Trade News

J.D. Power has launched a digital retailing platform that will enable vehicle shopping, payment calculations and electronic contracting.

The analytics giant said Tuesday that Shop With Ease, its digital-retailing-as-a-service platform, is supported by Darwin Automotive, the finance and insurance software provider J.D. Power acquired last year.

The platform will enable vehicle financing and purchasing from within the website of dealerships and manufacturers, J.D. Power said. Shop With Ease will power such capabilities as shopping by payment, payment calculations including taxes and fees, instant trade payoff information, vehicle reservation, trade-ins and vehicle sourcing, F&I products and e-contracting.

Phillip Battista, J.D. Power's president of dealership technologies, told Automotive News that the company is providing the technology that can underpin a customized, branded experience for automakers, dealership groups and even lenders.

"Innov…

WASHINGTON -- Startup technology firm Pony.ai agreed to issue a recall for some versions of its autonomous driving system software after an October crash in California, U.S. regulators said on Tuesday.

The recall covers three vehicles that have been repaired, the company told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency said on Tuesday this was the "first recall of an automated driving system" and that the specific software at issue had been in use by three vehicles.

On Oct. 28, a Pony.ai vehicle that had been operating in autonomous mode hit a street sign on a median in Fremont, Calif., after turning right, prompting California in December to suspend the company's driverless testing permit. No one was injured in the incident.

Pony.ai said the crash occurred less than 2.5 seconds after the ADS shutdown.

Pony.ai, which is backed by Toyota Motor Corp., said that in very rare circumstances, a planning system diagnostic check "could …

Group 1 Automotive Inc. on Monday acquired Charles Maund Toyota in Austin, Texas, which the auto retailer expects will add $435 million in annual revenue.

Group 1, of Houston, said it renamed the dealership Toyota of North Austin. The sellers were Doug Maund, a son of the dealership's founder, Charles Maund, and Managing Partner Jim DiMeo, said Pete DeLongchamps, Group 1's senior vice president of manufacturer relations, financial services and public affairs.

Group 1 said the dealership, which is its 16th Toyota store in the U.S., ranks in the top 20 for Toyota new-vehicle sales volume nationally. Group 1 said it now has 13 new-vehicle franchises in central Texas.

Earl Hesterberg, Group 1's CEO, said in a statement that the auto retailer sees a "positive growth opportunity" with the Toyota brand and in the Austin.

"The Austin market is leading the way as a home for numerous large companies which have been relocating to Texas in recent years," Hest…

Cindy Estrada, vice president of the UAW-Stellantis department, will retire at the end of this year after nearly three decades with the union.

"The work is not done, but I believe the time has come for me to make space for the next generation of leaders of our great union," Estrada, 53, said in a letter to members Monday.

Estrada's departure will follow the retirement of Terry Dittes, vice president of the UAW-General Motors department, in July. Dittes announced his retirement plans last week.

Estrada was featured on Automotive News' list of the 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry in 2010 and 2015.

The departures mean at least two of the Detroit 3 UAW vice presidents will be new to their roles when labor contract negotiations begin next year.

Estrada and Dittes led bargaining for their respective companies during the 2019 labor contract negotiations that prompted a 40-day strike by GM's hourly workers.

Under a new d…

Intel Corp. said Monday its Mobileye autonomous vehicle technology unit has confidentially filed paperwork for an initial public offering in the United States, which could value it at than $50 billion.

Intel did not give more details about the offering, but has previously said it would receive the majority of the proceeds from the share sale. Some of those funds will be used to build more Intel chip plants, CEO Pat Gelsinger said in December.

The chip giant will also retain a majority stake in the unit after the IPO, it has said previously.

The IPO landscape has changed significantly from when Intel announced in December to take Mobileye public, with a number of companies postponing their listings as global stock markets go through a turbulent time due to fears of a looming rate hike and geopolitical tensions.

Mobileye, an Israeli company that Intel bought for about $15.3 billion in 2017, uses a camera-based system with adaptive cruise control and…

Wholesale used-vehicle prices dipped in February, more evidence that a monthslong elevation in prices is faltering.

Cox Automotive said Monday that its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks vehicles sold at Manheim's U.S. auctions, fell 2.1 percent in February compared with January. That is the first decline it has recorded since August.

But February prices remained almost 37 percent higher than they were in the year-earlier period. Those numbers were adjusted for mix, mileage and seasonality. On a nonadjusted basis, the Manheim Index fell 2.2 percent from its January level and rose 32 percent year over year, according to Manheim.

Used retail sales rose 3 percent from January to February but didn't show a typical seasonal increase driven by tax refunds, Cox Automotive said. Only 17 percent of 2022 tax refunds have been issued, whereas 38 percent had been distributed by the same week in 2019, according to Cox, which pulled those statistics from t…

In a conversation with Automotive News publisher KC Crain, Lori Wittman, President of Retail Solutions at Cox Automotive, outlines how a tightly-integrated dealership technology stack can maximize profits, boost efficiency and create next-level experiences for car shoppers.

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. last week sold one of the Toyota dealerships it acquired in its December purchase of Larry H. Miller Dealerships: Larry H. Miller Toyota Colorado Springs in Colorado.

Baxter Auto Group of Omaha, Neb., on Tuesday bought the dealership from Asbury, said Courtney Goldenberg, the company's senior director of marketing.

The store was renamed Toyota of Colorado Springs, and it marks the group's second dealership in the state. It also owns Lexus of Colorado Springs.

"We are delighted to have Toyota of Colorado Springs join the Baxter Family," Mickey Anderson, CEO of Baxter Auto, said in a statement. "This is a part of our long-term strategy to diversify our geographic footprint, while deepening our longstanding relationship with Toyota Motor Co."

Baxter began its expansion beyond Nebraska in 2008, when it entered Kansas. It now has 23 dealerships in Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. Last July, Baxter opened a new Subaru dealer…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday said it was proposing new rules to cut smog-forming and greenhouse gas emissions from heavy duty vehicles.

The agency is proposing to require cuts in nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy trucks of 47 percent to 60 percent by 2045. The new standards would begin in the 2027 model year.

Separately, the Transportation Department is announcing nearly $1.5 billion in funding for 2022 to help state and local governments purchase U.S.-built electric transit buses and low-emission models. The department is also announcing $2.2 billion in funding to 35 transit agencies across 18 states.

The EPA is also proposing stricter new greenhouse gas emissions standards for some types of heavy vehicles.

"These new standards will drastically cut dangerous pollution by harnessing recent advancements in vehicle technologies from across the trucking industry as it advances toward a zero-emissions transportation future," E…

To state the obvious, the automotive landscape is changing. Ongoing challenges like inventory shortages sparked by the chip shortage make it hard to know if dealers will be able to serve their customers how and when they want. Additionally, consumers’ approach to purchasing vehicles continues to evolve as more and more of the process goes digital. These dynamic force marketers to constantly reassess their strategies in an effort to quickly adapt. Of course, adaptation and change have always been part of the marketing environment, but in recent years, the pace at which this change occurs has rapidly increased.

The good news is that there are more ways than ever to connect with consumers. From linear television to social media to Advanced TV - and everything in between. As a result, marketers have ever-growing options when deciding how and where to connect with consumers. Moreover, these powerful connections can build impactful rela…

Uber Technologies Inc. raised its outlook for first-quarter core profit on Monday, as its ride hailing business was recovering faster than expected on the back of a surge in airport rides and an increase in the number of offices being reopened.

The company also said customers continued to order food at a high rate in February.

Shares of the ride hailing company were down about 4 percent when the market closed Monday.

Uber said in a filing it now expected adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $130 million to $150 million in the first three months of the year, up from $100 million to $130 million it previously projected.

"Our mobility business is bouncing back from Omicron much faster than we expected," Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said. He said consumers were eager to book rides for travel, commuting or nightlife.

Khosrowshahi said gross bookings for airports, among the most profitable routes fo…

TOKYO – Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, fresh off being slammed in a closely watched Tokyo verdict, is vowing to continue his legal battle with a fresh lawsuit against his former company.

On the lam in Lebanon, the fugitive automotive icon said the Tokyo District Court’s conviction last week of his onetime deputy Greg Kelly is a “warning” to foreigners doing business in Japan.

“You will be out of your mind to accept any assignment in Japan, as long as you have this hostage justice system going on, particularly when you see that there is an obvious double standard between foreigners and Japanese” Ghosn told Automotive News in a video call after Kelly got a six-month suspended sentence. “This should be a warning for any foreigner located in Japan.”

In a wide-ranging discussion, Ghosn said French carmaker Stellantis – run by his erstwhile protégé Carlos Tavares – was the real winner from the scandal that engulfed his Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi alliance, …