Trade News

I still remember Lee Harkins' warning in September when I interviewed him for a segment on customer retention for our old Fixed Ops Journal Forum.

He didn't say it in any hysterical way; Harkins, CEO of dealership training company M5 Management Services, is not one for histrionics. Instead, he calmly stated in his Alabama drawl that dealership service departments were about to get hit with a 2-by-4 between the eyes.

And it made sense. Dealerships rely on new vehicles under warranty to return for service for at least the typical three years of coverage. But with fewer vehicles being sold the past couple years because of chip shortages and kinks in the supply chain, that means fewer vehicles under warranty coming in for maintenance and repairs.

In today's newsletter, read Ken Wysocky's story with Harkins' insights, learn why it's important to work on customer retention now and hear from service managers and directors on how they're trying to counteract the…

Tesla Inc. assures its millions of electric car owners that their privacy “is and will always be enormously important to us.” The cameras it builds into vehicles to assist driving, it notes on its website, are “designed from the ground up to protect your privacy.” 

But between 2019 and 2022, groups of Tesla employees privately shared via an internal messaging system sometimes highly invasive videos and images recorded by customers’ car cameras, according to interviews by Reuters with nine former employees. 

Some of the recordings caught Tesla customers in embarrassing situations. One ex-employee described a video of a man approaching a vehicle completely naked. 

Also shared: crashes and road-rage incidents. One crash video in 2021 showed a Tesla driving at high speed in a residential area hitting a child riding a bike, according to another ex-employee. The child flew in one direction, the bike in another. The video spread around a Tesla …

"There are people that are interested in this career path, but the schooling, the tuition, the investment obviously is a roadblock for a lot of people. So maybe being a little bit more flexible with tuition reimbursement, job guarantee, tool program — something like that to incentivize them to get started with you. And I think you just have to create a culture where their opinion matters and that they have a voice. Doing team-building; we do cookouts. We do a lot of stuff to keep people together and getting to know each other and feeling more confident." — Debbie Tufts, executive manager at Rudy Luther Toyota near Minneapolis, speaking on the "Get in Her Lane" podcast about combating the technician shortage and attracting more female techs

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The plug-in version Toyota's redesigned Prius sedan, the 2023 Prius Prime, is now able to travel up to 44 miles on battery power alone when its larger battery is fully charged and will start at $33,445 — both up substantially from the current generation model it is replacing.

The 2023 Prius Prime's stem-to-stern upgrade follows that of its traditional hybrid namesake, which went on sale earlier this year. Toyota — which is still being hampered by production issues — believes it can sell about 10,000 plug-in versions of its groundbreaking hybrid this year and about 15,000 next year, despite a 12 percent year-over-year jump in the starting price over the outgoing model.

The big change from the outgoing Prius Prime is a larger 13.6-kWh lithium ion battery paired with a more powerful 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, enabling the 2023 model to travel an extra 19 miles on battery power alone, compared with the current generation's 25-mile range. Read more

GMC and Chevrolet are updating the engines on their full-size pickup trucks for the 2024 model year.

GMC on Wednesday said it will make General Motors' second-generation 3.0-liter inline-six Duramax Turbo-Diesel engine standard on the 2024 Sierra 1500's AT4X off-road trim starting this summer, after it was offered on some 2023 trims. The engine is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission and offers 305 hp and 495 pound-feet of torque.

The 2024 Sierra also is getting other updates, including power retractable assist steps on the Denali, Denali Ultimate, AT4 and AT4X trims; two more premium aluminum wheel options; and two new exterior paint colors, Downpour Metallic and Thunderstorm Gray.

Meanwhile, Chevy said the 3.0-liter Duramax Turbo-Diesel engine and 10-speed automatic transmission will be added to the 2024 Silverado 1500 ZR2.

The Silverado's 2024 updates also include new exterior paint colors, Lakeshore Blue Metallic and Slate Gray Metall…

To support its transition from gas guzzlers to electric vehicles, China has rolled out more public charging facilities than the rest of the world combined. The problem is many are barely being used.

New research from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies found that public charging posts in China are used on average about once a day. Some connectors along highway routes are particularly unloved, with an average utilization rate of 1 percent, according to the study.

The low usage illustrates the tricky reality of public charging networks: Reliable infrastructure is needed to help ease consumers’ anxiety about running out of battery range, but more EVs are needed to make the stations economically viable. China’s predicament suggests that investments other countries are making to support higher electric-car adoption may take time to pay off.

“Utilization of chargers is fairly low, so you’re not going to necessarily make a lot of money by having a charging…

NEW YORK — Jeep is upping the comfort and technology in the 2024 Wrangler as the venerable nameplate jousts with the Ford Bronco.

The refreshed Wrangler SUV is getting a quieter cabin and power seats in the front row on top trim levels, standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a larger 12.3-inch touch screen in the center stack, and the Uconnect 5 infotainment system.

The vehicle is debuting Wednesday at the New York auto show. Consumers can order it now, and it's expected to arrive at U.S. Jeep dealerships later in 2023.

Now that the Wrangler has a direct rival in the Bronco, which Ford revived in 2021, did that influence Jeep's decisions on the refresh?

"All I can say is competition is good," said Jim Morrison, Jeep's North America head.

That competition is heating up as U.S. sales of the Bronco rose 38 percent in the first quarter to 32,430, while Wrangler volume fell 17 percent to 37,971.

The latest Wrangl…

Kia's three-row EV9 crossover will be built alongside the popular Telluride large crossover in West Point, Ga., next year and promises to bring a similar mix of utility and style to the U.S. electric vehicle market, the automaker said.

The EV9, presented Wednesday at the New York auto show, is the flagship model for Kia's global transition to EV technology, according to the brand, and follows the 2022 U.S. launch of the two-row EV6 crossover.

"The EV9 is a credible, high-value SUV that encapsulates our approach to bringing innovative, consumer-focused products to market with a serious commitment to electrification," Sean Yoon, CEO of Kia North America, said in a press release.

Kia said the big EV offers "premium accommodations rivaling ultra-luxury SUVs," with a dual-display cockpit that includes multiple camera feeds for tech-hungry buyers. The EV9 will come in six-seat and seven-seat configurations.

Like the gasoline-powered three-row Tellurid…

Growing Key Auto Group acquired four dealerships in three transactions in the fourth and first quarters and appears to have entered three states in the process.

Key Auto, of Portsmouth, N.H., on Friday bought Boardwalk Acura in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., west of Atlantic City, from auto retail giant Group 1 Automotive Inc.

The dealership was renamed Key Acura of Atlantic City, according to Performance Brokerage Services Inc., an Irvine, Calif., buy-sell firm. Gershon Rosenzweig and Matt Wilkins from Performance Brokerage facilitated the transaction.

Key Auto doesn't have any other New Jersey dealerships listed on its website.

The Acura dealership generated $20 million in annual revenue, according to Pete DeLongchamps, Group 1's senior vice president of manufacturer relations, financial services and public affairs.

The sale marked Group 1's first U.S. dealership divestiture since it sold a Massachusetts Honda dealership in September, DeLongc…

Subaru's No. 1 seller, a baby ute, is getting more off-road chops.

The redesigned third-generation 2024 Crosstrek will be available with a Wilderness package starting in the fall, Subaru said Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show, where the subcompact crossover was unveiled.

The Crosstrek Wilderness is equipped with an upgraded suspension, longer coil springs and shock absorbers and all-terrain tires, providing 9.3 inches of ground clearance — more than a half-inch increase over other Crosstrek models.

It is powered by Subaru's 2.5-liter engine with 182 hp and 176 pound-feet of torque.

Subaru is billing it as the most rugged and trail-capable Crosstrek to date.

The Crosstrek Wilderness drivetrain has been retooled to enhance off-road performance by installing a revised differential gear ratio and retuned continuously variable transmission. The 4.111 final drive ratio — vs. 3.7 — improves the ute's climbing ability, and …

Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday that all three of its electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are eligible for Inflation Reduction Act federal tax credits in 2023.

The company's Mustang Mach-E electric SUV will be eligible for a $3,750 credit, while the F-150 Lightning pickup truck will be eligible for a $7,500 credit.

Ford said in March it expects its electric-vehicle business unit to lose $3 billion this year, but will remain on track for a pretax margin of 8 percent by late 2026.

Sales of Ford's electric vehicles jumped 41 percent in the first quarter, data on Tuesday showed.

NEW YORK — The redesigned Hyundai Kona Electric will have about the same maximum range as the first-generation version, the company said Wednesday as it revealed the new look for the first time in North America.

The subcompact crossover will be able to go up to 260 miles per charge, according to Hyundai's preliminary estimates, in line with the EPA's 258-mile range rating for the current model. Gasoline-powered N Line and Limited versions were also unveiled at the New York auto show.

The Kona, one of the more affordable electric vehicles in the U.S., is important for Hyundai, particularly after its popular Ioniq 5 crossover was excluded from federal tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. That was because the vehicle, like the Kona, is assembled in South Korea, not North America.

“By starting with an EV mindset, we were able to bring many of the benefits of the EV to all our Kona models. Things like interior space that’s optimized for the people…