Trade News

DETROIT — Nearly 12 years after General Motors bought AmeriCredit to create GM Financial, the captive lender has reimbursed its parent company in full.

In 2021 alone, GM Financial paid the automaker a $3.5 billion dividend. That payment covers the amount GM spent in 2010 to acquire AmeriCredit, a Texas-based subprime lender.

And a series of payments from 2017 to 2020, totaling $2.1 billion, repays capital injections GM had given GM Financial for international acquisitions.

"The payment is much higher than we planned just a couple of years ago," CEO Dan Berce told Automotive News. "We had planned to have a nice cadence increase in the dividend over a number of years until it reached about our after-tax earnings level. But we've had outsized earnings for the last two years because of credit and used-car pricing in particular."

GM Financial filled the void left when prebankruptcy GM sold off control of its previous captive, GMAC Financial Services, …

EV home charging station provider Wallbox said it plans to air its first U.S. commercial during the Super Bowl.

The 15-second spot tells the story of a lightning strike survivor who has a fear of electricity. Despite this, he still uses a Wallbox charger to for his EV, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

While the electricity fear is fictional, the ad's star is not: Seth Thomas, of Durham, N.C., was struck by lightning 10 years ago, Chief Marketing Officer Barbara Calixto said in a statement to Automotive News.

The commercial will air during the second quarter of the Feb. 13 game. Wallbox released a teaser online Wednesday.

"We are thrilled to debut our first commercial in the U.S. during the biggest annual game — Super Bowl LVI — while showing how seamlessly Wallbox chargers can fit into drivers' daily lives, even for those with electrophobia," Calixto said.

The spot is part of an extensive new advertising campaign throughout the …

Lithia Motors Inc. this week made its first dealership acquisition of 2022 when it bought three dealerships in Northern California, while the fast-growing group also closed a BMW store in New York.

Lithia bought Roseville Toyota and John L Sullivan Chevrolet, both in Roseville, Calif., and John L. Sullivan Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Yuba City from John Sullivan of Sullivan Auto Group on Jan. 30, according to Tom Dobry, Lithia's vice president of marketing.

Roseville and Yuba City are both north of Sacramento.

Lithia is retaining each of the stores' names. The three dealerships will add an expected $700 million to Lithia's annual revenue, Dobry said in an email to Automotive News. Tony Sawyer of AES Automotive Enterprises represented the seller in the transaction.

The acquisition marks Lithia's first purchase since late November when it bought three Ford dealerships across Michigan and Florida from Elder Automotive Group, Dobry confirmed.

T…

The vehicle shortage has affected dealerships throughout the U.S. greatly, but a study released by analytics firm Growth from Knowledge found that Midwest customers are willing to wait the longest to get the vehicle they want.

Over 17,000 consumers who were aware of the chip shortage were surveyed, and 33 percent said they would change their purchasing plan because of the shortage. Almost half of those people said they would wait until their exact model arrived.

Of the people willing to wait, those from the Midwest were most likely to wait more than 12 months, with 43 percent saying they would do so. Northeast consumers were the least likely to wait that long, with only 30 percent willing to do so.

Julie Kenar, GfK's senior vice president of mobility consulting, said the difference is most likely due to the high number of auto workers living in the Midwest.

"That is where the bulk of employee sales are happening, and clearly people who are using a…

WASHINGTON -- Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she would be willing to consult Elon Musk on how to improve semiconductor supply chain shortages impacting the auto industry, despite President Joe Biden’s repeated snubs of the Tesla Inc. founder.

“None of this is personal,” Raimondo said in an interview Thursday with CNBC. “These issues are way too important for anyone to have, you know, feelings hurt. Like - let’s just do the work. And as I said, anyone who has good ideas or is willing to help us, absolutely we want the help.”

Raimondo said that she believed Tesla had better navigated the chip shortage that has badly impacted auto manufacturing because of its origins as a technology company, while traditional Detroit automakers were still “learning quickly” about how to manage semiconductor supply chains.

The Commerce Secretary also downplayed animosity between Biden and Musk, saying she did not know of a policy within the administration that would p…

Chatty mom hypes Carvana experience

An "oversharing mom" who can't stop talking about her Carvana buying experience takes center stage in the online used-vehicle retailer's first-ever Super Bowl ad.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is Zeus in this BMW spot

No, the action star and former governor of California is not coming out with a new movie about Zeus, the Greek god of lightning. But he is playing the character in a Super Bowl ad for BMW that will plug an electric vehicle.

Vroom's pitch for inventory in it's big game ad

Online used-vehicle retailer Vroom will return to the Super Bowl this year with an ad that highlights the company's ability to buy cars from consumers — and signals its thirst for inventory.

Toyota Motor Corp. said its researchers have programmed a vehicle to autonomously drift around obstacles on a closed track, a first that the automaker said provides a preview into how self-driving systems can complement human driving in hazardous conditions.The Toyota Research Institute on Wednesday released a video that showcases the technology, which was outfitted on a Toyota Supra sports car that was "customized for autonomous-driving research," according to a news release. The car is shown autonomously drifting around objects on the 2-mile closed test track at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Northern California.

Avinash Balachandran, senior manager of human-centric driving research at TRI, said the "main goal" of the project was to learn more about how advanced technologies can "augment and amplify" human drivers.

"We're looking at how to control the car in the entire spectrum of its performance and then really build technologies that are not replacing humans,…

An "oversharing mom" who can't stop talking about her Carvana buying experience takes center stage in the online used-vehicle retailer's first-ever Super Bowl ad.

Carvana released the 30-second commercial on Wednesday. It will air nationally during the Feb. 13 game.

It depicts a talkative mom character telling person after person she encounters — her son, an elevator full of people, a grocery store employee, a hairstylist, guests at a wedding and more — that she had a pleasant customer journey.

The spot highlights key aspects of the sales process Carvana advertises: Vehicles can be purchased entirely online and refunds are available for customers who decide within seven days that they don't like their selected car.

The idea that "your next customer may be your mom" inspired the ad, Carvana Chief Brand Officer Ryan Keeton said in a news release.

Carvana calls the campaign "We'll Drive You Happy."

JM Family Enterprises has named a new CFO, a position it had filled a year ago with former AutoNation Inc. CEO Cheryl Miller, who vacated the role after three months.

The Deerfield Beach, Fla., company said Wednesday that it had hired Ravi Abbineni as its new finance chief. Abbineni joins the $18 billion diversified automotive-focused conglomerate with two decades of experience across multiple industries. He most recently was CFO and head of strategy for Citizens Commercial Banking, part of Citizens Financial Group Inc.

In a statement, JM Family CEO Brent Burns said Abbineni's breadth of experience and financial industry knowledge make him an ideal candidate.

Eric Gebhard, group vice president and treasurer, was named interim CFO in May. He will now focus on those previous duties, the company said.

Auto dealer Jim Moran founded JM Family in 1968.

The private company has grown to include Southeast Toyota Distributors, finance and insurance p…

Online used-vehicle retailer Vroom said Tuesday it wrapped up its $300 million acquisition of United Auto Credit Corp., a nonprime auto lender that it will incorporate as its captive finance arm in the first half of the year.

Vroom, which indicated in October its intent to buy the lender, said adding United Auto as an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary will aid its sales growth, improve unit economics and "create long-term value" for shareholders.

More than 500 United Auto employees will be retained, including CEO Jim Vagim and CFO Ravi Gandhi. Vagim will expand United Auto's third-party finance business, and Gandhi will develop the company as Vroom's captive finance arm.

"By integrating an automotive lender like UACC, with rich expertise in the non-prime space, Vroom will be able to serve a broader portion of the customer base," Vroom CEO Paul Hennessy said in a news release. "We believe this will translate to greater efficiency in our marketing efforts …

No, Arnold Schwarzenegger is not coming out with a new movie about Zeus, the Greek god of lightning. But he is playing the character in a Super Bowl ad for BMW that will plug an electric vehicle.

The actor and former California governor six days ago teased some sort of Zeus project on his Instagram account, suggesting it was “Coming February 2022.” Keen observers connected the dots and assumed it was a Super Bowl ad.

And on Wednesday BMW confirmed it is the brand behind the spot. Also starring in the ad is Salma Hayek Pinault, who will play the role of Hera, which according to Greek mythology is the wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage.

The 60-second spot will run in the first quarter.

A teaser released today takes place in a setting that is not at all mythic: the inside of a coffee shop. A barista botches Zeus’ name as Schwarzenegger, in full Zeus gear, walks to the counter to retrieve his drink.

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