Trade News

Three groups and a former dealership general manager bought dealerships in four December transactions that span from Alaska to Florida.

Two transactions involved a group on Automotive News' top 150 dealership groups list. Here's a look at the transactions involving domestic- and import-brand stores.

Swickard Auto Group on Dec. 15 acquired two General Motors dealerships in Alaska, bolstering the group's presence in the Last Frontier state.

Swickard Auto bought Alaska Sales & Service-Anchorage, a Chevrolet-Buick-GMC-Cadillac dealership in Anchorage, and Alaska Sales & Service-Valley, a Buick-GMC dealership in Palmer, both from Diana Pfeiffer and Shaun Pfeiffer. That's according to Kerrigan Advisors, a sell-side firm in Irvine, Calif., that represented the Pfeiffers in the sale.

Swickard also owns Mercedes-Benz of Anchorage, located nearby the two newly acquired stores. Anchorage, Alaska's most populous city, is …

Electric carmaker Tesla Inc. will stop allowing video games to be played on its infotainment systems while its cars are moving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday.

The safety agency on Wednesday opened a formal investigation into 580,000 Tesla vehicles sold since 2017 over the automaker's decision to allow games to be played on the front center touchscreen.

The evaluation covers various 2017-2022 Tesla Model 3, S, X and Y vehicles equipped with the functionality "Passenger Play."

Tesla has informed the NHTSA that a software update will lock the "Passenger Play" feature and it will be unusable when the vehicle is in motion, a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement.

"The NHTSA constantly assesses how manufacturers identify and safeguard against distraction hazards that may arise due to faults, misuse, or intended use of convenience technologies, including infotainment screens," the agency said.

Tesla did…

Waymo is the latest company to cancel its CES plans over COVID-19-related concerns.

The Google-affiliated company said Thursday it would no longer participate in the annual technology showcase next month, citing rising concerns over the omicron variant of the virus. Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana had been scheduled to deliver a keynote address Jan. 5 and participate in other activities in Las Vegas.

Further, Waymo had planned to display its new Class 8 Freightliner Cascadia truck for the first time. Built with redundant autonomous systems in collaboration with Daimler Trucks, the platform is a lynchpin of Waymo's emphasis on self-driving trucking.

"Based on quickly rising COVID infection rates, we've made the difficult decision to pull our physical presence at CES 2022," a Waymo spokeswoman said Thursday.

Waymo is the latest company to abandon its CES plans in the face of rising COVID-19 infections. This week, Twitter, T-Mobile, Amazon and Meta (Facebook…

General Motors and Waymo are the latest companies to cancel CES plans over COVID-19-related concerns.

GM CEO Mary Barra had been scheduled to give a keynote speech at the annual conference on Jan. 5, during which the company would have shown its electric Silverado pickup for the first time. Barra will still make the speech and presentation over the internet, a spokesman said.

"CES is an important technology platform, and we are continuing with our plans on Jan. 5 to share our significant company news including the reveal of the Chevrolet Silverado EV," GM said in a statement late Thursday.

Waymo, the Google-affiliated autonmous driving company, said earlier Thursday it would no longer participate in the annual technology showcase next month, citing rising concerns over the omicron variant of the virus. Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana had been scheduled to deliver a keynote address Jan. 5 and participate in other activities in Las Vegas.

Further, Waymo had…

Remarketing industry veteran Tom Caruso died Monday at 62 after a battle with cancer.

He began his career in 1980 as fleet manager of Concord Auto Auction, becoming general manager in 1984. He was key in winning numerous local and national accounts, which led to its acquisition by ADESA in 1992.

Caruso later became executive vice president of ADESA, overseeing half of the company's U.S.-based operations, before being promoted to COO and then CEO in 2009. He retired in March 2020 as executive vice president and chief client officer for KAR Global, ADESA's parent company.

“What always set Tom apart ... was not what he accomplished, but how he accomplished it," KAR Chairman Jim Hallett said in a statement. "Tom was a true servant leader who believed deeply in the power of people -- the ability to get anything done through partnership, collaboration and trust.

"He approached every challenge with enthusiasm and an eagerness to work with others to find …

Prime Subaru of Manchester, N.H., has filed a protest with the state's Motor Vehicle Industry Board over Subaru of New England's refusal to approve Group 1 Automotive Inc. as buyer of the dealership — the last remaining store in the Prime Automotive Group portfolio.

The protest, dated Dec. 10, seeks a hearing and cites violations of law between the distributor and dealership and breach of its dealer agreement. The store asked for the hearing because it claims distributor Subaru of New England refused "to consent to the sale" to Group 1 and because of "its contingent exercise of a right of first refusal."

Manufacturers and distributors have the right to decline an original buyer on a proposed dealership transaction and instead assign the sale to a buyer it chooses, but have to keep the same terms of the deal.

Prime Subaru said Subaru of New England provided a "turndown letter" on Oct. 28, and reaffirmed its decision in a Nov. 9 letter, according to the …

The widespread supply-chain bottlenecks that have left new-vehicle showrooms empty for months will put a big dent in December sales even as inventories slowly rebound.

Deliveries of new cars and light trucks are on track to drop an estimated 23 to 29 percent this month from a year earlier, TrueCar, J.D. Power and LMC Automotive forecast this week.

Core retail sales are projected to drop 20 percent to 1,105,800 from December 2020, J.D. Power and LMC said Thursday.

The final month of the year, fueled by heavy marketing promotions, outgoing model closeout offers and holiday deals, is traditionally a blockbuster one for automakers.

But while many automakers are advertising this year, there simply are not enough new vehicles available to meet consumer demand, prompting many shoppers to wait on the sidelines until selection improves and prices moderate.

Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power, said monthly retail …

DETROIT -- A brutal year for automotive suppliers has had an unexpected upside.

The same problems that have pummeled their business, from soaring commodity costs to supply chain issues, have also given them a newfound power at the negotiating table with their automaker customers.

While automakers have maximized on a surge in demand by converting low vehicle inventory into record sticker prices and strong profits, suppliers have suffered the brunt of financial losses. But, the supply chain crisis has laid bare the interdependency of each tier from top to bottom and underscored the importance of players big and small.

Suppliers have arguably never had as much negotiating power with automakers, experts say. Now they are using that leverage to change the way they do business with OEMs, which are feeling the pressure to acquiesce if they want to keep getting parts to make cars, according to industry executives and observers.

"Historically, the automak…

Tesla Inc. has agreed to take the majority of battery-ready graphite from a production facility planned in Louisiana, as it races to secure supplies of the key material in a market dominated by China.

Melbourne-based Syrah Resources Ltd. will supply Elon Musk’s company with graphite anode material for an initial four years, with an option to buy additional volumes subject to further expansion at Syrah’s Vidalia plant, the Australian company said in a statement. The Louisiana facility is planned to process graphite from Mozambique to become the first U.S.-based source of graphite anodes for the country’s fast-growing EV and lithium-ion battery manufacturing industry.

The deal with Tesla would help underpin a final investment decision on the production plant expected next month and help secure local supply, Syrah’s Managing Director Shaun Verner said by telephone. China produces almost all of the graphite used in producing materials for anodes, demand for which i…

As Joni Mitchell can attest, not everyone wants jolly elves and merry reindeer in their holiday media. Some people want a good Christmas cry. For those looking for a river to skate away on, behold Chevrolet’s “Holiday Ride.”

The four-minute version of the ad received 4.8 million page views on YouTube as of Thursday.

The short film, created with agency Commonwealth/McCann, boasts Academy Award-winning talent at its helm — direction by Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”), cinematography by Claudio Miranda (“Life of Pi”) and score by Rachel Portman (“Emma”).

The four-minute spot is a real tear-jerker: based on true events, it captures the story of a man who passes each day taking a peek at his dusty 1966 Chevy Impala, recounting bittersweet memories of his late wife. Portman’s melancholic guitar sweeps into yearnful strings as the man tearfully remembers their fond times together, depicted in textured flashback scenes.

Here’s where things really get e…

Two groups on Automotive News' top 150 dealership groups list bought stores this month to grow in Kentucky and Colorado, respectively.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic and luxury brands.

Jeff Wyler Automotive Family Inc. on Monday acquired its second Mercedes-Benz store when it bought Mercedes-Benz of Louisville from Peterson Automotive Collection, owned by David Peterson.

"We know and love the community and take great pride in continuing the Mercedes-Benz legacy in Louisville," David Wyler, president of Jeff Wyler Automotive, said in a statement. "It is an honor and a responsibility we do not take lightly."

Jeff Wyler Automotive, of Milford, Ohio, also owns Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell in Kentucky, near Cincinnati.

In July, Hudson Automotive Group, of Charleston, S.C., said it planned to buy all three Mercedes-Benz dealerships from Peterson Automotive Collection, which included two locations in Ohio, in addition to the Lo…

Renault’s venture with Brilliance Auto Group Holdings Co. in China is unable to make payments and heading for restructuring, a further blow to the French manufacturer’s limited presence in the world’s biggest light-vehicle market.

In light of the partnership’s “inability to meet its current financial obligations, the company’s board of directors has resolved to initiate a restructuring process,” Renault said Wednesday. The joint unit, based in Shenyang, makes vans under the Jinbei brand and was started in 2017 under former Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn with Renault holding a 49 percent stake.

The move follows Brilliance Auto Group’s entry into court-led restructuring last year after a series of defaults. The venture, called Renault Brilliance Jinbei Automotive, or RBJAC, has suffered a steep drop in light commercial vehicle sales in China, Renault said.  

Any winding up of the four-year-old venture would represent a second withdrawal by Rena…