Trade News

Less than three years after being booted from California for violating the state's franchise laws, Volvo Cars is reviving a vehicle subscription program in a key U.S. market.

The latest program, slated to launch next month, ends a four-year battle between Volvo and its California dealers to introduce the service that now bundles vehicle use, road hazard coverage, maintenance and other services into a monthly payment.

Care by Volvo offers a 2-year term, but subscribers can change vehicles or cancel the subscription without penalty after five months.

"Giving customers the freedom to move in a personal, sustainable, and safe way is our mission," Volvo Car USA outgoing CEO Anders Gustafsson told Automotive News. "Working with our retailer partners to offer the flexibility to do so is one way we are fulfilling our mission."

Launched in 2017, Care By Volvo was a key initiative by former CEO Hakan Samuelsson. Volvo views the …

TOKYO -- Toyota sold 10.5 million vehicles in 2022, it said, defending its title as the world's top-selling automaker for a third straight year.

Global sales for the group, including truck unit Hino Motors and small-car maker Daihatsu, inched down 0.1 percent as record overseas sales of 8.6 million vehicles helped offset a 9.6 percent dip in its home market to 1.9 million, Toyota said in a statement.

Second-ranked rival Volkswagen Group earlier this month reported its lowest sales in over a decade, of 8.3 million vehicles, as COVID-19 lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine upended supply chains.

While some chip-related supply constraints remained for Toyota as well, the automaker said strong demand in Asia and an increase in the production capacity and optimization in Asia and North America helped it boost global production by 5 percent in 2022.

Toyota in November revised its production forecast for the current financial year through the end of…

TOKYO – Renault Group and Nissan have agreed on a basic framework for rebalancing their decades-old alliance in which Renault will reduce its controlling stake in Nissan to 15 percent from 43 percent, while Nissan will take a share in a new electric vehicle spinoff from Renault.

In joint statements on Monday, Nissan and Renault said the proposal was still subject to approval by their boards and that a formal announcement will come "immediately" after approval.

People familiar with the long-running talks, which began early last year, said the final structure of the deal was expected to go before the boards for review and approval as early as this week.

An announcement could happen as early as Feb. 6. 

"The ambition is to strengthen the ties of the Alliance and maximize value creation for all stakeholders," the companies said.

Under the proposal, Renault will reduce its 43 percent stake in Nissan to 15 percent, matching the 15 percent s…

TATESHINA, Japan — When cruising along at 40 mph on a sheet of super-slick ice, it pays to have an ultraresponsive vehicle stability system that won't skate you right off the road.

Nissan's new e-4orce all-wheel-drive technology, offered in the new Ariya electric crossover, keeps the driver in control, even in situations like this, thanks to its sophisticated software and motor setup.

On a recent test of the system on a frozen lake, high in the snow-draped mountains of central Japan, an e-4orce-equipped Ariya sprung quickly off the start with zero slippage, braked with ease in an unwavering beeline and proved nearly impossible to fishtail on an icy skid pad.

The all-electric awd system debuted last summer and is so far deployed in only two nameplates — the Ariya and the Japan-market X-Trail. But expect to see more of it as Nissan Motor Co. positions e-4orce as one of the killer apps in its coming wave of electrified vehicles.

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Nissan Motor Co., citing high battery material costs, warned dealers on Sunday that U.S. supplies of the Ariya crossover, a flagship electric vehicle, will be limited this year.

The Japanese automaker, during a make meeting at NADA, also announced plans for a wave of new EV and gasoline models it hopes will boost U.S. market share to more than 6 percent in fiscal 2023 from 5 percent last year. Nissan expects a 19 percent increase in production in 2023 vs. 2022.

The Ariya was slated to launch in mid-2021, but COVID-related chip shortages delayed it. U.S. deliveries began late last year.

The new halo model is critical to Nissan's effort to reclaim its position in a segment it pioneered with the launch of the electric Leaf hatchback more than a decade ago.

Availability and affordability of the Ariya were on dealers' minds at the meeting Sunday, with many of the roughly 200 retailers in attendance wanting to know why they aren't receiving more units…

Mitsubishi Motors dealers are expecting better vehicle supply this year from the automaker amid strong demand. They're also getting new vehicle trims for 2023, but no new models.

Mitsubishi Motors North America had its make meeting Sunday at the 2023 NADA Show in Dallas.

"What we heard today was a very positive plan for us to keep market share and grow market share," said Richard Herod III, chairman of the Mitsubishi National Advisory Board.

"What I see is distribution of those vehicles to be greater this year than last year and a stabilization of our inventory," said Herod, managing partner at White Bear Mitsubishi in White Bear Lake, Minn.

The automaker's U.S. sales last year slipped 16 percent to 85,810, leaving dealers with more customers than cars.

"Dealers are still very hungry for product," Herod said. "We finally are starting to have a good supply of the Outlander on the ground. Dealers are selling every single Mirage, Outlander S…

Hyundai and its dealers celebrated major market share gains in 2022 and discussed the company's next big moves at the NADA make meeting on Sunday.

The brand ended the year with 5.2 percent market share, up from 4.9 percent at the end of last year, according to data from Motor Intelligence.

Kevin Reilly, chairman of the Hyundai National Dealer Council and owner of Alexandria Hyundai in Alexandria, Va., said its success is due in part to Hyundai's investment in its product lineup.

The Korean automaker's early push into the electric vehicle market with the Ioniq 5 help capture a large chunk of EV shoppers. Its other "eco-friendly" vehicles –the Kona EV and electrified variants of the Tucson and Santa Fe crossovers as well as Sonata and Elantra sedans – also have enjoyed strong sales.

"Everybody's very excited. There was a lot of applause there in terms of the market share gains and the profitability that we've been able to achieve as well," Reilly …

Are dealers' good times coming to an end?

Dealers fear the optimal economic conditions that propelled them to three straight years of robust profits are further eroding.

And though demand for both new and used vehicles is strong, we are seeing and hearing more about how the dynamics of said demand have changed. Thanks to inflation and higher interest rates, cash-strapped buyers are no longer willing and able to entertain paying as much for a used vehicle as a new vehicle.

Franchised dealers are seeing evidence of that. Their concerns about this evolved sales environment take center stage in our print issue this week.

Automotive News conducted its 2023 Dealer Outlook Survey in January. A large majority of the 264 dealers and dealer managers who participated in it — 70 percent of respondents — said higher interest rates are their top worry. A potential recession and vehicle affordability tied for the next most-concerning factor, with about 42 perc…

SAN FRANCISCO -- The board chair of Tesla Inc. defended CEO Elon Musk in a securities fraud trial on Friday, telling jurors that she would have quit as a director if she had thought Musk lied by tweeting in 2018 that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private.

Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm is a defendant in the lawsuit alongside Musk, Tesla and other directors. Investors allege they lost billions of dollars because of Musk's Aug. 7, 2018, tweets that he had "funding secured" and "investor support confirmed" to take Tesla private at $420 per share, which was a premium of about 23 percent to the prior day's close.

Tesla's stock initially surged and then fell as it became clear that the buyout would not happen.

At the time of the tweets, Denholm led Tesla's audit committee, which oversees company controls meant to ensure compliance with securities law.

She took the stand for around 30 minutes on Friday, saying that she would have quit if she had tho…

The Kodiak Robotics CEO and co-founder discusses economic headwinds facing the autonomous-driving industry, how his company is positioned to avoid them and the timeline for deploying driverless trucks in commercial service.

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Dealers are increasingly worried about the economy and the possibility of recession even as improving inventory levels have them more optimistic about the new-vehicle business in 2023. 

Dealership executives who answered Automotive News’ 2023 Dealer Outlook Survey say economic conditions that took root in the last year have caused their concerns about maintaining profits to grow. Several now believe rising interest rates and a potential recession, on top of intensifying vehicle affordability challenges, could ultimately disrupt their business this year.

“We’re in an affordability crisis,” said Patrick DiCesare, dealer principal of Eastside Volkswagen in Willoughby Hills, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. 

Eastside Volkswagen’s customers are largely driven by budget and payments and have historically gravitated to the leasing market, DiCesare told Automotive News. But with some lease payments up 50 percent for the same product compared with years pa…