Trade News

General Motors is still in the early days of its electric vehicle transition.

The rollout, which started with higher-end models such as the GMC Hummer EV pickup and the Cadillac Lyriq, is expected to gain speed in the next few years as the automaker introduces more EVs in more mainstream segments — and at lower prices — to appeal to a broader swath of consumers. This year alone, production has begun or is scheduled to begin on electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Equinox and Blazer crossovers.

"These products are so important because they're core and critical to our EV growth strategy through 2025," CEO Mary Barra said at GM's investor day in November. "And the buzz they are creating is already incredible."

That buzz, Barra said, is "building pent-up demand, which is further evidence that our multi-brand, multi-segment, multi-price-point EV strategy is right for the retail market."

GM has said it aim…

Like many of you, I've been struggling of late to wrap my head around this nation's EV market and where it's heading. The latest registration data from Experian hasn't made it any easier to ascertain.

But if I had to guess, I think what we are seeing is an unnatural market, instead of just an immature one.

The Experian data in a nutshell:

Registrations of new electric vehicles — a proxy for sales — are up. Demand is up. The inventory of EVs is up, and now is over 100 days' supply, according to Cox Automotive. Prices are up, except where they're down. Tesla's $18,000 slice off the Model Y starting price fueled a huge sales bump, while Ford cut the sticker price of its Mustang Mach-E by up to 7 percent in May and the F-150 Lightning by as much as $10,000 last week.

EVs as a percentage of light-vehicle registrations are up, now representing 7 percent of the market, compared with 4.6 percent just a year ago. New EV registrations rose…

An alarming number of Gen Z and millennial vehicle buyers are 90 days late on payments. In the first quarter, loan delinquency for buyers ages 18 to 39 was the highest since the 2008 and 2009 Great Recession.

Especially disturbing is that this elevated delinquency arose while the federal government suspended many of these borrowers' student loan payments during the pandemic. It's likely that as the government restarts student loan collections this fall, even more Gen Z and millennials will slip into auto loan delinquency.

Young buyers borrowed more than they should have — a costly personal finance lesson with years of negative impact. Just one late payment affects a credit score, and a 30-day delinquency lingers for seven years.

But the blame doesn't fall on just one side of the deal desk: Automakers, dealers, lenders, salespeople and credit managers all had motivation to write what are turning out to be bad loans, much as home mortgage lenders did in …

Buick has introduced its last new gasoline-powered vehicle.

Following the debut of the Envista subcompact crossover this year, every new model Buick launches will be an electric vehicle.

The brand will begin its transition to an all-EV lineup next year, heading toward the same 2030 target as Cadillac. Upcoming EVs will expand Buick's portfolio from only four nameplates in production now.

All future EVs will use the Electra naming convention, along with an alphanumeric, the brand has said. General Motors President Mark Reuss said at the automaker's investor day in November that "as we electrify Buick, we've got an opportunity to really change the way people think about it and appeal to a whole new group of people."

Buick leaders say that work is underway with its internal combustion lineup, including the Envista, which is the first all-new vehicle to draw design inspiration from the brand's Wildcat EV concept.

"Success of the Envista and th…

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany — Holger Klein, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen, said young automotive brands such as Tesla, Nio, Xpeng and Lucid are pushing the old German supplier in a different way than traditional automakers.

"They have a different expectation on speed," he said. "Speed is king."

The emerging brands want ZF's newest technologies as quickly as possible, even if some bugs haven't been eliminated in development.

"If your latest innovation feature doesn't work as reliably as you would expect from a German premium brand, it's somehow OK," he told Automotive News Europe during a recent roundtable discussion at the supplier's headquarters here. "This happens when the customer wants a particular car and a particular function and is willing to accept some deficiencies."

The privately held ZF is the world's No. 3 auto supplier globally, with estimated 2022 revenues of $42.1 billion, according to Automotive News' Top Suppli…

The first new MG roadster since the 1995 MGF made its public driving debut July 14 at England's Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The Cyberster, expected to go on sale in Europe next summer, is powered by two electric motors generating more than 500 hp. The curb weight, at a hefty 4,079 pounds, sets a record for an MG sports car, but the top speed is reported to be 124 mph. At Goodwood, the car blasted up the hill.

The Cyberster, slightly larger than the BMW Z4 compact sports car, has scissor doors, a Kamm-style rear end and — for an MG — a swanky interior. Although China's SAIC Motor now owns the MG brand, the Cyberster was mostly designed in England at the company's London design studios. The car will be built in China.

The MG brand is on a tear globally and is on track to sell 1 million vehicles next year. Officially, MG says the U.S. is not in the company's plans. However, MG has returned to North America successfully in Mexico.

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Grace Rochelle has joined Automotive News as a data researcher in Detroit. Rochelle, 24, previously worked at Escalent, a market research firm, as an associate researcher in health care and automotive insurance. She focused on using data analytics to drive strategic decision-making; creating, implementing and analyzing surveys; and working with community panels.

Rochelle holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and a master's degree in marketing research, both from Michigan State University, where she was on the executive board of the Women in Business Students Association.

Amazon. The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftereffects. Digital retailing. The microchip shortage. These things and more persuaded the management at Florida's Qvale Auto Group that it was time to reinvent its dealership business model.

The goal: Bring buying and servicing a car in line with the convenience that consumers are experiencing at other retail businesses.

"The level of expectations has changed across every single type of vertical, so it's not just automotive that needed to change," said Geno Walsh, Qvale's dealership operations manager.

"The guy who cuts your hair needs to change the way you can set an appointment online and the ease which you can come in and out. Having instant information readily available for the consumer, I think, doesn't matter what the vertical is," he added.

What emerged at Qvale's three stores is a new system of handling customers' transactions that is built around three pillars: trans…

Barring any surprises, used-vehicle market analysts don't expect to see steeper wholesale price declines in the second half of 2023.

Price softening will continue to a degree in July following a second-quarter slump in wholesale used-vehicle prices that "erased" strong first-quarter gains in values, Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said during a quarterly call July 10.

But Smoke said he sees factors converging midyear that could fortify prices and the overall market. One factor is a supply crunch of younger, lower-mileage used vehicles that likely will keep a floor under prices, he said.

"I do think the worst of the used-vehicle market is upon us," Smoke told Automotive News last month. "I am optimistic that every month later this year will actually create strength in the used-vehicle market."

Wholesale used-vehicle prices fell 4.2 percent in June from May, according to Cox Automotive's Manheim Used Vehicle Value I…

Online used-vehicle retailer Carvana announced better-than-expected second- quarter results and a new debt restructuring deal on Wednesday, July 19.

Analysts lauded the improved results and the flexibility afforded by the deal. But those same analysts and others noted that the debt relief is temporary and the company still reported a significant, if much narrower, loss. Carvana needs to demonstrate its business model can consistently deliver results, they said.

The debt restructuring could buy Carvana some temporary relief. However, the high payment-in-kind coupons for the first two years "will likely put the company back in nearly the same position it was previously absent a meaningful improvement in the business or a redemption of some or all of the new notes," J.P. Morgan analysts wrote.

S&P Global Mobility took a harsher stance, calling the proposed restructuring "distressed and tantamount to default."

While…

acura's MDX midsize crossover, RDX compact crossover and TLX midsize sedan could move to Honda's e:Architecture platform for their next generations, ending each nameplate's run as a gasoline-powered vehicle.

The MDX's transition could happen as part of a 2027 redesign.

An electric compact crossover built on the e:Architecture platform is expected in late 2025, timing that coincides with a possible RDX redesign, suggesting the change.

The TLX is expected to be redesigned in 2026, but a similarly sized electric sedan slated for that year could wear the TLX badge.