Trade News

Ferrari, one of the few automakers to avoid global supply chain disruptions, is coming off a record sales year and has confirmed plans to build the Purosangue, its first utility vehicle, this year. Deliveries will begin in 2023. The plug-in hybrid is expected to feature a front midengine architecture. Images of the Purosangue — Italian for thoroughbred — undergoing road tests in Italy hint it will be more of a crossover than traditional SUV. It resembles a five-door grand tourer rather than a direct rival to Lamborghini's Urus or Aston Martin's DBX.

Consumers' nonstop demand for used vehicles will not slow come springtime despite high retail prices and dealership lots with a paltry selection of later-year models.

Last spring, stimulus checks and income tax refunds landed in would-be car-buyers' bank accounts almost simultaneously. As a result, demand for used vehicles increased. And while there won't be broad stimulus payments this spring, slim new-vehicle availability and income tax refunds will prolong similar demand for used vehicles.

Used-vehicle spending likely will get a boost in March, April and May, possibly kicking off Presidents' Day weekend, dealer Kristin Dillard told Automotive News. She doesn't think consumers will be dissuaded by inflated sticker prices; used vehicles are selling for a lot of money, she said.

"We expect used-vehicle prices to remain high," said Dillard, president of Team Auto Group, which has six stores in North Carolina.

People returning to work and pulling …

Larry Van Tuyl, who sold his empire of 81 dealerships to Warren Buffet in 2015, now owns eight dealerships after buying two Ferrari stores and two Toyota outlets over two weeks early this year.

Van Tuyl, through his Visionary Automotive Group, on Jan. 19 bought Ferrari of Houston and Ferrari of The Woodlands, both in Texas, from Giuseppe Risi. On Feb. 1, he bought Northridge Toyota and Toyota of Santa Barbara in Goleta, both in California, from Hitchcock Automotive Resources.

The acquisitions follow Van Tuyl's purchase of a Honda dealership last May in Houston. The former chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Automotive bought a BMW dealership in Glendale, Ariz., late in 2020 and also owns a Volvo store, which he acquired from Berkshire Hathaway, and a new Jaguar-Land Rover dealership, also in Glendale.

Van Tuyl, 72, told Automotive News that he is "actively looking" for more dealerships to buy but has nothing else under contract.

He sa…

Add a blockade at the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing to the list of supply chain problems pounding Michigan businesses.

The shutdown of the Ambassador Bridge last week, the main link between Michigan and its largest trading partner, over COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers and other issues quickly escalated to an economic emergency with far-reaching impact from farms to automotive factories.

___

LIVE UPDATES: Follow Automotive News' live blog here for the latest developments in the U.S.-Canada bridge blockade.___

Brian Hitchcock's trucking business is at a near-standstill thanks to protesters blocking access to the Ambassador Bridge, but he said they are not the problem.

"We can't afford to lose drivers over a mandate when they've been out there for two years doing this without a vaccine or a mask or anything else," said Hitchcock, CEO of MBH Trucking and chairman of the Michigan Trucking Association.

Both Canada and th…

The NADA Show next month will not require attendees to be masked as a precaution against COVID-19, following the end of Nevada's mask mandate for large gatherings, the National Automobile Dealers Association, which organizes the event, said Thursday.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, in a tweet Thursday, said organizations are free to establish their own policies as the state lifted a mask mandate at all indoor activities, including trade shows.

NADA is reviving an in-person event this year after a virtual convention was held in 2021.

"We have said throughout the planning process for the 2022 Show that we would strictly adhere to any state or local health and safety guidelines, including those related to masks and vaccinations, and we will continue to do so," National Automobile Dealers Association spokesman Jared Allen said in a statement Thursday.

NADA will not release registration and attendance figures until after the show but Allen said the Expo flo…

Ford Motor Co. is looking at flying in some auto parts to a plant in Windsor, Ontario, that produces engines for popular models, an official representing the auto workers union said on Thursday, as automakers and other manufacturers seek alternatives for moving products caught up in Canadian trucking protests.

Protesters have occupied key border crossings between the United States and Canada as part of two-week old demonstrations against pandemic measures and vaccine mandates.

"We are looking at all options to keep our plants running," said a spokeswoman for Ford's Canadian division, which is running plants today in Oakville and Windsor at reduced capacity.

Group 1 Automotive Inc. said Thursday that revenue rose to record levels in the fourth quarter, even as the dealership group navigated operational challenges brought on by the pandemic and inventory constraints.

The public retailer based in Houston saw revenue in the quarter rise 19 percent to $3.49 billion, helped by strong consumer demand for vehicles and by its parts and service business. The company's net income fell 13 percent for the quarter to $87.1 million, though that figure includes a net loss from operations in Brazil. Group 1 plans to divest the Brazilian operations in the second quarter of this year, and the unit is now reported as discontinued operations.

Net income from continuing operations, which includes Group 1's U.S. and United Kingdom operations, rose 65 percent to $163.2 million in the quarter.

The dealership group's new-vehicle retail sales slipped 3.5 percent amid a global shortage of microchips that has slowed production of new m…

WASHINGTON — General Motors Co. has hired Missy Owens as its director of environment, sustainability and governance policy within the Detroit automaker's global regulatory affairs and transportation policy group.

Owens, a former senior official in the Obama administration and the niece of President Joe Biden, will lead policy efforts in those areas while working to form alliances and foster collaboration in partnership with GM's sustainability team.

She started the newly created role Monday. She reports to David Strickland, GM's vice president of global regulatory affairs and transportation technology policy.

The Detroit News first reported Owens' hiring Wednesday.

"We are excited to welcome Missy Owens to our growing team," Strickland said in a statement. "Missy's extensive experience across organizations leading teams to establish sustainability policies will be an asset as we drive towards a carbon-neutral future by 2040."

Prior to joini…

*/ /*-->*/ Blocked at the border Automotive News is keeping track of disruptions to the supply chain as a result of the trucker protest in Canada."> */ /*-->*/ Blocked at the border Automotive News is keeping track of disruptions to the supply chain as a result of the trucker protest in Canada."> */ /*-->*/ Blocked at the border Automotive News is keeping track of disruptions to the supply chain as a result of the trucker protest in Canada."> Blocked at the border | Automotive News Skip to main content

Thu, 02/10/2022 - 13:31

Description

Automotive News is keeping track of disruptions to the supply chain as a result of the trucker protest in Canada. Related Articles

An ongoing truck blockade on the Canadian side of the border in Windsor, Ontario is leading to production cuts at assembly plants and warnings of delays in new vehicle shipments to dealerships. Stay with this live blog for the latest developments at one of North American's busiest land border crossings and the impact in the automotive industry:

Feb 10, 6:43 p.m.: Ford mulls air freight to move parts past Canadian border blockade

Ford Motor Co. is looking at flying in some auto parts to a plant in Windsor, Ontario, that produces engines for popular models, an official representing the auto workers union said on Thursday, as automakers and other manufacturers seek alternatives for moving products caught up in Canadian trucking protests.

Feb. 10, 6:02 p.m.: Ontario looks to cut off funding for protesters

The Ontario government took action designed to turn off the taps of donations flowing to the truckers' protest.

"The Attorney General brough…

WASHINGTON — Industry groups representing the Detroit 3 automakers, suppliers and equipment manufacturers on Thursday urged the Biden administration to improve efforts to address the ongoing blockade at the Ambassador Bridge at the U.S.-Canada border.

Protesters in Canada have been blocking access to and from the bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, since Monday evening and refuse to leave until COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truckers entering Canada are rescinded.

Leaders from the American Automotive Policy Council, the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association said the disruptions at the bridge and other border crossings are "adding additional strain to the automotive supply chain that has already led to reduced production and may spread the longer the disruptions last."

The council represents Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

"U.S. automakers and suppliers are doing everyt…

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. is stepping up plans to extensively electrify its Lincoln brand in North America, as it prepares to introduce at least five new battery-powered Lincoln vehicles through 2026, three people familiar with the plans told Reuters.

Included are battery-electric models that will replace or supplement the Lincoln Corsair, Nautilus and Aviator crossovers along with the Navigator SUV, said the sources, who asked not to be identified.

The news marks an acceleration in Lincoln’s EV strategy; the brand announced last year it planned to introduce four EVs by 2030, starting with the first this year.

The strategy to electrify Lincoln is a key element of Ford's planned $30 billion investment in EVs and batteries through 2030. Ford announced the $30 billion initiative in May 2021.

The automaker has said it will have the annual capacity to build at least 600,000 electric vehicles globally within 24 months, when it aims to become "the clear …