Trade News

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. didn’t gain fame for investing in startups.

The venerated investor has a predilection for buying time-tested businesses like an oil company, a railroad or an insurer that are bets on the steady and profitable growth of the U.S. economy.

Buffett shied away from technology stocks for years before taking the plunge with Apple Inc., which was already woven just as deeply in the fabric of the economy as Occidental Petroleum Corp., BNSF Railway Co. or Geico. It came as no surprise that Buffett eschewed the SPAC and NFT crazes. His longtime business partner, Charlie Munger, in February railed against the “wretched excess” in both venture capital and cryptocurrencies.  

This is why investors should take particular note that Pilot Co., which operates Pilot and Flying J travel centers and is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, agreed on Tuesday to take a stake in Kodiak Robotics Inc., a driverless truck startup.

Pilot…

Four dealership groups expanded their holdings with third-quarter and second-quarter transactions of single stores.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic and import dealerships and stores in Delaware, Kansas, California and West Virginia. One transaction involved an auto retailer ranked on Automotive News' top 150 dealership groups list.

Preston Automotive buys in Delaware again

Preston Automotive Group, which expanded its Delaware presence earlier this year with a Stellantis store acquisition, bought another Stellantis dealership in the small Mid-Atlantic state.

Preston Automotive, of Preston, Md., on Aug. 18 bought Holden Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram in Dover, Del., the capital city, south of Wilmington, from husband and wife Bill Holden Sr. and Carolie Holden, and their son Bill Holden Jr., according to Robert Childs, Preston Automotive's chief marketing officer.

The store was renamed Preston Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Dover.

…

Automakers are caught in a conundrum of whether to quickly adopt new technologies that risk increased complaints from car buyers when they don't work as expected, according to a J.D. Power study.

Consumers routinely punish automakers in quality ratings for car technology not meeting expectations. But consumers will credit automakers when innovations are properly executed, J.D. Power said.

Based on the results of its annual U.S. Tech Experience Index Study released Thursday, J.D. Power said ease of use is crucial for the acceptance and adoption of new automotive technologies. The survey also found auto dealers play a key role in ensuring car buyers understand and use the latest innovations.

Fear of negative consumer reaction

Automakers have to be careful and should not let fear of negative consumer reactions slow innovation adoption because that would put them at a competitive disadvantage, J.D. Power said. The idea that advanced technologies alw…

Audi will join Formula 1 starting in 2026 as the Volkswagen Group brand bets it can bolster its business by competing in the popular racing circuit.

Audi will build a dedicated F1 powertrain at a facility in Neuburg, Germany, the brand said Friday in a statement. It will make a decision on which team to partner with by the end of the year.

Audi has been in talks with the Swiss-based Sauber Group, whose team competes under the Alfa Romeo name, according to reports by Reuters and other media.

F1 racing intends to switch to cars running on synthetic fuel from 2026 as part of a plan to become carbon neutral by the end of the decade.

The change in technology is a unique opportunity to start competing in the franchise that has been dominated by Mercedes.

The new rules from 2026 will bring greater electrification and the use of advanced sustainable fuel. Power unit manufacturers will also be subject to a cost cap from next season.

“Motors…

Mercedes flips the switch on EV production in Alabama. California moves closer to banning gasoline-powered vehicle sales. Ford hikes the price of the Mustang Mach-E. Plus, a conversation with the incoming CEO of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Alan Amici.

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Group 1 Automotive Inc. will stay focused on growth through acquisitions, both in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, as the public dealership group prepares for a CEO changeover next year.

Daryl Kenningham, Group 1's president of U.S. operations since 2019 until his promotion this week to president and COO, will take over as chief executive in January following the year-end retirement of CEO Earl Hesterberg, which was announced Wednesday. Kenningham told Automotive News that the dealership group will look for "quality acquisitions" with regard to locations and vehicle brands that best align with the company's direction.

"We're not going to just chase revenue for the sake of chasing revenue," said Kenningham, who declined to discuss whether Houston-based Group 1 has deals in the pipeline. "We get plenty of acquisition opportunities across our desks that are either in places that we don't feel it's a place we want to be or brands that we feel like we can't make su…

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Key Takeaways:

Apple's new version of CarPlay is designed to take over every screen on the dashboard, replacing user interfaces and controls while gaining access to crucial vehicle and driver data. It's likely to launch a turf war with automakers reluctant to give up such valuable real estate.

Where drivers view extending iPhone functions into the dashboard as a matter of convenience, automakers and tech companies see a big dollar battleground. McKinsey & Co. estimates vehicle data will be worth up to $400 billion annually by 2030. Fortune Business Insights predicts the global connected-car market will grow from nearly $60 billion in 2021 to more than $190 billion in 2028.

As cars have become more connected, automakers envision vehicle data as an essential and profitable component of their future business plans. They want to sell services such as pay-per-mile insurance and route-based offers from retailers.

"At stake is the search experience in cars, which are ess…

Ford Motor Co. is increasing the starting price of the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover between roughly $3,000 and $8,000, depending on trim, due to rising material costs and supply chain constraints that have wiped out the vehicle's profitability.

The largest price hike comes on the California Route 1 all-wheel-drive extended range, which will cost $64,875 including shipping, up from $56,575. The California Route 1, previously offered in either a rear-wheel-drive or AWD configuration, will now be offered only as AWD, Ford said.

The cheapest model — the Select RWD standard range — will now cost $48,195, including shipping. The MSRP of that and the AWD standard range model has been increased by $3,000.

Prices of the Premium RWD and AWD standard range models are up $5,875.

The GT AWD extended range model's price has been increased $7,900 to $71,195, including shipping.

In addition to the changes in MSRP, F…

Auto industry brass and multigeneration enthusiasts collided this month around Monterey, and Carmel on California's central coast to ogle shiny, futuristic electric concept vehicles, new and vintage performance cars and priceless antique autos.

More like an al fresco experience than a traditional tire-kicking auto show, the annual celebration draws throngs of dapper, big-budget attendees to peruse would-be purchases and admire museum-quality collectibles. But amid the dreamy sheet metal art of decades past, new concepts provided a glimpse of what the coming decade might bring — in some cases sure bets, in others, stunning maybes.

Czinger 21C V Max, above: A hypercar with no rear wing, an extended tail and fighter jet-inspired tandem seating. The 21C V Max uses a turbocharged hybrid V-8 with 1,250 hp.

Genesis X Speedium Coupe: An electric grand touring coupe concept that embodies Genesis' future EV design language.

Audi urbansphere: The third an…

CATL, China’s largest EV battery maker, saw its net profit spike 82 percent from a year earlier to 8.2 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in the first half of this year. 

The main driver of its profit surge was strong battery demand in and outside China, enabling its sales revenue to rally 156 percent to 113 billion yuan, the company said in its financial statement for the first six months. 

It also attributed the profit growth to cost control measures such as signing long-term contracts with battery material suppliers and recycling battery materials. 

In addition, it has “dynamically adjusted product prices through friendly negotiation with customers, which has to some extent passed on the pressure of raw material price increases,” CATL said.

In the first half, the Chinese battery giant shipped 71 gigawatt hours of batteries for EVs, a 116-percent jump from a year earlier, according to Korean market research firm SNE Research.

CATL…