Trade News

Something of a common theme emerged at the NADA Show this year: Auction companies have artificial intelligence on their minds. They've cast aside science fiction-inspired apprehension about AI replacing humans, and now they want to see how this technology can be used to hone the vehicle imaging and inspection process.

Take ACV Auctions, for example. The used-vehicle online auction company recently spent $19 million to acquire Monk, a Paris-based AI solutions company. On the NADA Show floor, Monk demonstrated a guided photo capture that can be done remotely. Users with an enabled smartphone can scan a vehicle exterior, then get a damage report on it in about 60 seconds, the company said.

Such AI-enabled tools are useful, but they won't kick humans out of the vehicle inspection process, according to Michael Pokora, ACV Auctions' senior director of research and development. That's not the purpose, he said.

"It's something that's going to help us chew throug…

Volkswagen Group's U.S. light-vehicle sales fell 30 percent in the first quarter to 114,836 as every brand notched double-digit losses.

Sales at the VW brand dropped 28 percent even as deliveries continue to grow for the ID4 electric crossover. VW said more than 76 percent of its sales in the quarter were utility vehicles. VW says its certified pre-owned sales fell nearly 16 percent in the quarter.

Audi sales were off 35 percent as demand for all but one nameplate decreased.

Brands: VW, down 28%; Audi, off 35%; Porsche, down 25%.

Notable nameplates: Volkswagen Atlas, down 52%; Tiguan, off 33%; Jetta, down 52%; ID4, up 481%; Audi Q5, down 30%; Q7, off 49%; A4, down 24%; A6, off 59%.

Incentives: $2,061 per vehicle, down 49% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price: $46,153, up 6% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar.

Did you know? VW says the number of people coming to the brand has exceeded the number o…

Qualcomm Inc. said Monday it completed its acquisition of Swedish tech supplier Veoneer's Arriver software stack, giving the semiconductor giant a larger foothold in advanced driver-assistance technology.

"Something like this positions us extremely well," said Nakul Duggal, general manager of Qualcomm's automotive business. "Traditionally, we've been a provider of silicon and software. But now, with this acquisition, we start to provide a full ADAS stack. We are moving up the value chain."

New York private equity firm SSW Partners closed on an acquisition of Veoneer on Friday. As part of a deal the parties agreed to in October, SSW then sold the Arriver business to Qualcomm on Monday.

Qualcomm said it would provide financial details about the acquisition during an earnings call this month. It was reported in October that Qualcomm and SSW would purchase Veoneer for $37 per share, representing a total equity value of $4.5 billion.

The move comes as …

China's largest EV maker BYD said that as of last month it stopped making full combustion engine vehicles and now produces only full electric and electrified plug-in hybrids.

"In the future, BYD will focus on pure electric and plug-in hybrids in the automobile sector," the company said in a statement filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday.

BYD will not completely stop making gasoline engines since smaller high-efficient engines will still be used in plug-in hybrid cars.

Its move is in response to Beijing's pledge to boost green energy consumption to bring carbon emissions to a peak by 2030.

BYD is among six carmakers - the others being Volvo, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover - to have signed up to a global campaign to phase out combustion engine vehicles by 2040.

BYD sold 104,878 new-energy vehicles in March, surging from just 24,218 in the same month a year earlier, making Ma…

Subaru's U.S. sales slid 34 percent to 43,322 in March as light-vehicle inventory continues to be undermined by global microchip shortages and other supply chain issues.

It was the company's 10th consecutive monthly decline. Subaru had less than a 25-day supply of vehicles throughout March, according to Cox Automotive data. Only Kia, Toyota and Lexus had leaner stockpiles last month.

All but two Subaru models saw month-over-month declines in March.

The Japanese automaker reported first-quarter sales of 132,346, down 18 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Notable nameplates: Outback, down 19% from March 2021; Forester, down 69%; Crosstrek, down 4.3%; Ascent, down 21%; Impreza, down 36%; WRX/STI, down 91%; BRZ, up 21%, Legacy, up 12%.

Incentives: $837 per vehicle in March, down 34% from a year earlier; $892 in the first quarter, down 32 percent from 2021, TrueCar says.

Average transaction price: $34,516, up 12% from a year ear…

Group 1 Automotive Inc. has purchased a Toyota dealership in New Mexico from Asbury Automotive Group Inc. — a store Asbury had owned for just a few months.

Group 1 said Monday that it bought Larry H. Miller Toyota Albuquerque on Friday, marking the public auto retailer's 17th Toyota dealership in the U.S. It renamed the dealership Sandia Toyota and said it was expected to generate $115 million in annual revenue.

Group 1 already has several new-vehicle dealerships in New Mexico, selling Lexus, BMW, Mini, Land Rover and Jaguar vehicles.

"We are pleased to welcome the team at Sandia Toyota to the Group 1 family," Daryl Kenningham, Group 1's president of U.S. operations, said in a statement. "The ability to add another strong Toyota franchise to our U.S. portfolio and add scale to our successful New Mexico operations is a very positive growth action for our company."

The acquisition follows Group 1's March purchase of Charles Maund Toyota in Austin, T…

Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. light-vehicle sales fell 17 percent in the first quarter, including a 26 percent drop in March, as the global semiconductor shortage continued to stymie production.

The automaker on Monday said in-transit inventory improved 74 percent in March compared with February, which it says is a sign sales will soon improve. It also pointed to a record 88,000 retail orders taken in last month as it continues to incentivize customers to custom-order vehicles.

"F-Series had a record 50,000 new retail orders in March, while a record 41 percent of our overall retail sales came from previously placed retail orders," Andrew Frick, Ford Blue's vice president for sales, distribution and trucks, said in a statement.

The automaker said its electrified vehicle sales rose 38 percent in the first quarter, largely on continued strong demand for the Mustang Mach-E, which posted a 1.8 percent gain for the quarter. Ford last month began delivering E-Transit e…

General Motors Canada said it will add a third shift and begin building the light-duty Chevrolet Silverado at its Oshawa Assembly Plant as it firms up more than $1.6 billion (USD) in spending across its Ontario operations.

Top company and government officials announced the mix of fresh and long-planned investments in Oshawa April 4, with the federal and provincial governments pledging matching $207 million contributions to the series of projects, amounting to around a quarter of total costs.

The Oshawa Assembly Plant reopened last November after appearing to close its doors for good in late 2019. The automaker initially committed $1 billion to the retool.

Workers at the plant have already been building the Silverado HD for about five months, but the latest investment will let GM adjust the production line to accommodate the light-duty model of the popular pickup as well. Taking the plant from two to three shifts will create around 800 further jobs, add…

The Honda HR-V, redesigned for 2023 specifically for North America buyers, is growing in size while taking on three key roles -- attracting younger, entry-level and minority buyers to the brand.

The new HR-V was revealed Monday, with styling aiming to be more youthful and modern, with a low horizontal beltline, longer hood, bigger grille and wide-set LED headlights and taillights.

The latest HR-V, which goes on sale this summer, will have even more importance as a "gateway to the Honda brand."

"This new HR-V will advance its position as the segment leader with young buyers, first-time buyers and multicultural customers," said Michael Kistemaker, American Honda assistant vice president of auto sales.

The second-generation HR-V moves to a platform shared with the Civic and features a new independent rear suspension. Smoother handling and the larger dimensions align better with American consumers' continuing demand for more space and utility, Honda…

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee on Monday plans to introduce legislation that would provide tax relief to dealerships that use the "last in, first out" inventory accounting method and have struggled to maintain inventory levels because of the global semiconductor chip shortage.

The bill would allow dealerships to wait until as late as 2025 for their inventories to be replaced to determine the income attributable to the sale of inventory during 2020 or 2021, giving dealers time to restock their inventories as the chip shortage eases and auto production returns to pre-pandemic levels.

"This is an anomaly. It's an unexpected, unplanned for event that was out of the control of any of these dealerships," Kildee, a Michigan Democrat, told Automotive News. "We can accommodate that by allowing them additional years to replenish inventory and avoid a big tax event that the federal government never would have expected, nor would they, had it not been for this chip sho…

As if it isn't hard enough keeping an assembly plant going these days, what with the chip shortage and other disruptions.

But it's pretty rare that an assembly plant has to shut down because a jungle cat is loose on the factory floor.

Yet that's what happened last week when a 3-year-old male leopard wandered into the Mercedes-Benz plant in Chakan, India. Factory workers, according to The Drive, freaked out in the appropriate manner and evacuated the premises. Usually, they are making an array of models with three-pointed stars, from the GLA and CLA to the C-Class, S-Class and Maybach S 560, according Autoblog.

Not that leopards are uncommon in those parts: They are plentiful in nearby forests. But with their habitat rapidly shrinking, according to Wildlife SOS, there have been increasing incidents of big cats seeking food in more human spaces.

Wildlife SOS sent two veterinarians and two other members of its rapid-respo…