Trade News

Maryann Keller, one of the first women on Wall Street to cover the auto industry and later a widely respected consultant who became a formidable critic of management at Detroit's automakers, died on Thursday, June 16. She was 78.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Connecticut confirmed her death.

Keller, routinely the No. 1 auto analyst in Institutional Investor's widely watched ranking of the top stock pickers at leading brokerage houses, wielded enormous clout and influence over boardrooms and showrooms. Her books, meticulously reported with unprecedented access to company insiders, became must-reads for dealers, suppliers, journalists and anyone else who desired to go behind the scenes.

Her clarity and insight, biting at times, could move a company's stock price in either direction with the release of a new report, or a traditional buy or sell call.

With an appreciation for comprehensive, hands-on research, well before the Internet an…

Mercedes-Benz has named Paul Gao, most recently a senior partner at McKinsey in Hong Kong, to the newly created post of chief strategy officer, with a special focus on Asian markets.

Gao has spent the last 20 years at McKinsey, where he has advised international and Chinese automakers on all aspects of the business, from product development to corporate strategy, Mercedes said in a news release on Tuesday. 

At Mercedes, he will report to CEO Ola Kallenius and will steer the company's overall strategy.

Gao has "essential know-how about China and other Asian growth markets," Kallenius said in the release. "This makes Paul the right choice to further enhance the international profile of our brand, our management and our company."

China is Mercedes's largest market, with 758,863 sales in 2021, a decline of 2 percent over 2020. That represents about 36 percent of Mercedes’ global passenger car sales.

Chinese buyers prefer the au…

Tesla Inc. was sued by some former employees who claim the company’s decision to lay off about 10 percent of its workforce violated federal law by failing to provide the required advance notice for the job cuts.

Two workers fired this month from Tesla’s battery factory near Reno, Nevada, allege the company didn’t comply with the 60-day notification requirement under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, according to the lawsuit they filed late Sunday in U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas. 

John Lynch and Daxton Hartsfield, who worked at the plant for about five years, were among more than 500 employees at the facility that were let go, according to the suit. The two men claim neither was given any advance notice of the termination. They are seeking class-action status for their lawsuit on behalf of others who were part of mass layoffs in May and June. 

The so-called WARN Act requires companies to provide 60-day notice before …

The U.S. power grid needs a jolt ahead of the EV influx. Ferrari won’t hand over its driving functions completely to computers. Standalone, single-franchise stores have been hot in the recent buy-sell frenzy. Plus, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) talks about what policymakers need to do to make EVs affordable for more Americans.

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SHANGHAI -- Tesla Inc. vehicles will be prohibited from entering the Chinese coastal district of Beidaihe, site of a secretive annual summer party leadership conclave, for at least two months starting on July 1, a local traffic police official told Reuters on Monday.

The decision by the Beidaihe authorities comes just weeks after Tesla EVs were also barred from driving on to some roads in the central city of Chengdu in early June, which coincided with a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the city.

The official from the Beidaihe Traffic Police Brigade, who declined to give his name, did not provide a reason for the move but said it concerned "national affairs". An announcement will be made soon, the official said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Beidaihe, a beach resort east of Beijing, traditionally hosts a summer conclave of China's senior leaders where they discuss personnel moves and policy ideas behind closed …

Tesla might have to raise wages in Germany if it wants to achieve its goal of hiring thousands of additional workers for its factory near Berlin, according to the country’s leading automotive labor union.

IG Metall is getting reports from Tesla staff at the Gruenheide site who are complaining about inadequate or unequal wages, the union said Monday.

Skilled workers are getting around 20 percent less at the plant than at rival automakers with IG Metall wage agreements, the group added, citing its own analysis.

Tesla’s recruitment “is not progressing at the planned speed,” Birgit Dietze, a regional IG Metall chief, said. “Many people would be interested in switching to Tesla, but ultimately decide against it, also because they sometimes earn considerably more in their current positions at other automotive companies.”

Tesla expects to eventually employ 12,000 people at the Gruenheide site once full vehicle production is underway alongside a battery…

Two of the largest privately held dealership groups in the country, as well as two small companies — including a Canadian duo who bought their first U.S. store — grew their footprints with second-quarter acquisitions.

Here's a look at the deals involving import and domestic dealerships in New York, Arizona, Illinois and Colorado.

Two transactions involved an auto retailer ranked on Automotive News' top 150 dealership groups list.

Expanding West Herr Automotive Group bolstered its automaker portfolio with this month's purchase of a Mazda dealership, the group's first.

West Herr on June 13 bought Ontario Mazda in Canandaigua, N.Y., from Dan Richards. The dealership was renamed West Herr Mazda of Canandaigua.

Canandaigua is southeast of Rochester and west of Syracuse.

The Mazda store is West Herr's third dealership purchase in less than a month. West Herr bought a Honda store in Canandaigua on May 25 and a Chevrolet dealership in Roch…

“No one will ever buy those online.” That used to be the conventional wisdom about clothes and home furnishings, yet eCommerce sales of both apparel and furniture increased by more than 20% in 2021.1 Consumers who used to feel strongly about seeing, touching, and trying out these items before purchase chose convenience (backed by reasonable return policies) and made the leap to online shopping.

For those who think financed vehicles are too big and complicated of an investment for eCommerce purchase, look at the residential real estate industry. Today, consumers are increasingly purchasing homes online, cross-state or even in-state, without seeing them in-person—and arranging their mortgage financing online as well.2

The reality is that consumer preferences are driving a major shift in automotive retail as well, toward eCommerce vehicle transactions. Research shows that 76% of today’s car buyers are open to buying completely online,3 although consumers still ne…

Paulo da Silva from Cox Digital Commerce discusses online car buying trends, automated experiences, machine learning, and how organizations can optimize these technologies to meet customer needs

Lawmakers must press for a more reliable and resilient electric grid to support the millions of electric vehicles slated to arrive on the nation's roads.

That's the conclusion of a report issued last week by a pair of nonprofit organizations that say policy and legislation are needed to provide and expand the possibilities offered by vehicle-to-grid technology, or V2G.

V2G tech shows emerging promise in offering a range of benefits and services to EV owners. It can also be used to store energy that feeds the grid and provides emergency power in times of need.

The 21-page report, titled "Advancing Vehicle to Grid Technology Adoption" and written by Securing America's Future Energy, or SAFE, and the Electrification Coalition, outlines the benefits of vehicle-to-grid and gives specific policy recommendations for federal, state and local governments.

SAFE and the Electrification Coalition are both focused on promoting and enabling electric transportat…

The old guard of European automakers has a new member, one focused on electrification, forward-looking technology and manufacturing efficiency.

No, it's not Tesla.

The automaker that is quietly disrupting Europe's auto market is Geely, the Chinese conglomerate founded by billionaire Eric Li that now owns or collaborates with more than a dozen European companies.

In doing so, Li, who started his career making refrigerator parts, has created a web of interdependent enterprises that form the foundation of a vertically integrated mobility business that engages with a variety of partners.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, headquartered in Hangzhou, China, is the umbrella company for an expanding empire with four business divisions: passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, technology and mobility services. Revenue in 2021 was $47.2 billion, with 2.2 million vehicles sold, according to Geely.

Starting with the 2010 acquisition of Volvo Cars from For…

A California man has sued BMW, claiming the automaker improperly kept nearly $25,000 in equity owed him after the M5 he leased in 2019 was totaled amid this year's hot used-vehicle market.

Alexander Russell's lawsuit in the U.S. Central District of California seeks class-action status for himself and other BMW lessees experiencing similar circumstances. It estimates the class could span more than 1,000 plaintiffs.

Russell took out a 36-month lease on a $115,816 2019 BMW M5 Competition from Sterling BMW in Newport Beach, Calif., in October 2019. On Feb. 14, 2022, he was involved in an auto accident that left the M5 a total loss.

The lease's residual value was $81,589.57, the lawsuit states. However, Russell's insurer, Safeco, set the vehicle's market value at $106,178.97. Russell's lawsuit alleged this would leave him with $24,589.40 in equity after the balance of the financing was repaid.

"However, despite numerous attempts by Plaintiff's attorn…