Trade News

Lingering supply chain woes dragged 2022 U.S. light-vehicle sales to their lowest level since 2011, but many dealers are entering 2023 with fuller lots as production begins to bounce back — at least for some automakers.

Still, experts warn the industry will grapple with numerous challenges this year that could slow its recovery, including rising interest rates and sky-high transaction prices that may turn away some buyers.

"We're not seeing demand collapse; there's still strong demand, but it's certainly weaker than it was," Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, told Automotive News. "Interest rates on top of high prices are just freezing some people out of the market."

Among the companies that reported, U.S. light-vehicle sales fell roughly 8 percent to 13.4 million in 2022, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center. Mercedes, Porsche and Jaguar Land Rover are set to report this week.

The seasonally adjusted ann…

Faulkner Subaru Harrisburg's boost committee is an extension of the company's open-door policy where all ideas are welcome.

"We use it to boost anything from profits to inclusion and diversity to brainstorming to come up with new ideas," said Doug Jones, general manager of the Pennsylvania dealership.

Committee members meet monthly — two each from every department including sales, parts, finance, management and business development. Membership rotates among employees at the dealership, which is one of 30 locations owned by the Faulkner Organization.

Store leaders launched the committee in 2020 after recognizing that the best ideas come from frontline employees, Jones said, who often know their department's workflow best.

The boost committee has solved both small issues, such as car wash wait times, and larger challenges, such as dealership parking problems, Jones said. The ideas generated by the committee have saved work time, improved customer…

LAS VEGAS — U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said her office is working with the Treasury Department on guidance relating to eligibility rules for revised $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credits.

"We're working in a very interlocked way. Our folks and their folks are talking all the time," Granholm told Automotive News following an address Friday at CES. "Our policy office is working directly with Treasury to make sure that this guidance is out and it's informed by stakeholders."

The Inflation Reduction Act had required the Treasury Department to issue the proposed guidance about how the industry can meet new eligibility rules for EV tax credits on new vehicles by the end of 2022. The department, however, said it instead would offer information about the direction the rules may take.

Granholm said it was important "to send a signal about which way it's going" as Treasury delayed the release of guidance related to requirements for critical mine…

The Illinois Automobile Dealers Association will appeal a court decision last month that favors Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group in a fight over direct sales after the state government granted licenses to the EV startups over dealer objections.

Joe McMahon, the association's executive director, told Automotive News on Friday that the dealer group held a meeting a day earlier to discuss the judge's ruling, which sided with state officials who issued the licenses in 2021.

"We discussed it pretty extensively, and everyone feels that in this situation, the judge didn't really look at the law, and the law is pretty clear in Illinois that you can't be a manufacturer and a dealer, and you can't sell direct," McMahon said.

"We welcome Lucid and Tesla and Rivian, but they should play on the same playing field as car dealers," McMahon said. He said electric vehicle makers are getting special treatment from politicians, generally, because EVs are in vogue.

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Automotive News Executive Editor Jamie Butters reviews the top stories from CES 2023 with tech and innovation team leader Pete Bigelow, GM reporter Lindsay VanHulle, Stellantis reporter Vince Bond Jr., and Nick Gibbs of Automotive News Europe.

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<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Ram Revolution anchors Stellantis drive to sustainability

The stylish Ram 1500 Revolution battery-electric pickup glided onto the stage as a shining star at CES on Thursday.

But the concept vehicle is just one piece in the broader galaxy of Stellantis, which is methodically planning its moves to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2038.

The electric 1500 previews an upcoming production version of the truck. Other cogs in the company's pursuit to achieve its vision include an electric aircraft Stellantis is planning to build with Archer Aviation and the electric Peugeot Inception concept, which also grabbed the spotlight at CES.

The vision goes further with eco-friendly commercial vehicles, including the first electric Ram ProMaster arriving this year that will handle loads for Amazon. Hydrogen-powered Ram Heavy Duty pickups are coming later in the decade, building on the progress Stellantis has seen with its fuel cell v…

LAS VEGAS — As sensor technology underpins the auto industry's push to produce more self-driving vehicles in the coming years, innovation will become a key differentiator among the many players.

While the industry faces hurdles, including global economic headwinds, rising borrowing rates, mergers, bankruptcies and shutdowns, it remains one of the main features at the sprawling CES technology show, filling much of Las Vegas Convention Center's west wing.

Here are some of the more notable sensors at 2023 CES.

Lights, camera, action!

Executives from Nodar, a Boston area startup developing long-range, high-resolution, real-time 3D camera-based software, said the company's technology can speed up the adoption of Level 3 autonomous driving. The industry considers Level 3 driving as vehicles that mostly drive themselves but still require a human driver present.

Nodar is competing with lidar companies and stereo visual systems from Bosch and Contin…

LAS VEGAS — As automakers prepare to bring more electric models to market, the infrastructure to support them will continue to develop.

That was evident from all of the companies that specialize in charging infrastructure and batteries that were demonstrating new capabilities at CES meant to increase consumers' adoption of battery-electric vehicles.

Charging infrastructure so far has come from multiple companies with varying business models. But there is not a lot of consistency yet among the different models, said Stephanie Brinley, associate director, auto intelligence for S&P Global Mobility.

"We don't really have a solid set of standards yet, and that's one of the things that needs to evolve," she said.

CES gives companies a chance to highlight their new products for potential customers, Brinley said. Here is a sampling of some of the electrification technology on display at the show.

Texas Instruments showed automotive battery ce…

WASHINGTON — While an end-of-year attempt to pass legislation on LIFO tax relief ultimately stalled in the House, dealers affected by record-low levels of new-vehicle supply are still hopeful a bill will pass this year.

The Senate last month unanimously passed a bill — known as the Supply Chain Disruptions Relief Act — that would have provided relief to dealerships that use the "last in, first out" inventory accounting method and have struggled to maintain inventory levels because of the global semiconductor shortage. The House adjourned at year end without voting on the bill.

Under a new Congress — with Republicans now controlling the House and Democrats holding a slim majority in the Senate — the bill must be reintroduced.

"I'm disappointed that, after the Senate passed it, the House did not take the bill up before the Congress ended," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said in a statement to Automotive News. "This legislation has broad…

LAS VEGAS — Stellantis on Thursday delivered an expansive vision of its future at CES that includes its push into the electric pickup market, innovative uses of autonomous technology for off-roading Jeeps and establishment of an independent unit that'll grow its "data as a service" business.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares also mentioned how the automaker is looking to the skies through its partnership with Archer Aviation to build electric aircraft, a mode of travel that he sees as having potential to offer freedom of mobility for people in urban settings.

Tavares said during his keynote address that Stellantis is becoming a "mobility tech company" and that it wants to improve how people move, socialize and entertain themselves. He said the company is massive in scale, but has the soul of a startup.

Tavares' lofty address sought to explain the automaker's place in the world.

"The need to innovate for our future is greater than ever. Companies must…

SHANGHAI - Tesla cut electric vehicle prices in China for the second time in less than three months on Friday, stoking expectations for a wider price war for battery-powered vehicles in the world's largest auto market where demand has weakened.

Tesla also cut prices on its best-selling Model Y and Model 3 EVs in Japan, South Korea and Australia.

The coordinated cuts were part of an effort to help stoke demand for Tesla's output at its Shanghai factory, the company's single largest production hub, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plan.

It was also the first major move by the electric vehicle maker since Tesla appointed its lead executive for China and Asia, Tom Zhu, who has been based in Shanghai, to oversee global output and deliveries.

Tesla shares slid in premarket trading after the price cuts.

Established automakers have long turned to incentives in the face of weaker demand to control inventory, but, until late last y…

LAS VEGAS -- Chinese electric-vehicle brand Zeekr aims to double sales in 2023 to about 140,000 vehicles and plans to expand sales in Europe, CEO Andy An told Reuters.

Zeekr, a brand created by Chinese automaker Geely, sold 72,000 vehicles in 2022, mostly in China.

Its 001 model, priced at about 300,000 yuan ($43,600), competes with Tesla’s Model Y crossover and other luxury models in the increasingly competitive Chinese market.

Tesla has cut prices and trimmed production in China as it faces intensifying competition from Chinese brands such as Zeekr. Tesla sales in December fell to the lowest level in five months.

A second Zeekr model, the 009, will go into production this month.

Zeekr sees opportunity for growth in Europe, An said in an interview at the CES 2023 annual technology conference in Las Vegas.

Later this year, Zeekr plans to begin selling vehicles in the market with assisted driving systems engineered with Mobileye, he a…