Trade News

Lexus may be behind other luxury brands when it comes to getting full-electric vehicles into its U.S. showrooms, but when the first of at least four new EVs arrives late next year, the brand will rely heavily on its dealer network to catch up with — and perhaps overtake — its competitors.

Lexus has been cast in a starring role in the $70 billion investment Toyota Motor Corp. will make globally in electrification, including half for battery-electric vehicles. CEO Akio Toyoda laid out the automaker's ambitious plans in a presentation in Tokyo this week that featured him speaking in front of 16 future battery-electrics. Those vehicles, which Toyoda said were planned for production and were among 30 EVs planned for global markets by 2030, included a midsize pickup, an off-roader heavily resembling the former Toyota FJ Cruiser and four Lexus vehicles.

But for Lexus to succeed in the U.S. — the brand's biggest global market — it will need the help of supporti…

Rivian Automotive Inc.’s shares fell to the lowest level since they started trading last month after the electric-truck maker’s debut earnings report revealed a slower-than-expected increase in production.

The company expects to fall “a few hundred vehicles short” of its goal to make 1,200 this year. CEO RJ Scaringe told analysts after Thursday’s close that ramping up production rates has been harder than anticipated.

“Hiccups were inevitable, but (Rivian) faces some right off the bat,” Joseph Spak, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note, referring to the automaker by its stock ticker. “We don’t want to read too much into near-term issues and believe it doesn’t impact the medium/long-term story, but it does highlight the risk that RIVN has a lot on its plate.”

The results slowed the company’s momentum after Rivian pulled off the biggest initial public offering of the year. Rivian, backed by big names including Amazon.com Inc., is seen as one o…

Toyota is opening up portions of its 11,650-acre Arizona Proving Grounds to other automakers as a contract testing resource, allowing them space to build their own garages and offices on-site and use its many on-road and off-road testing tracks.

The Japanese automaker opened the facility in 1993 in Wittmann, Ariz., in the Sonoran Desert, about 60 miles northwest of Phoenix, and has been using its desert tracks for durability, performance and reliability testing ever since. Toyota has contracted with Intertek Transportation Technologies to operate the proving grounds and provide tenant management, but it will still continue to own and use the facility, the company explained Friday.

"TAPG has world-class resources for making ever-better vehicles, and by opening it up to the whole industry for long-term engagements, we believe it can make an even greater impact on advancing mobility for all," Randy Stephens, group vice president of product performance engineering …

Just two months ago, Cruise CEO Daniel Ammann played a starring role in GM’s investor day presentation, where the automaker said it could double revenue to $280 billion by 2030.

Ammann explained that Cruise alone could account for at least $50 billion of that $140 billion in growth.

Right around that time, Cruise had applied to the California Public Utility Commission for a permit to charge for robotaxi rides sans safety driver. Only Alphabet's Waymo is on pace to do that. Cruise is a big piece of GM CEO Mary Barra’s growth strategy and Ammann was getting the company ready to execute.

Now, he’s out.

This is no ordinary executive departure. Ammann was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley who played a supporting role in GM’s bankruptcy. Then he joined GM as treasurer and climbed to CFO before being named president on the same day Mary Barra was promoted to CEO.

He played a big role in downsizing GM’s money-losing overseas operations, sell…

Dealerships have traded hands at a heightened level and have commanded all-time-high prices in 2021, especially as the second half of the year comes to a close — trends primed to carry over into 2022, buy-sell experts say.

"We saw a ramp-up in closings starting in Q3 and we expect Q4 to knock the ball out of the park in terms of the number of franchises that trade hands," said Erin Kerrigan, managing director at Kerrigan Advisors, a sell-side firm Irvine, Calif.

Kerrigan Advisors estimated in its third- quarter Blue Sky Report that dealership transactions increased 11 percent to 81 from a year earlier, and from 58 transactions in 2019. Transactions, as counted by Kerrigan Advisors, can be single- or multiple-store deals.

Through the first nine months of 2021, Kerrigan Advisors said there were 225 completed transactions, up 21 percent from the same period in 2020.

But with an active fourth quarter, the firm estimates …

General Motors said it plans to restart operations at its Corvette factory in Kentucky next week. The automaker said some employees will return on Monday and that the entire work force will be back Tuesday.

The Bowling Green assembly plant has been idled this week after a tornado that ripped through six states caused a fire on the roof.

GM said a small number of workers were inside the factory when the storm hit. No one was injured.

The plant employs about 1,200 hourly workers, represented by UAW Local 2164, along with about 180 salaried workers. GM idled production at the plant in March, October and November 2020 because of a parts shortage separate from the microchip crisis that has hampered auto output globally.

Four dealership groups expanded in the fourth quarter with single-store acquisitions.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic, luxury and import dealerships. Two of the transactions involved a group on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S.

West Herr Automotive Group bought its second dealership in just days and entered the Syracuse market when it purchased East Syracuse Chevrolet in New York this month.

The growing retailer bought the store Dec. 2 from Gino Barbuto.

"This decision was not easy and it's bittersweet for me after being here 35 years," Barbuto said in a statement.The store, West Herr's fourth Chevrolet dealership and 32nd location, is retaining its name.

The deal came on the heels of West Herr's Nov. 24 purchase of Henderson Ford in Webster, N.Y.

The East Syracuse dealership dates back 82 years and includes a collision center and a Chevrolet medium-duty truck franchise. West Her…

Mercedes in January will show the EQXX, a "software-designed research prototype" that the automaker describes as "the most efficient vehicle the brand has ever built."

Images released this week indicate that the EQXX will be a full-electric vehicle with a coupe-styled sedan configuration, recalling the CLS first launched in 2004. If it enters series production the EV would expand Mercedes’ range of EQ full-electric vehicles into another subcategory.

The most recent EQ models are the EQB compact crossover and an AMG version of the EQS large luxury sedan. the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4Matic.

Mercedes did not give technical details on the EQXX. It said the prototype "includes advances across all elements of its cutting-edge electric drivetrain as well as the use of lightweight engineering and sustainable materials." 

It will be shown on Jan. 3 in an online event, Mercedes said, and will be the centerpiece of the brand’s stand at CES in Las Vegas from…

Rivian Automotive Inc. said it expects to fall short of its annual production target as the EV maker gave investors the first look at its operations as a public company.

The EV startup will be “a few hundred vehicles short” of its goal to produce 1,200 units by the end of the year, according to a statement Thursday. Rivian said it had a net loss of $1.23 billion in the third quarter, or an adjusted net loss of $776 million.

The quarterly report came as Rivian said it will build its second EV assembly plant in Georgia.

Boosting output of the marquee pickup has been “harder than expected,” CEO R.J. Scaringe said on a conference call with analysts. There are no long-term, systemic issues in its supply chain, he added.

The report underscores the challenges in ramping up production after the would-be rival to Tesla Inc. raised $12 billion in an initial public offering last month, the biggest listing of the year. The Irvine, Calif.-based company, which…

Volkswagen of America said Thursday that it had committed $20 million to ongoing efforts to prepare its U.S. retail network to sell battery-electric vehicles, including underwriting upgrades at franchised dealerships for charging infrastructure and fixed ops.

U.S. dealers began selling the VW ID4 compact crossover in March. The automaker will begin local production in early 2022 at its assembly complex in Chattanooga.

VW said that its subsidy program, which is scheduled to continue through June, has resulted so far in dealers adding 23,490 kilowatts of charging capacity and training more than 1,260 service technicians across the country. More than 99 percent of VW dealers in the U.S. signed up for improvements needed to sell EVs.

"It's the consumer who will lead America's electric vehicle revolution," Scott Keogh, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, said in a statement. "And it's our dealership partners who bring their communities…

As an unprecedented year comes to an end, it’s a good time to reflect and put things into perspective. Our 2021 Yearbook will break down one of the most memorable periods in the auto industry, giving you the kind of context needed to get a head start on 2022. You can take an early look at our yearbook, which shows the year’s All-Stars, Rising Stars, the Best Dealerships To Work For, top innovators from the PACE Awards and the 40 Under 40 brightest stars in auto retailing. And get a jump on the new year with a detailed look at the new products coming for 2022. Come back on Dec. 27 for a complete rundown of the year’s top stories, loads of industry data and what you can expect in the coming year. We also will profile our inaugural Champions of Diversity, honoring those who have made a difference in improving industry diversity, equity and inclusion. Our greatly expanded yearbook gives you the complete picture of an unforgettable year for the industry.<…