Trade News

BMW's best-selling sedan is taking another step toward an all-electric future with midcycle updates for the 2023 model that include new cockpit technology.

The 2023 powerplants are carried over from the 2022 model. They feature BMW's TwinPower Turbo technology and electrification in the form of plug-in hybrid and 48-volt mild-hybrid technologies.

The 2023 BMW 330i features a 2-liter TwinPower turbo four-cylinder engine, while the BMW M340i and M340i xDrive sport a 3-liter TwinPower Turbo inline-6 with mild-hybrid technology.

The 48-volt starter-generator serves as an electric drive unit delivering a power boost when accelerating off the line, or putting in a quick burst of speed for passing.

Exterior changes include redesigned front and rear aprons and large air intakes.

The sedan receives a wider, more muscular stance with horizontal lines, slimmer light units and flared rear wheel arches.

L…

Online used-vehicle retailer Carvana Co., once seen as a rising star in the COVID-19 era, is facing a reckoning in the wake of numerous setbacks in recent weeks. Those setbacks include wider financial losses in the first quarter, state regulatory challenges over titling and registration fumbles and sweeping job cuts.

To help readers follow the developments at Carvana, we're compiling our ongoing coverage of the company in one organized timeline.

We will continue to closely watch Carvana, its stock price and financial status and will plan to update this timeline with future news stories about the retailer. One event to watch for: Carvana's second-quarter earnings report coming in late July or August.

Feb. 24: Carvana announces a plan to buy the ADESA U.S. physical auction business from wholesale auction company KAR Global. The transaction price is about $2.2 billion.

April 20: Carvana says it sold fewer vehicles than it had planned at lower profits…

Executive Editor Jamie Butters gives you the top headlines and talks about the surge in dealership transactions in 2021, why it occurred and what takeaways Automotive News unearthed in its detailed review of buy-sell data with retail reporters Melissa Burden and Jack Walsworth.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

WASHINGTON — The National Automobile Dealers Association and 12 other trade groups are urging Congress to advance a bipartisan bill that would combat an alarming rise in catalytic converter thefts in the U.S.

In a letter sent Monday to Democratic and Republican leadership on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the groups asked the committee to hold a hearing on legislation known as the Preventing Auto Recycling Theft (PART) Act and to support the measure.

"These thefts are costing millions of dollars to businesses and vehicle owners alike," the groups wrote in a letter to Reps. Frank Pallone, the committee's chairman, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the GOP ranking member. "In addition, replacing a catalytic converter is costly and often difficult due to the part's skyrocketing demand and supply chain shortages."

Other groups that signed the letter include the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association, American Car Rental…

A spokesperson for Rivian Automotive Inc. said Monday that supplier Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. has “continued to supply seats to Rivian” and that the two companies are “discussing a resolution" to a dispute that prompted litigation in a Michigan court.

Rivian alleged in a lawsuit filed in March that Commercial Vehicle Group, a New Albany, Ohio-based auto parts manufacturer, threatened to stop supplying seats unless the carmaker agreed to pay “approximately twice the agreed-upon price.”

Suppliers and automakers often disagree over parts pricing -- particularly when raw material prices are rising as they are currently -- but the disputes rarely go public in the courts.

Shares of Rivian fell 6.9 percent Monday to close at $24.86 and are down 76 percent so far this year. Commercial Vehicle dropped 2.4 percent to $6.45.

The suit involves supplies of vehicle components such as the driver seat, jump seat and trim used for battery-powered vans Rivian i…

Tesla has stopped taking orders for its upcoming Cybertruck pickup truck outside of North America, according to the automaker's official website.

The automaker is only taking reservations for the Cybertruck in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the website showed.

Tesla declined to comment on the matter.

CEO Elon Musk has said Tesla will start production of the Cybertruck next year at its plant in Austin, Texas.

"We have more orders of the first Cybertrucks than we could possibly fulfil for three years after the start of production," Musk said last week at the FT Future of the Car 2022 conference.

He also said Tesla could stop taking orders as demand for some of its vehicles exceeds production "to a ridiculous degree."

Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019. It previously aimed to begin production late this year but has pushed back the plan to the first quarter of 2023.

Dealership marketing company AutoWeb says its board will explore strategic alternatives for the company, including a potential sale or restructuring, as "substantial doubt" exists about its ability to continue as a going concern.

The Tampa, Fla.-based company said Monday that a special board committee will evaluate strategic alternatives, including obtaining new debt or equity funding; selling the company or assets; and restructuring, including through federal bankruptcy protection.

AutoWeb said in a statement that its current cash and liquidity situation led management to determine "that it has substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of one year" after its first-quarter financial statements were issued.

"The company's ability to continue as a going concern is contingent upon the successful execution of strategic alternatives and management's near-term operating plans," according to the release. "There ca…

Carvana Co. is under scrutiny once more, this time in Illinois, where state officials last week suspended the online used-vehicle retailer's license to sell cars and trucks.

Illinois Secretary of State Police temporarily blocked Carvana's dealer license on May 10 because the company failed to properly transfer titles for vehicles it sold and misused issuing out-of-state temporary registration permits, said Henry Haupt, an Illinois Secretary of State spokesman.

The Secretary of State's police department opened an investigation into consumer complaints about Carvana in February, Haupt told Automotive News. The investigation spans about 90 signed complaints, Haupt said. He said he couldn't provide an exact date as to when Carvana might see the suspension lifted.

Carvana will need to "resolve the issues at hand" before that can happen, Haupt said.

A Carvana spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Carvana has complia…

The Center for Automotive Diversity, Equity & Inclusion will host its fifth annual DE&I summit, Rev Up 2030, on Tuesday, May 24, at the Michigan State University Management Education Center in Troy, Mich.

The event will feature industry experts, panel discussions and case studies around the theme "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Staying the Course."

Telva McGruder, chief diversity officer at General Motors, will deliver the keynote address. Other speakers include leaders and DE&I experts from American Axle and Manufacturing, AutoZone, BorgWarner, Brose, Cruise, Deloitte, Eaton, Lear, Liberty Mutual, Martinrea, Nemak, Nexteer, Schaltbau North America, Standard Motor Products, Stellantis, Vitesco Technologies and Walser Automotive Group.

The event will also feature a hands-on workshop that will focus on how to address pushback and deal with difficult conversations in the workplace.

"This in-person workshop will equip DEI champions, HR t…

WASHINGTON — A group of 17 Republican attorneys general is suing the EPA over its decision to reissue a waiver allowing California to set its own auto tailpipe rules and zero-emission vehicle mandates that are more stringent than federal standards.

The attorneys general, led by Ohio's Dave Yost, allege the Clean Air Act waiver violates the Constitution's equal sovereignty doctrine.

In addition to Yost, officials from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia have joined the federal lawsuit, which was filed last week.

The EPA in March reinstated the waiver and withdrew its portion of the interpretation of the Clean Air Act that would prohibit other states from adopting California's more stringent vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards.

The action was driven by President Joe Biden's executive order in January 2021 that directe…

Tesla Inc. customers might love the carmakers’ nifty keyless entry system, but one cybersecurity researcher has demonstrated how the same technology could allow thieves to drive off with certain models of the electric vehicles.

A hack effective on the popular S and Y Tesla cars would allow a thief to unlock a vehicle, start the electric motor and speed away, according to Sultan Qasim Khan, principal security consultant at the Manchester, UK-based security firm NCC Group. By redirecting communications between a car owner’s mobile phone, or key fob, and the car, outsiders can fool the entry system into thinking the owner is located physically near the vehicle.

The hack, Khan said, isn’t specific to Tesla, though he demonstrated the technique to Bloomberg News on one of its car models.

Rather, it’s the result of his tinkering with Tesla’s keyless entry system, which relies on what’s known as a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol.

There’s no evidence …

Executive Editor Jamie Butters gives you the top headlines talks about why buyers are aggressively acquiring dealerships, and will continue to do so in the near term, with Presidio Group President George Karolis.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"