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The Piedmont Lithium CEO discusses how a $141.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy helps accelerate a lithium project already underway, and how a shortage of raw materials for batteries may hamper the auto industry.

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Nearly half of dealers plan to buy one or more dealerships in the next 12 months, while only 2 percent expect to sell in that time frame, according to a survey by dealership sell-sell firm Kerrigan Advisors.

"As a disproportionate number of dealers plan for growth rather than exit, Kerrigan Advisors expects today's seller's market to persist into 2023," the Kerrigan Dealer Survey finds.

More than 600 dealers responded from July to September for the fourth annual survey, and though results trend positive, there are stark differences in expectations compared with last year's survey. In 2021, for example, 77 percent of dealers said they planned to buy one or more dealerships in the coming year, compared with 48 percent this year.

Half of those surveyed don't plan to buy or sell any stores in the next year — higher than the 20 percent who said so in 2021. The number planning to sell at least one dealership in the next year also drop…

Hyundai created a Hyundai-powered hotel.

The automaker built a luxurious, off-grid cabin in the English countryside, about an hour from London, by plugging into a Hyundai Ioniq 5. Hotel Hyundai, which the company says is the world's first car-powered hotel, featured a single guest suite, a dining area with an espresso maker, and a movie projector and popcorn machine.

The setup used the Ioniq's vehicle-to-load technology and an outlet adapter to provide up to 15 amps of power at a time.

Hyundai ran a contest to select members of the public to stay at the hotel, which was open from mid-October until Nov. 5. It hired broadcaster and food critic Grace Dent to curate a menu of locally sourced dishes that were prepared on site.

The company said it conducted research showing that more than half of British vacationers are rethinking travel because of cost-of-living increases and that nearly half want more "staycations" in the year ahead. Hotel Hyundai w…

CHICAGO — Five years ago, the top priority among job seekers was pay stability. Now, it's flexible scheduling, followed by career path viability and the ability to do meaningful work.

That was the main message that Adam Robinson, founder and CEO of Hireology, delivered at his company's Elevate conference here in October, the day before our Retail Forum and Best Dealerships To Work For celebration.

Some of the shift in workers' priorities has to do with lessons from the coronavirus pandemic: Important life events are not guaranteed, schedules can be thrown into chaos, and loved ones — especially those who are on in years — could get sick and die quickly and possibly alone.

There's a greater appreciation that life is fragile, finite and fickle. And that's not to be ignored. But Robinson also argues that the shift in the balance of power from employers to workers would be happening anyway because there just aren't enough skilled, trained adults entering th…

TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. unveiled the second model in its new China-only electric vehicle lineup on Saturday, targeting the fast-growing, battery-driven car segment in the world's largest auto market.

The Japanese automaker said last year it planned to roll out EV models under a new brand called "e:N Series" over the next five years with partners GAC and Dongfeng Motor. It began selling the first model in China in April.

The e:N2 Concept, introduced Saturday at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, features sharp body styling and metallic surfaces. With the EV concept, Honda said it aims to "present new styling that does not belong to any existing categories."

"Honda is transforming itself into an electric brand in China with a series of unique and diverse electric mobility products that only Honda can offer," Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said in a statement.

A key challenge facing Honda and its major Japanese peers, Toyota Motor Corp. an…

A demand problem taking root in the used-vehicle industry is forcing Carvana Co. further into cost-cutting territory.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based online used-vehicle retailer said last week that a multitude of economic factors — including rising interest rates — are converging to disrupt consumer demand and hinder the sales volume growth the company had anticipated for the third quarter. Instead, volume and revenue dropped for the period, and Carvana racked up its third and most significant quarterly loss of 2022: $508 million, bringing its total loss for the first nine months of the year to $1.45 billion, a period for which revenue rose 19 percent and retail volume by 4.2 percent.

Company leaders point to affordability concerns as a major factor that led to lower demand in the most recent quarter. Higher interest rates meant vehicles in stock took longer to sell and at lower profit levels.

"Cars are an expensive, discretionary, often…

Improving inventory and steady demand helped automakers post their best U.S. light-vehicle sales month since April, according to LMC Automotive, another sign the ongoing microchip shortage may be easing.

October volume rose 11 percent to 1.17 million, LMC said. Among the seven automakers that publicly reported monthly figures, sales increased 5.9 percent.

The seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales came in at 15.28 million for the month, according to Motor Intelligence, up from 13.39 million a year earlier.

Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai-Kia, Subaru and Volvo all posted October sales gains, while Ford and Honda reported declines. Sales increased even as rising interest rates and surging new-vehicle prices continue to threaten affordability.

"The vehicle market is being supported by improving inventories and product selection for some, but not all, brands," Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive, said in…

Most dealers keep their new, unsold luxury vehicles far away from mud pits, dirt roads, deep water, jagged rocks and other things that can potentially cause damage.

Larry Zinn is not most dealers.

Long before the market filled with upscale SUVs, Zinn's Land Rover stores held yearly events that brought customers into the wilderness to drive Land Rovers and Range Rovers in rugged conditions.

Now that the segment that Land Rover helped create in the late 1940s with the original Series 1 and then 40 years later with the luxurious Range Rover is chock-full of competitors, the stores' yearly off-road driving events have taken on far greater importance.

"From a loyalty perspective it's super important for us. It helps keep us connected with our customers, and we have a great time together," said Zinn, 36, executive general manager of Miami-based Warren Henry Auto Group.

In early October, Zinn's two Land Rover stores, Land Rover North Dade and La…

Honda, one of the few automakers still committed to stick shifts, is being realistic as the electric era unfolds and pushes the manual transmission toward obsolescence.

In an interview with Car and Driver, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe and Shinji Aoyama, global head of the company's electrification efforts, downplayed hopes that Honda would adopt some type of artificial manual transmission for electric vehicles. Honda's EV plans include two sports cars — what the automaker describes as a flagship and a "specialty" model.

"Artificially, we can do it. Mechanically, it is not easy," Aoyama told the magazine, referring to a simulated manual as "like an extension of active sound control."

Aoyama said Honda will pursue other ways to make EVs fun to drive. The company sees battery technology and the packaging, programming and engineering of electric motors and direct-drive systems as a key differentiator. Mibe wants Honda EVs to be "edgy" with driving dynamics dis…

Two myths undercut the long-term profitability of dealerships.

Myth #1: That which is good for the customer is bad for profit.

Myth #2: That which is good for one department is bad for others.

Rather than advancing profitability, these myths—both of which feed upon the common yet counterproductive, zero-sum mentality of competition over collaboration — drive behaviors and decision making that undercut both the health and wealth of dealerships.

For example, imagine a service manager and a salesperson compete to greet a customer. The service manager accuses the salesperson of stealing work from the service department.

Then, when the customer asks for a ride back to their office, the service manager asks the sales manager if a member of the sales team could make the run. The sales manager tells him no way, adding that he can't risk a customer walking in while his guy is out running errands for the dealership.

Examples like these point …

Toyota is borrowing a successful play from rival brands and bringing more of its accessories business in-house, allowing dealers to sell and install them directly and customers to roll their purchases into their financing agreements, all without voiding the initial warranty.

The blitz comes at the midpoint of the redesign of Toyota's "Four Brothers:" the Tundra and Sequoia, which are already on market, as well as the coming redesigns of the Tacoma, due next year, and 4Runner, due in 2024.

There are two parts to the push, at least initially. First, the brand has developed lift kits in-house, first for the Tacoma and then this year for the redesigned Tundra. The kits provide extra ground clearance without altering the vehicles' suspension performance or compromising its driver assistance and safety technologies.

"We started with the Tacoma lift kit last year and then we released the Tundra lift kit this year, and we could not be more…