Trade News

Major factors are impacting the dealership buy/sell market. New pressure points and challenges are occurring both at the local and national dealership levels – creating opportunities for some and causing concern for others. While many dealers are looking to acquire and grow, others are looking to get out, as the requirements for being a dealer continue to evolve in ways that are both financially and culturally challenging. There are four key topics with the potential to significantly impact dealer decision making in the near- and long-term: The challenges driving change in the market, including the online process, evolving consumer preferences and manufacturer policy regarding the EV future. New laws and bills that will impact dealerships’ ability to remain in compliance – both small and large. Dealer sentiment about the future and how it may impact their decision to buy or sell. The data and analyses dealers need to make sound decisions.

DETROIT — General Motors' top executives on Tuesday backed off from a plan to make salaried employees return to company offices for at least three days a week later this year.

The abrupt announcement last week had prompted backlash from workers who felt the change was misguided or being imposed too quickly.

GM told workers in a new message from its senior leadership team that it still wants "a more regular, in-person presence" but that it would not alter the "Work Appropriately" philosophy it adopted during the pandemic any sooner than 2023.

The new message did not refer to a specific number of days workers would have to report in person, saying that individual managers would make decisions on how, when and where their teams should collaborate. It also said the company would not mandate which days of the week employees work in person vs. remotely.

More information will be shared with employees at the end of October, the message said.

"As we…

GM launches a major retooling in Toledo, Ohio for EV motors. The UAW seeks faster recognition at GM’s joint-venture battery plants. Ram considers a midsize truck. Plus, a conversation with Daniel Hagström of CabinAir about the Swedish supplier's advanced filtration and air pollution detection systems.

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A Carvana Co. executive is facing dozens of criminal charges tied to the company's alleged motor vehicle licensing and records violations in Illinois.

In mid-May the Illinois Secretary of State filed several motor vehicle-related charges against Paul Breaux, who is identified on Carvana's investor relations website as a vice president and the company's general counsel since August 2015. Illinois court records show regulatory officials in a May 13 filing charged Breaux with 27 counts of failure to transfer vehicle titles by a dealership and 50 counts of improper use of titling and registration.

Breaux, who has been ordered to appear in an Illinois court on Nov. 1, denies any wrongdoing.

"The State of Illinois has charged me because Carvana delivered a car to a customer's home," Breaux said in a statement provided by Carvana. "This is surprising and confusing both because it feels extremely anti-consumer and because I proactively met with several Illinois …

DETROIT — Chevrolet is updating the heavy-duty line of its Silverado pickups with a standard 10-speed transmission, a more powerful diesel engine, a plusher interior and new trailering technologies.

The 2024 Silverado HD, which debuted Monday and is slated to go on sale in the first half of next year, will offer an off-road ZR2 trim for the first time. It will face off against Ford's redesigned Super Duty pickups, which are scheduled to be revealed Tuesday.

"We've designed the Silverado HD to be our customers' favored choice for true truck capability," Scott Bell, vice president of Chevrolet, said in a statement. "The enhancements to the 2024 model build on its core strengths to provide an even stronger balance of the design, strength and confidence that makes tackling the hard jobs, including trailering, easier and more convenient than ever."

The truck's front end has been freshened with a new fascia, new headlights and new grille. Other exterior chang…

BERLIN -- BMW expects to reach the higher end of its 7-9 percent margin target for the cars business and sees slight sales growth in 2023, Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter said.

Demand was recovering in China in the third quarter after lockdowns plagued the first half, Peter said, describing it as a "roller coaster" year in their largest sales market.

In Europe, order books were still full but demand was weak in Germany and the UK, and stronger in France, Spain and Italy.

BMW expects to hit its target of 10 percent fully electric sales this year at around 240,000 to 245,000 vehicles and could see that figure rising to around 400,000 next year, Peter said on Monday.

Like other carmakers, BMW has had to contend with shortages of semiconductors and supply chain disruptions related to the pandemic that have slowed the production of EVs.

Compared to last year, global sales this year will be slightly lower due to losses in the first half, ac…

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The second-generation Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid dials up its EV-ness, signaling the brand's push toward electrification.

The midsize crossover evolves — inside and out — in its first redesign since it arrived on U.S. shores five years ago.

The 2023 Outlander PHEV is bigger, bolder and packs more punch than the outgoing model, which was the first non-premium plug-in hybrid crossover.

The latest model starts at $41,190, including shipping, and arrives in late November. That's a $2,850 premium over the outgoing Outlander PHEV.

"Outlander's our flagship, and this is the flagship of the flagship," Cason Grover, Mitsubishi Motors North America's product planning chief, said at a media briefing in Ann Arbor this month.

Much is riding on the three-row crossover as the small Japanese automaker jostles for relevancy in the world's second-largest auto market. Mitsubishi's U.S. sales, which peaked at 345,915 two decades a…

Chinese electric-vehicle maker Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. raised about HK$6.3 billion ($800 million) in its Hong Kong initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

Leapmotor priced the offering at HK$48 per share, the bottom of its marketed range, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The company marketed 131 million shares at HK$48 and HK$62 apiece. An external representative for the company declined to comment.

The Hangzhou-based firm’s offering joins a group of similarly sized listings as larger deals come back to Hong Kong, though proceeds raised through IPOs this year are still down nearly 80 percent from the same period in 2021, Bloomberg data show. The Asian financial hub’s slump has outpaced the global decline due to factors including the economic impact of China’s Covid Zero policies.

Leapmotor is part of an industry that has largely escaped the scrutiny of Chinese regulato…

MOSCOW -- Russian automaker Sollers is in talks with Mazda about buying the Japanese company's stake in their Russian joint venture, Sollers said, as Mazda prepares to wind down operations in Russia.

Mazda, which sold 30,000 cars in Russia last year, said in March that exports of parts to the venture's Vladivostok plant were going to end and production would cease when stocks ran out.

The Nikkei newspaper on Saturday first reported the talks with Sollers.

Sollers said on Monday that it was in talks with Mazda over stopping car production in Vladivostok and on buying out Mazda's stake in the venture.

"At the same time, Sollers Auto has already developed a plan to relaunch the factory for production of other automobile brands and negotiations on this issue are currently being finalized," Sollers said in a statement.

It did not give a timeframe for stopping production at the Vladivos.

Mazda and Sollers began production at the factory in…

The Federal Trade Commission's new amendments to its Safeguards Rule, which require dealers to undertake a series of procedural, technical, and contractual steps to protect consumer and other personal data, will take effect on December 9, 2022.

Gauge your dealership’s cybersecurity readiness — and learn how you can steer your store to compliance with the amended rules — in this 10-question quiz. 

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EV owners and prospective buyers expect automakers to offer both an online and in-person shopping experience, according to the 2022 EVForward Dealer DeepDive.

The EVForward team, part of advisory firm Escalent, works to capture the attitudes, behaviors and opinions of the next generation of EV buyers.

The 2022 Dealer DeepDive report surveyed 1,289 people, of which 88 are EV owners. The survey grouped participants into EV intenders, or those who are most likely to shop for an EV, as well as EV opens, who are somewhat likely to purchase an EV, and EV resistants, drivers who are more comfortable with internal combustion engine vehicles.

The results? Prospective buyers want to use both online and in-person resources to buy an EV. The report suggests both legacy and EV specialist automakers offer an omnichannel buying experience, said K.C. Boyce, Escalent's vice president of powertrain innovation and energy transformation.

The dealership will remain …

In the past, a brand that produced powertrains of awesome performance, or rarefied designs of outstanding touch and feel, or luxurious construction that translated to stratospheric pricing, was known as an exotic.

Today, the segment is identifying new products, new powertrains and new strategies to meet regulatory and competitive changes around the world while still meeting the high expectations of customers.

An SUV for McLaren? Maybe. An electric crossover for Rolls-Royce? Definitely. A future for Rolls' V-12 engines? And is there still a place of relevance for Maserati's elegant Ghibli sedan?

Meanwhile, new players are gravitating into the exotic orbit, including Lucid Motors. Although Lucid and fellow electric vehicle startup Rivian face challenges in getting their new production plants up to speed, Lucid is already calculating plans to introduce a $250,000 version of its Air sedan, called the Air Sapphire, for a new ultraperformance subbrand.

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