Trade News

Subaru of America has promoted one of its regional vice presidents to lead its U.S. sales operations effective April 1, succeeding Jeff Walters, who will transition to the brand's top U.S. role. Walters will become president and COO as regional CEO Tom Doll steps down from day-to-day management and assumes an advisory role.

Troy Poston, 54, eastern regional vice president of Subaru's U.S. sales operations, is a 26-year veteran of the brand's field and regional sales operations. He'll take over the job from Walters, 56, who has headed Subaru's U.S. sales operations since 2014 and was named to the brand's top U.S. role March 3.

"Troy brings a passion for our customers, excellent relationships with our Subaru retailers and a deep knowledge of the Subaru sales network," Doll said in a written statement. "His leadership will be critical moving forward as we look to grow our sales and move past the production constraints of the past few years and begin the launch of …

Mercedes-Benz is putting the electric G-Class through silent paces in the Arctic ahead of the off-roader's debut in the U.S. next year.

The new model, previewed as the Concept EQG in 2021, is expected to deliver 430 kW of combined power from four motors. The low RPM torque in motors makes battery electric vehicles especially capable off-road.

Mercedes said the electric G-Class will carry a new battery that is 20 to 40 percent more energy dense, helping reduce vehicle weight or extend driving range.

"Delivering such a high energy density is a true game-changer and allows us to think in completely new directions when developing future electric cars," Mercedes Chief Technology Officer Markus Schaefer said last year.

Originally built for military and safari applications, the G-Class has captured the Instagram accounts of rap and reality TV stars. Sales in the U.S. — the G-Class' largest market — peaked in 2021 at 8,523 vehicles.

The electric …

It goes without saying that many things have changed in the auto business since Allyson Witherspoon joined the industry more than 20 years ago. 

“It’s such an exciting time for the industry,” says Witherspoon, who this month was appointed to head Nissan Motor Co.’s global marketing as corporate VP, global marketing, brand and merchandising. She points, of course, to the industry’s shift to electrified and connected vehicles, and the fact that one upside of the pandemic was that it found many drivers “falling in love with cars again,” she says. As a marketer, too, she appreciates today’s expanded digital communications landscape, with “so many more channels where your brands can engage with consumers and have two-way dialogs — and a constant feedback loop.”

But one of the other changes she’s noticed is the growing presence of women in industry management. “When I first started in the industry, there were hardly any women at manager and above — and only a fe…

The advent of connected, software-defined vehicles (SDVs) will radically alter the auto industry for drivers, OEMs and auto suppliers alike. And just like any disruptive technology, such as electric vehicles, questions abound. What kinds of benefits will SDVs provide for both drivers and OEMs? Will they drive changes in both car manufacturing and the relationships between OEMs and suppliers? And how will they transform the ways consumers interact with their vehicles? For clarity, Automotive News turned to Robin Milavec, President, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at Nexteer Automotive; and Eric Cesa, Vice President Americas at ETAS Inc.

Q: Software-defined vehicles will encompass so many factors within vehicle design, development and end-use. From where you sit, what do you see as the biggest benefits? 

Robin Milavec: For consumers, the biggest benefits from connected SDVs will be even greater safety, convenience and performance – and a drivi…

LONDON/DETROIT -- For many electric vehicles, there is no way to repair or assess even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents, forcing insurance companies to write off cars with few miles -- leading to higher premiums and undercutting gains from going electric.

And now those battery packs are piling up in scrapyards in some countries, a previously unreported and expensive gap in what was supposed to be a "circular economy."

"We are buying electric cars for sustainability reasons," said Matthew Avery, research director at automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research. "But an EV isn't very sustainable if you've got to throw the battery away after a minor collision."

Battery packs can cost tens of thousands of dollars and represent up to 50 percent of an EV's price tag, often making it uneconomical to replace them.

While some automakers like Ford and GM said they have made battery packs easier to repair, Tesla has taken the opposit…

MOSCOW -- A Russian court has frozen all Volkswagen’s assets in Russia, court documents seen by Reuters showed.

VW was one of a string of foreign automakers that suspended operations in Russia after western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.

VW is attempting to sell its Russian factory in Kaluga, south of Moscow. The plant, which has a capacity of 225,000 vehicles a year, has been furloughed since March 2022.

VW and Russia's industry ministry said no decision had yet been made on the sale of the factory after it was reported earlier this month that dealer group Avilon was set to buy the factory.

Russian automaker GAZ, which was contracted to produce VW vehicles at its factory in Nizhny Novgorod, had sued the German company for breach of contract after VW terminated the agreement in August.

GAZ estimated its losses from the terminated contract at almost 16 billion rubles ($207.79 million).

Audi CEO Markus Duesmann flew to China last week to tackle a problem that is indicative of the challenges facing Germany: how to compete with its biggest trading partner on new technology.

The head of the German luxury brand went to visit Audi's Chinese joint venture partners -- China FAW Group Co. and SAIC Motor Corp. -- to discuss ways to sell more electric vehicles in the world's largest car market. The effort is critical not just for the Volkswagen Group unit but also as a test of Germany's ability to navigate threats to its competitiveness.

Germany's vaunted automakers dominated the combustion-engine era, but the transition to electric vehicles puts their standing at the pinnacle of the auto industry at risk.

Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are ramping up their range of battery-powered models in a critical bid to compete with Tesla and upstarts from China, including BYD and Nio.

"The transition to electric vehicles in China is naturally a challe…

Many wheels of change in auto retail

There's been a lot going on in auto retail, as you'll see in this week's Automotive News.

Bryan DeBoer's ambitious growth plans for Lithia Motors Inc. have the company, based in Medford, Ore., (pop. 86,000) finding its way to London (pop. 9 million) about 5,1000 miles away. That's a long road trip!

Last week's purchase of Jardine Motors Group, Jack Walsworth and Julie Walker report, adds more than 40 new-vehicle dealerships in the U.K. to Lithia's portfolio, including stores selling luxury brands Aston Martin, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. And by entering the U.K., Lithia gains direct exposure to the agency model of retail, in which each brand’s dealers sell new vehicles at factory-set prices with a more fixed profit schedule.

It also gets Lithia more than $2 billion dollars closer to goal of $50 billion in annual revenue. In 2022, it booked $28.2 billion.

Lithia isn't the only one looking for big gr…

There's been a lot going on in auto retail, as you'll see in this week's Automotive News.

Bryan DeBoer's ambitious growth plans for Lithia Motors Inc. have the company, based in Medford, Ore., (pop. 86,000) finding its way to London (pop. 9 million) about 5,1000 miles away. That's a long road trip!

Last week's purchase of Jardine Motors Group, Jack Walsworth and Julie Walker report, adds more than 40 new-vehicle dealerships in the U.K. to Lithia's portfolio, including stores selling luxury brands Aston Martin, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. And by entering the U.K., Lithia gains direct exposure to the agency model of retail, in which each brand’s dealers sell new vehicles at factory-set prices with a more fixed profit schedule.

It also gets Lithia more than $2 billion dollars closer to goal of $50 billion in annual revenue. In 2022, it booked $28.2 billion.

Lithia isn't the only one looking for big growth. Ford aims to dramatically grow its elect…

The president and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), discusses a recent report on the state of advanced driver-assistance systems, autonomous vehicles and connectivity. Among the barriers to more widespread adoption, he says, is consumer skepticism.

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Several years ago, Corina Diehl — owner of Diehl Automotive Group — decided to roll the dice and build a 26,000-square-foot standalone collision center in Pittsburgh.

The final cost: About $2.5 million.

The calculated gamble has turned into a smashing success. Since the Diehl Collision Center opened in October 2019, annual revenue has increased by double-digit percentages, despite the pandemic, which hit full force soon after its opening, Diehl said.

In 2020, the first full year of operation, the center generated an average of $243,000 in sales per month. In 2021, average monthly revenue rose to $326,000 — a 34 percent increase compared with 2020. In 2022, average monthly revenue increased to $412,000 — about a 26 percent jump over the 2021 figure, Diehl said.

The center already is booked out for repairs through midsummer, she added, as are six other collision-repair facilities owned by the auto group, which operates 21 stores in Pennsylvania an…

Long the next big advancement in green transportation, hydrogen may have missed its chance to become a major fuel for light vehicles.

Even as technology advances, battery-electric vehicles have quickly become the green vehicle of choice for most U.S. consumers.

Tesla, which offers only electric vehicles, sold nearly 187,000 cars in California last year, trailing only Toyota's gasoline autos in market share in the state. During that same period, Toyota sold just 2,094 of its Mirai hydrogen fuel cell cars nationally.

Automakers offer just two hydrogen fuel cell options, the Mirai and the Hyundai NEXO Fuel Cell. Honda said it will sell a hydrogen fuel cell CR-V crossover starting in 2024. It would replace the poorly selling hydrogen Honda Clarity discontinued in 2021.

Contrast that with more than 50 EV models Automotive News estimates are for sale or will come on the market this year. That represents a staggering gap in…