Trade News

Cox Automotive is laying off 80 staff in Canada and closing its Manheim Edmonton auction operation as it re-evaluates its Canadian footprint following the sale of much of its software business in the country late last year.

Matt Trapp, Cox’s regional vice-president for the eastern United States and Canada, said the company has spent the past few months assessing its long-term strategy for Canada, and changes in the local wholesale market mean Manheim Edmonton no longer fits Cox’s growth plan. 

“It’s never easy when we make these decisions. … Unfortunately, Edmonton is not going to be a part of that plan going forward,” he told Automotive News Canada March 15.

The Edmonton location will cease most operations by the end of the month. Cox said the last public auction will take place March 25, and the final commercial physical sale March 30.

About 40 staff will be laid off in the Alberta capital because of the closure. Cox will maintain a “skelet…

Elon Musk-loving stock traders are famously bullish on Tesla Inc., the eighth most-valued company in the world. Now credit-rating providers, playing catch-up, are giving heft to the automaker’s blue-chip valuation.

Moody’s Investors Service on Monday became the second credit ratings firm to endow Tesla with investment-grade status, upgrading the Austin-based firm’s credit score by one notch to Baa3. It follows a similar move by S&P Global Ratings in October. 

“Tesla will maintain its position as one of the leading manufacturers of battery electric vehicles, as the company further solidifies its global footprint,” Rene Lipsch, senior credit officer at Moody’s, wrote in the statement. 

The credit grader also cited the automaker’s expanding product offering, including early production of the Cybertruck slated for later this year, its regional production facilities and heightened focus on efficiency and financial leverage.

An email sent…

What makes a 40 Under 40 honoree? Hard work, innovation, imagination? And what would such an honor mean for your career in auto retail?

Join Automotive News' Amy Wilson, who leads the publication's retail team, as she speaks to past Automotive News' 40 Under 40 honorees Ashley Cavazos, director of digital performance at Walser Automotive Group, and Leo Portaluppi, CEO and owner of P4 Automotive, for a LinkedIn Live at 1:30 p.m. EST Thursday.

They'll take your questions and discuss Automotive News' 40 Under 40 program, including how it can advance careers for dealership leaders, plus provide best practices for applications for current nominees.

Nominations for this year's program are open until April 7.

Hireology is debuting a new technology tool designed to bring ChatGPT's artificial intelligence chatbot to automotive retailers' human resources operations.

The Chicago dealership recruitment technology company is launching a beta test of Beaker, which is designed to speed the hiring process by generating high-quality job descriptions in seconds. It relies on ChatGPT, a form of AI developed by OpenAI that can process language and communicate as a person would.

"Speed is the most important factor in filling open positions," Hireology CEO Adam Robinson told Automotive News. "This technology will help dealers shave time off their hiring process and deliver a more engaging experience for the applicant, enabling them to hire people faster and thereby keep their roster full."

Beaker automates process steps so employers can post new jobs more quickly, Hireology said. A user can input details such as job title and location and Beaker will generate a "clear and c…

Ever since touch screens started finding their way into cars around 20 years ago, interior designers have been trying to figure out what to do with all the switches, buttons and knobs.

Take them away, as Honda did with the radio controls in many vehicles six years ago, and customers get annoyed. Honda eventually reinstalled the good old-fashioned mechanical audio volume knob; Ford also brought back some switches and knobs.

European automakers have taken plenty of heat for burying key functions in infotainment systems, making the driver scroll through menus just to make a simple adjustment. There might be another way to replace intuitive old-fashioned switch gear with electronics that does not infuriate drivers.

I recently spent an hour chatting with executives and engineers at Marquardt Group's North American tech center in suburban Detroit. I also tested some of the future technologies the 98-year-old German supplier is developing…

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).