Trade News

The UAW and Stellantis reach a tentative agreement in Indiana. Large dealership groups are pulling ahead in online customer service. Elon Musk promises big product launches for Tesla next year. Plus, University of Michigan researcher Jeff Sakamoto talks about how close the industry is to scaling up the manufacturing of solid-state batteries.

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Self-driving technology company Argo AI is rolling out an all-inclusive collection of autonomous vehicle products and services designed for commercial use to fit fleets and all vehicle types.

Besides self-driving technology, products from the company based in Pittsburgh include a vehicle and fleet management system and a data analytics platform for vehicles used in ride-hailing and delivery services.

Argo, primarily funded by Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen Group, is testing self-driving technology on public roads in Pittsburgh; Detroit; Austin, Texas; Miami; Palo Alto, Calif.; Munich; and Hamburg, Germany. The company is also conducting public pilot programs with Lyft in Miami and with Walmart in Austin and Miami.

Argo is using Ford Escape crossovers and Ford Fusion Hybrid sedans in U.S. tests and electric VW ID Buzz vans in Germany.

"Argo's product ecosystem offers businesses the customizable tools and solutions they need to integrate autonomous v…

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation are at odds over the next steps in an ongoing lawsuit concerning updates to the state's "right to repair" law.

Automakers represented by the alliance filed the lawsuit against Healey in November 2020 after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure revising and expanding the state's existing law.

The revised law — referred to as the Data Access Law in the lawsuit — requires makers of vehicles sold in Massachusetts to use a standardized, open-access data platform for telematics-equipped vehicles beginning with the 2022 model year. It also gives vehicle owners and independent repair shops access to real-time information from the telematics, such as crash notifications, remote diagnostics and navigation.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock this month asked Healey and the alliance for further submissions on two outstanding issues in the case — their interpretation o…

It’s no coincidence many dealers are feeling their Service department is the most short-staffed area of their dealership. Finding good Service Techs is becoming increasing difficult. Discover ways to overcome this challenge and highlight a career in the Service department in our latest e-book

What you'll learn:

Evolving the perception of technicians by elevating their expertise and significance in the industry is the first step Overcome stereotypes about women technicians Show how advanced service departments have become EVs Could Open More Doors

Representatives for Carvana Co. and the Illinois secretary of state met Wednesday in Illinois court for a scheduled hearing — the latest step in a legal challenge that's unfolded over the online retailer's license to sell used vehicles in the state.

The matter arose in early May, when the secretary of state suspended Carvana's dealer license. The regulatory agency said its police unit had investigated several consumer complaints and discovered a pattern of Carvana failing to properly transfer titles for vehicles it sold and misusing the issuing of out-of-state temporary registration permits. The agency stayed the suspension order May 26, saying Carvana could sell vehicles as long as it followed "strict guidelines."

When additional consumer complaints emerged, the secretary of state again attempted to suspend the online retailer's license in July, at which point Carvana filed for injunctive relief. That request was granted July 29 by Judge Bonnie Wheaton of the…

Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are poised to radically change and disrupt the automotive industry, for both OEMs and consumers alike. While there’s little doubt that ADAS will make driving safer and more convenient, obstacles to widespread adoption still remain. How will OEMs and suppliers need to collaborate? How can OEMs encourage consumers to trust autonomous vehicles? And can government regulations help speed adoption? Here automotive insiders Robin Milavec from Nexteer Automotive and Dr. Massimo Venturi from Eberspaecher provide some answers.

Q: As ADAS technologies continue to advance, we’ve seen shifts in the traditional automaker-supplier collaboration model. What types of collaboration are needed to bring new advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) technology to market?

Dr. Massimo Venturi: Technology is advancing at a rate never before experienced in the automotive industry. In particular, as a vehicle’s electrical systems become increasingly …

Carlock Automotive Group of Nashville has expanded its presence in Alabama, buying three dealerships in Mobile from Rogelio Tovar of Gulf Coast Auto Group.

Eric Shepherd, vice president of operations for Carlock Automotive Group, said owner Clay Carlock bought Audi Mobile, Porsche Mobile and Volkswagen-Volvo Cars Mobile Sept. 1. The store names remain, he said.

"We're really excited about the entire Alabama-Tennessee market, from Nashville down to Mobile," Shepherd told Automotive News, adding that the transaction "made perfect sense" for the group.

With the acquisition, Carlock now has its first Audi dealership and expands its holdings to three Volkswagen, two Volvo and two Porsche stores, Shepherd said. The group plans to remodel the Volkswagen showroom in 2023, he added.

The acquisition follows Carlock's May purchase of Freedom Honda in Birmingham, Ala., from Victory Automotive Group, a store it renamed Carlock Honda.

With the Mobile a…

DETROIT – Lincoln Motor Co. is updating its Corsair compact crossover with new technology, a larger touch screen and exterior design tweaks in a bid to continue drawing new buyers to the brand.

The 2023 Corsair, scheduled to hit showrooms early next year, will come available with Lincoln's ActiveGlide hands-free driver-assist technology. While the feature debuted this year on the freshened Navigator large SUV, the Corsair will be the first vehicle to come with an updated version that includes lane-change assist and other capabilities.

The small crossover will also be upgraded with the Navigator's 13.2-inch center touch screen as well as a 12.3-inch LCD cluster. Outside, it will be the first nameplate to wear the latest iteration of the brand's mesh grille.

U.S. sales of the Corsair totaled 18,139 through August — making it the brand's bestseller so far this year — with Lincoln saying more than half of those deliveries came from conquests.

…

The nation's largest dealer groups are pulling ahead of the pack in online customer service, a report out Monday from retail service tracker Pied Piper found.

Pied Piper used 20 best-practice behaviors to measure the internet lead effectiveness of 15 of the nation's largest dealership groups. These include speed and quality categories, making up 25 percent and 75 percent of a group's score, respectively.

The firm evaluated every dealership in every group represented, with the exception of automotive management services, where a sample of 50 stores was used.

Practices measured include how quickly a customer's text or email is responded to and if a "human" responds to customers when using chat functions on dealer websites.

In Pied Piper's survey, 12 out of 15 groups scored higher than the industry average. Napleton Automotive Group, which ranks No. 13 on the Automotive News list of top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., earned the highest mark…

Tesla is sitting on a hoard of environmental credits that rival automakers may covet if they can't adjust quickly to the new rules dictating which electric vehicles are eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit.

The Inflation Reduction Act passed in August requires automakers to assemble EVs and plug-in hybrids in North America to qualify for tax credit eligibility.

Beginning in January, the law also will require many to set up new battery and manufacturing supply chains in North America or a handful of approved free trade countries for their zero-emission vehicles to qualify for the tax credit incentive. The restrictions become increasingly stringent over the next decade.

In the near term, automakers such as Hyundai and Kia won't have vehicles that qualify for the tax credit, which partially offsets the higher price of electric cars and encourages sales.

That's expected to change over several years as the automakers…

DETROIT — Jeep CEO Christian Meunier says he wants the rugged SUV brand to be viewed as "the antidote to boredom." And electric Jeeps, he contends, are even more effective medicine.

The first of the brand's fully electric vehicles — the trail-ready, Wrangler-inspired Recon and the posh, stylish Wagoneer S — will reach North American dealerships in 2024, Meunier said last week, with two more nameplates slated by 2025. Jeep also has a small EV, the Avenger, planned for Europe and parts of Asia starting next year, though executives have deemed it unsuitable for U.S. consumers.

By 2030, Jeep projects that half of its U.S. sales and all of its European sales will be made up of emission-free models such as these. To get there, it's building a toolbox of electrified options melding off-road prowess with eco-friendly 4xe powertrains.

"I think we found a formula to make Jeep even more exciting while respecting the planet," Meunier told Automoti…

Duck, duck, Detroit

The last time Detroit held an auto show, Kelley Blue Book said the average transaction price for a new vehicle was about $37,000.

Heading into the 2022 Detroit show this week, it's now more than $48,000.

And that only captures a fraction of the revolution this industry has gone through in the 1,300-plus days that have elapsed without a motor show in the Motor City.

This year's show will look a lot different, too, as reporter Michael Martinez writes in this week's issue of Automotive News. Organizers already were planning to retool the show before COVID-19 arrived; the end product, after multiple postponements and an accelerating trend of manufacturers skipping such events, is a "complete reboot," as Detroit Auto Dealers Association President Thad Szott told us.

The hometown automakers are still here, of course, but even General Motors chose to reveal the Chevrolet Equinox EV — a real "game changer" thanks to its $30,00…