Trade News

After repeated delays, the European Commission this month released its proposed Euro 7 pollution rules, succeeding Euro 6, which came into force in 2014. The tighter vehicle emission rules create some new realities for automakers across the multination market.

Euro 7 will most likely be the final internal combustion engine regulations enacted in Europe, since the EU is requiring the sale of only zero-emission vehicles after 2035.

Automakers had fought against the new rules, arguing that money spent on new compliance measures could better be invested in lowering the cost of electrification. They argued that there will be little need for new rules because the proportion of internal combustion engine sales will continue to fall ahead of the 2035 zero-emission deadline.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares recently called Euro 7 a "diversion from the major goal of electrification."

The recent surge in inflation — especially in ve…

Sustainability takes a back seat to other values for the current U.S. vehicle buyer, but environmental friendliness is expected to take the wheel as Gen Z enters the market in larger numbers, a Simon-Kucher & Partners survey shows.

Data from 1,003 U.S. consumers shows about a third of vehicle buyers are willing to pay more for sustainable options, especially the youngest generation of U.S. adults who participated in Simon-Kucher & Partners' Global Sustainability Study 2022, fielded in July and August.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans consider environmental sustainability when making purchases, a 14 percent jump from 2021.

When buying vehicles, 55 percent of Americans say it's important to consider sustainability. The survey, which looked at 19 purchasing categories, found sustainability considerations in automotive purchases were of lower significance than other categories, such as energy and utilities (69 percent), construction (61 percent) and co…

LOS ANGELES — The Toyota brand's North American boss has a long-term homework project: Figure out a way to convert recent lessees-turned-buyers back into lessees three or four years down the road.

It's a tough task, David Christ admits, and one that will require a lot of creativity to complete as inventory and reduced incentives have slashed leasing penetration this year. But given what a vital tool leasing historically has been for automakers and dealers, Christ says the industry will need to find an effective answer.

"Toyota's leasing percentage right now is about 14 percent [of total sales], and it would normally be [near] 30 percent, so that's 15 percent of business which is now in a retail contract instead of a lease," Christ told Automotive News here on the eve of the Los Angeles Auto Show. "That's a concern, because a customer on a lease cycle is normally back in three years, and it's an automatic opportunity to re-lease them a new car o…

A conversation with Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson, who says its crucial for the EV startup to focus on efficiency. At least three analysts downgrade Carvana's stock and slash their targets. Dealers in the Ford Blue Advantage program are seeing double-digit gains. And the FBI joins the probe into the cyberattack against Continental.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

As the automotive industry embarks on a software-defined future, a vision pursued by many OEMs is to be able to develop software with the agility and flexibility described in the above narrative, delivering functionality incrementally into the vehicle with no compromise on quality or safety.

A cloud-native approach, able to preserve automotive-specific characteristics in terms of functional safety concepts and real-time execution, is key to creating such a software-centric ecosystem with modern digital services and in-vehicle user-friendly applications. With innovative and efficient workflows, it’s an approach that enables more developers to be involved in the development process. It also enables automotive companies to shorten development time and achieve the agility needed to rapidly evolve and update features to meet the pace of modern consumer expectations.

General Motors is thinking long term as it prices its upcoming electric vehicles, steering clear of "opportunistic" pricing in favor of a lineup spanning segments and price points, executives say.

The Detroit automaker is banking on customers switching from gasoline-powered cars to EVs as it prepares to put more models on sale next year and convert its Cadillac and Buick brands to fully electric lineups by 2030. While research shows that — at least for now — consumers are willing to pay a premium for EVs, GM also does not want to turn off prospective EV buyers by pricing them too high, President Mark Reuss said this month at the company's investor day in New York.

"Are we baking that [premium] in on every single product and every segment and taking advantage of that? The answer is no," Reuss said.

"We really look at each customer, each segment. The willingness to do that is a little bit different," he said. "We've got to remain th…

General Motors didn’t just halt Twitter advertising after Elon Musk bought the social network. The automaker’s CEO and vehicle brands haven’t even tweeted since.

Mary Barra last posted on Oct. 27, the same day that Musk closed his $44 billion purchase, when GM’s leader retweeted a message from autonomous-vehicle startup Cruise LLC. Since then, Barra and GM’s consumer-vehicle brand accounts -- including Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC -- have been conspicuously quiet.

The Twitter absence suggests GM’s retreat from the platform was more comprehensive than indicated when it joined other brands pausing advertising last month. The automaker said then that it would temporarily halt paid ads while trying to better understand the direction of the site under its new ownership.

The complications for automakers on Twitter are heightened because Musk also runs Tesla Inc., the leading maker of EVs. GM aims to make its entire lineup electric by 2035 and other com…

Two growing auto retailers expanded with multiple third-quarter and fourth-quarter transactions.

Here's a look at the deals involving import and luxury dealerships in West Virginia, Ohio, New York and Massachusetts. Two deals involved an auto retailer ranked on Automotive News' top 150 dealership groups list.

Ganley goes on Kia buying spree

Growing Ken Ganley Cos. entered a new state and bulked up its Ohio footprint with acquisitions in September and this month.

The group, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, bought Freedom Kia of Clarksburg in Bridgeport, W.Va., from Mike Wood on Sept. 1, according to CEO Ken Ganley. The dealership was renamed Ken Ganley Kia Clarksburg.

It marks the group's first dealership in West Virginia, Ganley said. Bridgeport is in the northern part of the state, southwest of Morgantown.

The acquisition follows Ganley's February purchase of a Kia dealership in Mentor, Ohio, northeast of Cleveland.

On Nov. 8, Ke…

Vehicle listings company TrueCar is piloting an online credit application for Southern California car shoppers looking to buy or lease a vehicle. The feature means customers won't need to go to the dealership to complete finance and insurance forms and will have access to real-time final pricing information.

If the launch goes smoothly, the company plans to offer the application to TrueCar customers in other markets, Alain Nana-Sinkam, senior vice president of business development, told Automotive News.

TrueCar, of Santa Monica, Calif., connects car buyers with inventory from about 12,000 dealerships in its U.S. network. The company has about 200 dealership partners in the Southern California market. In June, TrueCar announced its acquisition of digital retail platform provider Digital Motors of Irvine, Calif.

On the TrueCar website, customers select a specific vehicle in stock at a dealership in its network and directly contact that dealership to comp…

While nationwide sales of certified pre-owned vehicles are on pace to decline from 2021 levels, dealers who participate in the Ford Blue Advantage program are experiencing double-digit gains.

Ford Motor Co. says CPO sales for the roughly 1,400 dealers who are part of Blue Advantage were up about 15 percent year over year through October vs. a 12 percent decrease for CPO sales nationwide. Some retailers are seeing gains of as much as 40 percent.

Such sales have become vital over the past few years as supply chain issues and production cutbacks have limited new-vehicle availability.

"It's been part of our business we've really been able to lean on," said Brian Godfrey, president of Pat Milliken Ford in Redford, Mich.

Godfrey says his store sold just over 1,000 CPO vehicles in 2021 and he surpassed that total in less than 10 months this year. He anticipates selling more than 1,400 CPO vehicles this year, a 40 percent increase.

Godfrey, who j…

<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ EVs take slice of pizza delivery

Domino's Pizza Inc. said Monday it will roll out a fleet of nearly 800 Chevy Bolt electric vehicles around the country to deliver pizza orders — the largest such EV delivery effort.

Doing so offers advantages for the company, executives said, including the capability for multiple days of delivery on a single charge, zero tailpipe emissions, advanced safety features and lower average maintenance costs than nonelectric vehicles.

Domino's CEO Russell Weiner pointed out that Domino's first launched pizza delivery in 1960 with a Volkswagen Beetle and in 2015 tested autonomous vehicles for delivery.

"Domino's has always been on the cutting edge of pizza delivery and electric delivery cars make sense as vehicle technology continues to evolve," Weiner said in the release. "We've made a commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and this is one way we can begin reducing our environmental imp…

The head of Toyota brand sales in North America talks about the radically redesigned Prius unveiled last week. LG Chem says it will invest about $3.2 billion to build a battery cathode factory in Tennessee. Mazda’s plan to catch up on EVs totals $11 billion. And Lithia hires Aston Martin’s former Americas president.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"