Trade News

A federal judge in Colorado has cleared the way for Kia America and Emich Automotive to open a new point over objections by two of the automaker's four current dealerships in the Denver metropolitan area.

Chief U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer ruled that the proposed Kia store in the Denver region's only available area of prime responsibility, or APR, "is in the public interest and is fair and equitable" to the challengers.

In October 2018, the automaker told existing stores that it intended to open a new point to replace the Denver East APR's Shortline Kia, which closed in 2015, the Feb. 23 decision said. Colorado's dealership law requires manufacturers to provide at least 60 days' notice to existing dealers in the relevant market area of a new, reopened or relocated store.

Arapahoe Kia in Centennial, in the automaker's Denver Southeast APR, and Peak Kia in Littleton, in the Denver South APR, sued. They alleged violations of the s…

Dealers who own multiple dealerships, storage lots and facilities know despite internal protocols, locating vehicles still can be a hassle and lead to embarrassing situations when salespeople can't find cars for test drives.

But tracking down vehicles no longer is a struggle for salespeople — and customers — at Folsom Lake Ford and Folsom Lake Kia in Folsom, Calif. The two independent, family-owned dealerships have been using a car-location and theft-prevention system called RecovR since May 2021, said Jon Peterson, general manager and co-owner.

Furthermore, the stores sell the wireless tracking device and app-based location service, developed by the Sweden-based Kudelski Group, as a finance and insurance product, which has boosted gross income per vehicle, Peterson told Automotive News.

"It's both a revenue-generating and an inventory-management tool," he said.

Keeping track of vehicles at the two adjacent dealerships — which sell an average of …

A federal judge in Colorado has cleared the way for Kia America and Emich Automotive to open a new point over objections by two of the automaker's four current dealerships in the Denver metropolitan area.

Chief U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer ruled that the proposed Kia store in the Denver region's only available area of prime responsibility, or APR, "is in the public interest and is fair and equitable" to the challengers.

In October 2018, the automaker told existing stores that it intended to open a new point to replace the Denver East APR's Shortline Kia, which closed in 2015, the Feb. 23 decision said. Colorado's dealership law requires manufacturers to provide at least 60 days' notice to existing dealers in the relevant market area of a new, reopened or relocated store.

Arapahoe Kia in Centennial, in the automaker's Denver Southeast APR, and Peak Kia in Littleton, in the Denver South APR, sued. They alleged violations of the s…

General Motors is acquiring SoftBank Vision Fund's equity ownership stake in Cruise and plans to make an additional investment that will bring its share of the self-driving vehicle company to 80 percent.

The automaker is acquiring SoftBank's stake for $2.1 billion. The additional investment will be for $1.35 billion.

Honda Motor Co. is also a Cruise shareholder.

GM has been the majority owner of Cruise since 2016. Before the latest investments, GM owned 60 percent of the company. The investment further binds the two companies' operations as Cruise intends to launch a fleet of at least 1 million self-driving vehicles by 2030 and GM plans to introduce its first personal autonomous vehicle by mid-decade.

"We are extremely pleased to announce GM is leveraging the strength of its balance sheet to capitalize on the opportunity to increase its equity investment in Cruise and advance our integrated autonomous vehicle strategy,"…

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Sen. Joe Manchin, D.-W.Va., on Friday announced  a program to develop lithium batteries in the U.S. as part of a broader strategy to help Appalachia amid a transition away from coal.

Lithium-based batteries are critical components of electric vehicles, grid storage and weapons, but the U.S. relies on international markets for the processing of most raw materials, according to the Energy Department.

The department is promoting a plan to support a domestic battery supply chain -- from critical minerals mining to manufacturing and recycling. The DOE also announced $5 million in funding for pilot projects for workers in communities where energy and automotive industries once held sway.

“American leadership in the global battery supply chain will be based not only on our innovative edge, but also on our skilled workforce of engineers, designers, scientists, and production workers,” Granholm said in a statement. Pre…

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 222,892 vehicles with defects that cause delayed deployment of the front side airbag, increasing the risk of injury in crashes.

NHTSA said last Friday, March 11, that the affected vehicles are certain 2019-20 Atlas, 2020-23 Atlas Cross Sport and 2021-23 Atlas full-length models, which feature same design as the Atlas Cross Sport but with a third row.

The defect is caused by excessive micromovement of the wire harness in the car door, resulting in damage to the wire terminal surface, NHTSA documents show. The electrical connection in the front door component can become compromised and cause a delayed airbag deployment during side-impact crashes.

Volkswagen is unaware of any injuries or fatalities caused by the defect, company spokesperson Jerohn Anderson said.

The glitch can also cause windows to inadvertently roll down and parking-brake engagement at low speeds, NHTSA said.

Owners of potential affect…

Tesla's original master plan was to use the proceeds from its pricier vehicles to create a $35,000 electric vehicle for the masses. And the EV leader did briefly sell a version of the groundbreaking Model 3 sedan at that price — via special order.

As of earlier this week, however, the most inexpensive Model 3 in the U.S. reached $48,440 with shipping, after a series of price hikes over the past year that added about $8,500 to the sticker. Tesla's most popular vehicle, the Model Y crossover, saw its base price increase to $64,440, with shipping, after two price increases this month alone.

But soaring EV prices are not limited to premium startups such as Tesla and Rivian, which increased prices for the launch editions of its R1T pickup and R1S SUV by $12,000 this month, citing higher material costs.

At a time when consumer interest in EVs has never been higher, automakers are pricing their fresh, new EVs at a premium, cutting off some mainstream buyers a…

General Motors this year is expected to discontinue two subcompact crossovers that were once among its top sellers: the Buick Encore and Chevrolet Trax.

GM will end production of both South Korea-built crossovers in August, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions.

GM Authority reported the end of production earlier.

Both crossovers overlap with slightly larger siblings within the subcompact segment: the Buick Encore GX and the Chevy Trailblazer, which went on sale in 2020.

"Instead of updating the subcompact crossovers, GM went a step further and addressed the shortcomings of these popular models," Fiorani said. "With their longer wheelbases, the Encore GX and Trailblazer sport more rear-seat room and more cargo space in a package that's only a few inches longer."

GM spokeswoman Kellie Van Maele did not directly confirm the end of Trax and Encore output.

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<!--*/ */ /*-->*/ Electric trucks getting up to speed for commercial use

Using batteries to power light-duty electric vehicles makes sense in most cases – vehicle owners can recharge overnight and obtain enough juice to cover their everyday commutes and errands.

Using batteries in heavy-duty commercial trucking is a more complicated endeavor: Truck operators frown on downtime, and heavy batteries might reduce payload capacity.

Electric trucks nonetheless remain an intriguing proposition, and this week brought a new entrant into the field.

Solo AVT, a startup created by Waymo, Tesla and BMW alums, made its first public pronouncements regarding its efforts to build an electric truck platform. The company says the SD1 Heavy platform is designed so AV companies can integrate their self-driving software and sensor suites.

Pairing self-driving systems with antiquated vehicles not built with redundant systems has been a particular challen…

WASHINGTON — The Alliance for Automotive Innovation is seeking to further clarify the definitions and overall understanding of the levels of vehicle automation in an effort to clear up confusion over the driver's role and the system's capabilities.

In a letter sent Thursday to SAE International, the alliance said it has become "increasingly concerned about persistent confusion among consumers and policymakers" over the difference between partial automation, or Level 2, and automated driving systems, Level 3-5.

"It has become apparent to us that industry, government and other stakeholders need to focus even more attention on clarifying the essential difference between these systems," the alliance wrote in its letter to George Nicols, chair of SAE's On-Road Automated Driving Task Force.

The effort comes as more automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Stellantis and Tesla, plan to roll out more advanced levels of automated driving…