Trade News

Tesla Inc's advanced driver assistant software will not gain regulatory approval in 2022, Chief Executive Elon Musk said, signaling that the company is not yet able to satisfy authorities that its cars can be driven without someone behind the wheel.

Tesla sells a $15,000 software add-on called "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) which enables its vehicles to change lanes and park autonomously. That complements its standard "Autopilot" feature, enabling cars to steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes without driver intervention.

However, Tesla says the cars still need to be driven with human oversight. A highly autonomous vehicle would require regulatory approval in California, for example.

On a call on Wednesday to discuss quarterly results, Musk said he expects to release upgraded FSD software at the end of the year, adding that while its cars are not ready to have no one behind the wheel, drivers would rarely have to touch the contro…

Baxter Auto Group of Omaha, Neb., spearheaded a multistore deal that ultimately moved its four Stellantis outlets to new ownership with three dealership groups.

In the first transaction, on Monday, Baxter sold Baxter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Bellevue, Baxter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat Omaha, Baxter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Papillion in Omaha and Baxter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat Lincoln, to Edwards Auto Group of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Courtney Goldenberg, Baxter's vice president of marketing, confirmed to Automotive News. All of the stores are in Nebraska.

But Edwards Auto only kept two of the four dealerships. Just after acquiring the stores, Edwards Auto simultaneously sold single stores to H&H Automotive and Sid Dillon Auto Group.

Edwards Auto kept the Bellevue store and the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat dealership in Omaha, according to co-owner Todd Edwards. Those dealerships were renamed Edwards Bellevue Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Edwards Vill…

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the automaker is not facing demand problems despite economic headwinds. Waymo robotaxis are coming to LA. Volkswagen considers selling its Russian factory. Plus, Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke talks about what used vehicle price declines might signal for the rest of the industry.

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Key Takeaways: Only about two in five car buyers recall being offered a connected services free trial, though new vehicle owners are twice as likely to be offered a free trial compared to used vehicle owners. 71% of new and used car buyers who were not offered a free trial expressed interest in enrolling if they had been offered. Used vehicle owners are just as likely to convert from a free trial to a paid connected services subscription as new vehicle owners.

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A Michigan court denied Carvana Co.'s request to block the state's Oct. 7 suspension of its operating license over titling and registration issues.

In an opinion filed Wednesday, state Court of Claims Judge Thomas Cameron wrote Carvana's bid for a temporary restraining order against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson failed to demonstrate "sufficient danger" of the suspension causing irreparable harm to its reputation and operations. Cameron wrote it was unlikely Carvana would lose its market foothold or see its competitors attempt to "replicate" its purchasing process in the short time span covered by a temporary restraining order.

He also concluded the state did not deny Carvana due process in the matter. Because the Michigan Department of State found Carvana's purported violations of the Michigan Vehicle Code to be a risk to public safety, it was "statutorily permitted" to suspend the company's license without a hearing, Cameron wrote in his opinion…

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric automaker is not facing demand problems despite economic headwinds, and the company expects to sell every vehicle it can produce in the current quarter from its factories in California, Texas, Germany and China.

"There's been a lot of questions about demand in recent weeks," Musk said on the third-quarter earnings call Wednesday. "I can't emphasize enough we have excellent demand for Q4 and we expect to sell every car that we make for as far into the future as we can see."

Tesla said it expects to grow production by 50 percent annually for the foreseeable future, but deliveries might fall below that number as the company faces transportation challenges as it grows beyond a million units a year.

The automaker is ramping production at its new factories in Austin, Texas and Berlin, Germany. Its original factory in Fremont, Calif. is running at a record pace and its Shanghai factory has undergone a recent expansion.

…

SHANGHAI -- Automakers in China delivered a record number of cars to dealers in the first nine months of the year even as retail demand slowed, setting up the market for a slowdown in 2023, a leading Chinese brokerage said on Wednesday.

Automakers delivered 1 million vehicles to dealers in China over the first nine months of this year, record volume for the world's largest auto market, analysts at China Merchants Bank International said.

In September, deliveries to dealers rose by 33 percent, while retail sales climbed only 9 percent, meaning that inventories on dealer lots jumped, a trend that could create an overhang that will weigh on sales next year, they said.

The China Association of Automobile Manufactures reports overall vehicle sales.

CMBI analysts used insurance registration data to track retail sales separate from wholesale deliveries to dealers.

The diverging trend in deliveries to dealers and retail sales "makes us very concern…

LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. has completed the sale of its Stellantis dealership in New York, , and said it has entered into agreements to sell its Kia dealerships in Port Charlotte and Cape Coral, Fla., to Morgan Auto Group of Tampa, Fla.

Tasca Automotive Group, of Cranston, R.I., on Tuesday bought LMP's White Plains Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in White Plains, N.Y., Carl Tasca Jr., one of the group's owners, confirmed to Automotive News. Tasca said he owns the group with three of his cousins.

The store was renamed Tasca Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of White Plains. White Plains is north of New York City and near the Connecticut border.

LMP, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., auto retailer with seven other franchised dealerships, revealed in July that it had a deal in place to sell the Stellantis store and had hired BoA Securities to help it explore strategic options.

In February, LMP said it was exploring strategic alternatives for its …

Tesla Inc reported lower than expected third quarter revenue, as the electric carmaker led by Elon Musk delivered fewer vehicles than expected.

Tesla shares slumped as much as 7 percent after the results.

Musk is expected to speak with analysts on a conference all and address questions about whether Tesla, the world's most valuable automaker, will stick to its target of boosting deliveries by 50 percent this year. Some have questioned whether demand is softening.

Tesla achieved record quarterly deliveries largely thanks to its rampup in China. But the most prominent proponent of EVs has seen its shares tumble about 50 percent from record highs last November as investors were spooked by a cooling global economy and Musk's bid to buy social media company Twitter.

Early this month, Tesla said it delivered 35 percent more vehicles in the July-September period from the previous quarter, but the number fell shy of vehicle production and analysts' estima…

Ally Financial CFO Jennifer LaClair stepped down Tuesday after nearly five years on the job, the company said in a government filing.

Ally Corporate Treasurer Bradley Brown, 56, will serve as interim chief financial officer. CEO Jeffrey Brown (no relation) said the company has a "strong bench" to help him during the search for a permanent replacement.

"Jenn has been instrumental in our company's evolution over the past five years," Jeffrey Brown told an earnings call Wednesday.

Brown called LaClair "excited to pursue her next chapter of opportunities," something "hard to do while serving as a CFO." He said they agreed she should leave now "and in advance of an even more fluid macro environment."

LaClair will remain with the company as a senior operating advisor, and could do so until March 3, 2023, according to the agreement shared in the government filing Tuesday.

LaClair, 51, had led PNC Financial Services Group's business bank before joi…

General Motors is considering adding an electric midsized pickup truck to its lineup of Hummer vehicles, leaning into demand for lower-emissions cars, according to people familiar with the matter.

A smaller, electric Hummer is still a design concept in GM's California studio, but has a good chance of going into production and is seen as a priority project, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. GM already builds the large electric Hummer pickup and will begin building a full-size SUV early next year.

Hummer is emerging as a key piece of GM's electric-vehicle strategy. The company has said it's spending $35 billion to build 30 EVs by 2025. It's breaking into the market by appealing to high-end customers with pricey EVs from Hummer and Cadillac and offering lower-priced models to fleet buyers, allowing the automaker to build sales volume and manufacturing scale.

GM believes the Hummer brand has great recognition and …