropped the monthly payment on the base Leaf model to $309 from $329 for a 36-month lease. And the lease down payment is shaved 21 percent to $1,999. The Leaf does qualify for a $7,500 commercial…

WASHINGTON — Electric vehicles from Volkswagen Group of America and some EVs made by Rivian Automotive will qualify for tax credits under the newly effective battery sourcing rules, the two automakers confirmed Wednesday.

All variants of VW's 2023 ID4 are eligible for the full $7,500 tax credit this year.

"The ID4 is already one of the lowest-priced electric SUVs on the market, and the $7,500 federal tax credit makes it even more attainable," Pablo Di Si, CEO of VW Group of America, said in a statement. "This shows that we made the right decision to localize production of the ID4 in Tennessee and invest even further in battery production, components and innovation."

As of Wednesday, VW was the only international automaker to have a battery-electric vehicle eligible for the full credit.

Meanwhile, only certain Rivian R1S and R1T configurations are eligible for a $3,750 credit. While the SUV and pickup start in the $70,000s, most are expected to be…

Tesla Inc. missed market estimates for first-quarter total gross margin on Wednesday, throttled by a series of aggressive price cuts meant to spur demand in a sagging economy and fend off rising competition.

The EV maker's net income during the latest period dropped 24 percent to $2.51 billion. 

Tesla reported total gross margin of 19.3 percent, compared with expectations of 22.4 percent, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Excluding items, Tesla reported a profit of 85 cents, in line with estimates.

Tesla said profitability was also weighed down by higher raw material, commodity, logistics and warranty costs as well as outlays to ramp up ouput of 4680 battery cells, while it faced margin headwinds from the underutilization of new factories.

Deliveries of higher-priced Model S and Model X vehicles also slumped from the previous quarter, it said.

The electric-vehicle maker lowered sticker prices four times in the United …

There's a right way and a wrong way to retire as an auto industry executive.

The right way is to relax and enjoy the blue sky and a few golf courses. The other way is to do what Johan de Nysschen is doing — which is to say, he's back at work.

At 63, de Nysschen's career has consisted of:

Being president of Audi of America, where he doubled sales in eight years. Running the North American operations of Infiniti, where he shook up the brand by changing the names of its products. Working as executive vice president of General Motors and running Cadillac, where he relocated the Detroit brand's headquarters to Manhattan (GM moved it back as soon as he was out the door). Working as North American COO at Volkswagen of America, where he locked horns with the company's German supervisory leadership by pushing them to enlarge VW's U.S. footprint.

He thought he had reached his finish line. But not so.

Since retiring from Volkswagen last year, de Nysschen f…