Trade News – Page 31

DealerCenter and Westlake Capital Finance Partner for Buy Here Pay Here Success

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DealerCenter, the renowned automotive dealer management system, partners with Westlake Capital Finance (WCF), a commercial lending entity under Westlake Technology Holdings, to provide Buy Here Pay Here (BHPH) dealers a line of credit to finance their customers directly.

BHPH allows customers to purchase a vehicle from the dealership and make loan payments directly to the dealership without the need of utilizing a finance company or Bank. This is an ideal option for those consumers who may not qualify for the traditional auto loan to free up customer’s cash and allow for financial flexibility.

DealerCenter, with access to an expansive portfolio of 3,000+ active BHPH dealers and counting, and an active balance of $750 million, dealers can explore a range of financing options to better support their customers’ automotive purchases and revolutionize the BHPH landscape. WCF offers lines of credit allowing BHPH dealers to save up to 50%…

Nikola recalls all battery-electric trucks, halts sales after fire probe

Nikola Corp. said on Friday it was recalling all the battery-powered electric trucks that it has delivered to date and is suspending sales after an investigation into recent fires found a coolant leak inside a battery pack as the cause.

There are a total of 209 battery-powered electric trucks in the marketplace between dealers and customers and the company is recalling those vehicles and is in the process of contacting all parties, a spokesperson for Nikola told Reuters.

The preliminary findings of the probe by a third-party investigator were corroborated on Thursday by a "minor thermal incident" on one pack on a parked engineering-validation truck, the company said, adding that no one was injured.

"Foul play or other external factors were unlikely to have caused the incident," Nikola said in a statement, adding efforts were underway to provide a remedy.

The company originally said it suspected foul play when it started an investigation in June a…

Tesla cuts prices by up to 4.5% in China for some Model Y cars

BEIJING -- Tesla Inc. said it cut prices in China for its Model Y long-range and performance versions starting Monday.

The automaker dropped the starting prices of both models by 14,000 yuan ($1,934.58). The Model Y Long Range's starting price drops 4.5 percent to 299,900 yuan and the starting price of the Model Y Performance is now 349,900 yuan, down 3.8 percent.

In the same announcement, Tesla also said it would offer insurance subsidies in China of 8,000 yuan for Model 3 buyers of entry-level, rear-wheel-drive versions of the Model 3 inventory vehicle between Aug. 14 and Sept. 30.

Last month Tesla CEO Elon Musk said further price cuts were a possibility, even if it squeezed the automaker's margins.

Tesla has slashed prices several times in the U.S., China and other markets since late last year, and increased discounts and given other incentives to reduce inventory, trying to shield itself against competition and economic uncertainty.

Sal…

CDK debuts megaplatform meant to streamline dealership software needs

CDK Global has launched CDK Dealership Xperience, a megaplatform that it says will incorporate multiple dealership workflows, boost customer service capacity and eliminate the need for extra software systems.The software company said the new platform addresses longstanding dealer complaints about extra costs and time wasted trying to create technology workarounds with existing dealership management systems.

"It enables a dealer to operate their entire business on one platform," CDK Global CMO Barb Edson told Automotive News.

Existing dealership management system customers in their CDK renewals will be signed up for the platform's Foundations Suite at no extra cost, said Edson, who added that the platform will be marketed actively to both existing and potential new customers.

"We're spending millions to implement this for our valued customers because we believe so strongly that we have pieces of the technology puzzle that they've b…

The Intersection 8-13-23

Competition is driving new innovations like a rocket

This week we give you the names of the finalists for the 2023 Automotive News PACE Award.

There are 34 of them, from 28 companies in 11 countries, including Australia, China, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland.

Automotive News started the PACE Award 29 years ago. It is a way to identify the technical innovations developed by suppliers — in components, materials, functionality, manufacturability, cost and efficiency in both product and process — that have made the journey from the brainstorm stage into the commercial market.

To be honest, we are as astonished as you are every year that companies keep coming up with brilliant innovations to wow their automaker customers and help advance the auto industry.

It's not easy.

What hasn't been thought of already? Drawing board ideas hit roadblocks that cause them to be pushed off into the R&D center trash bin. The mechanics won't work.…

Column: Competition is driving new innovations like a rocket

This week we give you the names of the finalists for the 2023 Automotive News PACE Award.

There are 34 of them, from 28 companies in 11 countries, including Australia, China, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland.

Automotive News started the PACE Award 29 years ago. It is a way to identify the technical innovations developed by suppliers — in components, materials, functionality, manufacturability, cost and efficiency in both product and process — that have made the journey from the brainstorm stage into the commercial market.

To be honest, we are as astonished as you are every year that companies keep coming up with brilliant innovations to wow their automaker customers and help advance the auto industry.

It's not easy.

What hasn't been thought of already? Drawing board ideas hit roadblocks that cause them to be pushed off into the R&D center trash bin. The mechanics won't work. It adds unwanted weight. It costs too much. The automaker isn…

SBD Automotive’s Robert Fisher on why EV range anxiety might be overstated (Episode 211)

SBD Automotive’s EV principal discusses to what extent vehicle owners view their brands as leaders in sustainability, why software is a stronger motivator for an EV purchase in China and how increasing awareness about the environmental costs of battery production might impact adoption.

How do I subscribe?

Apple Podcasts: “Shift: A podcast about mobility” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe.

Spotify: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" can be streamed through Spotify on your desktop, tablet or mobile device. Click here to subscribe.

Google Play: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" is available on Android devices through the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe.

Ford cites rap lyrics in harassment suit defense

Lawyers for Ford Motor Co. have dredged up a plant employee's history as a backup singer for Eminem in their fight to quash her lawsuit accusing the automaker of subjecting her to a sexually and racially hostile work environment.

Ford used plaintiff DeAnna Johnson's past to argue that she was not as harmed by her supervisor's conduct as her lawsuit claims, The Detroit News reported last week, citing court records.

It noted that Johnson, who used the stage name "Sindy Syringe," performed on a 2005 song about sex acts by Johnson's husband, a rapper known as Bizarre who was a close friend of Eminem.

"Evidence that (Johnson) was no shrinking violet, unoffended by off-color language is thus relevant," Ford attorney Thomas Davis wrote in one filing. Davis referenced testimony from Johnson's supervisor saying Johnson "used highly offensive language herself and bragged about it to co-workers, which undercuts her claims of a subjectively hos…

Highlights from the latest ‘Daily Drive’ podcasts, Aug. 7-10

Here are highlights from the latest episodes of 'Daily Drive', Automotive News' weekday podcast, Aug. 7-10, hosted by Jamie Butters with Kellen Walker.

“This kind of program is a no-brainer. I mean, Volvo is bringing the EX30 to the U.S. next year, and it’s going to be the least expensive Volvo ever produced.” — Urvaksh Karkaria, Automotive News reporter, on Volvo’s plan to side-step expensive U.S. tariffs on vehicles made in China

“I think we’re still in that concentric circle where people can still add on with what they’ve got and really add value without adding a ton of costs.” — Stephen Dietrich, partner with Holland & Knight, on the dealership buy-sell market in 2022 and continuing trends so far in 2023

“I think for a lot of Americans, this has kind of gone on a little bit under their nose, and they don’t realize the amount of progress that has really taken place in the last decade or so of testing.” — Jeff Farrah, executive director of the Auto…

Cadillac’s electric Escalade IQ builds on the pop culture icon

NEW YORK — Cadillac's electric Escalade was barely a day old, but Will Churchill already had more than 30 emails from clients and friends wanting to buy one.

Since General Motors' luxury brand unveiled the 2025 Escalade IQ last week at an event here, it has generated some of the biggest response the Texas dealer said he has received for a new model.

"Escalade's become its own brand, and I think this continues that narrative," said Churchill, who has Cadillac stores in Fort Worth and Arlington. "It delivers on what you expect from an Escalade."

Staying true to that brand as an electric vehicle will be key for Cadillac's top-selling franchise. The Escalade IQ is, on one hand, a clean-sheet EV designed from the ground up on GM's Ultium battery platform, rather than a gasoline vehicle architecture retrofitted with batteries and an electric motor.

But unlike Cadillac's first two EVs — the Lyriq midsize crossover and upcomin…

UAW’s demands will be huge cost burden

TO THE EDITOR:

When I hear the demands of the UAW in its negotiations with the Detroit 3 (“UAW to seek more than 40% wage gains from Detroit 3, sources say,” autonews.com, Aug. 3), it makes me wonder if Mr. Fain has any memory of the automotive bankruptcies almost 15 years ago. It sounds like he wants to set the companies on a path of a tremendous fixed- and legacy-cost burden that can bury a company as soon as profit margins deteriorate and send them back to those days.

Mr. Fain acts like UAW members have not shared in the profitable times of the Detroit 3. UAW members have received historically high profit-sharing checks.

Mr. Fain is asking for a 40 percent hike in pay for his UAW brethren because he says CEO pay has gone up 40 percent. Has CEO “pay” gone up or has CEO “compensation” gone up? There is a big difference. A chunk of CEO compensation is stock options that vary in value from day to day and has to vest over several years. Would the UAW…

Gasoline lives in Land Rover’s EV push

With a lineup of only SUVs and crossovers, Land Rover must move into electrification with surgical precision.

Vehicles such as the Defender are engineered for off-road use, and many are used for overlanding. The $100,000 Range Rover already has a gross vehicle weight of nearly 7,400 pounds, and the upcoming battery-electric model won't weigh any less. Somehow, it must perform as well as the combustion-powered Rover and deliver a decent driving range between charges.

JLR, parent company of Jaguar and Land Rover, is investing $19 billion in new products and facility upgrades through 2028 to transform most of its vehicles to full electric power.

"By 2030, all nameplates will offer pure-electric options that are expected to account for 60 percent of our retail sales," the company said.

Range Rover: An electric version, using the MLA platform, arrives late in 2024. The Range Rover will have two motors, one for each axle. The estimated range is 300 mi…