Trade News

BEIJING -- China, the world's biggest auto market, said on Monday it will roll out assessment measures to regulate data sent abroad by vehicles, as the country steps up efforts to protect data and privacy.

As cars become 'smarter' with more in-car entertainment, information and autonomous driving functions, automakers and tech companies are gathering more data from vehicles, raising privacy and security concerns.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not offer details about how the assessment would be done. According to current rules, auto companies cannot export key vehicle data abroad unless they obtain approval from regulators.

The ministry said regulators will improve monitoring of vehicle data security and encourage telecommunication companies to invest more in cyber security technologies.

The move comes amid China's push to ensure the security of data as the proliferation of smart cars, such as Tesla electric vehicles, …

BEIJING -- Mercedes-Benz is pouring more resources into its research and design capabilities in China as the center of gravity of the new auto world shifts eastwards.

In a drive to create a "home away from home," Mercedes is doubling down on bases in Beijing and Shanghai to stay ahead of regulations and consumer trends in a car market that outstrips the United States and Germany combined.

Three years after initially announcing plans to strengthen its R&D presence in the country, the brand will unveil its new Tech Center China in Beijing this month.

Reuters has spoken to four people close to the tech center and the brand's Chinese design studio who are familiar with the company's new China strategy. All declined to be named because they are not allowed to speak with the media.

With 1,000 engineers, the new tech center is more than three times the size of the one Mercedes opened in 2014 and the first outside Germany that can test "everything," p…

Penske Automotive Group Inc. and Hendrick Automotive Group outranked their dealership group peers in an online reputation study released Monday.

Reputation, which helps automotive brands and dealership groups manage online reviews and customer feedback, said Penske ranked first on the list of U.S. public dealership groups, while Hendrick topped the list of U.S. privately held groups.

Nissan had the highest score among U.S. nonluxury brands, while Infiniti ranked first among luxury brands, according to Reputation's study.

The annual report analyzed 20,000 auto dealerships and brands in the U.S. and Canada, drawing on customer feedback data from Google, Facebook, Twitter and other online sources, the company said. It also worked with the YouGov research firm on a survey of 1,000 consumers about their vehicle research and purchase habits.

Reputation draws its rankings from what it calls its Reputation Score, which measures a company's customer senti…

A new generation of newsroom leaders is being ushered in as Automotive News Publisher KC Crain announced a series of personnel changes last week.

The moves are:

Dave Versical, 66, has decided to retire. Versical joined the paper as a reporter in 1986. Since then, his leadership roles have included national editor, managing editor and online editor.

Most recently, he has been chief of editorial operations for the Automotive News Group, overseeing the flagship weekly paper and affiliates including Automotive News Canada, Automotive News Europe, Fixed Ops Journal, and Automotive News TV. He will leave at the end of the year.

Chrissy Taylor is joining in a new position: vice president of editorial operations. She will oversee all aspects of the newsroom with the specific mandate of making Automotive News a truly digital media organization.

Taylor, 43, has spent the past three and a half years as managing editor of the Chicago Tribune. In that role, she ha…

Ensuring that vendors are protecting data is Chris Cleveland's "No. 1 priority" as compliance director at Galpin Motors in California, particularly when negotiating contracts.

But the subject is not always top of mind for dealerships, he told me. They often do not ask their vendors how they use, process or share dealerships' customer data, or how they implement safeguards. He says they should.

"I don't think dealers have traditionally monitored or forced their vendors to be as compliant in the space of privacy and security as they need to be," said Cleveland, also CEO of ComplyAuto, a company that uses software to help retailers comply with data privacy regulations. Going forward, he said, "I think that is going to be something dealerships should take very seriously."

This year, I wrote about how dealerships should consider vetting vendors' security practices when negotiating or signing new contracts, particularly in the wake of high-profile data breach…

Michigan’s governor and chief mobility officer discuss the state’s current infrastructure – from road conditions to electric-vehicle chargers – and detail new initiatives designed to ready the state for the proliferation of EVs.

Luxury upstart Genesis has spent the first six years of its existence trying to catch up to European and Asian rivals, which have had decades to perfect the combustion engine format. And the Korean newcomer has done a commendable job on the product side, even as its retail strategy has struggled.

But now the Hyundai Motor Group brand sees an opportunity to change the story. Because the playing field in electric vehicle technology is still relatively level, Genesis hopes to position itself as an EV pioneer, with bold new features and performance.

To be sure, that plan won't be easy. Its competitors have name recognition and heritage on their side. But those assets are potentially diminishing in a market that's being turned upside down with fresh players such as Rivian, Polestar and Lucid.

The Genesis brand's first strike in what's likely to be a contentious battle for the hearts of luxury EV buyers is the GV60. The compact crossover, due next year, is b…

BERLIN -- The first cars to emerge from Tesla's new European factory should roll off the production line as early as next month, but volume production will take longer to achieve, CEO Elon Musk said at a festival held at the site on Saturday.

Production at the plant would amount to about 5,000, "but hopefully" 10,000 vehicles per week, Musk said.

The factory is scheduled to begin making Model Y cars in November or December, Musk said. The plant will probably source batteries from Tesla’s facilities in China until a cell factory in Germany is completed, he said.

"Starting production is nice, but volume production is the hard part," Musk told a cheering audience at the factory. "It will take longer to reach volume production than it took to build the factory," Musk said.

He defended the factory against critics of its environmental impact, saying that it used "relatively little" water and that battery cell production was "sustainable."

Some l…

Toyota and Lexus dealers have found a way to resurrect sedan sales after their long decline, at least for now.

While U.S. light-vehicle sales pulled back in the third quarter across almost every segment, sales of cars — everything that's not a ubiquitous crossover, SUV, van or pickup — were still up this year through September for the first time since 2013, rising 8.2 percent.

Among the factors impacting the car landscape this year are limited vehicle options on lots resulting from the microchip shortage and less competition in the car segment as some automakers such as General Motors and Ford Motor Co. significantly pared their car portfolios to concentrate on higher-profit light trucks.

Defending the honor of the car have been the automakers that have stayed committed to the former sales stalwart, including Toyota Motor North America.

Sales of the compact Toyota Corolla sedan were up 9.9 percent in the third quarter to 62,196 and 31 percent thr…

In 2017, Cooper Auto Group began to include the new-car manager, used-car manager, finance director and general manager of each of its eight franchised locations in a weekly meeting. They present their metrics to an audience that includes third-generation owner Joe Cooper and the group's executive team.

"We know these guys know their numbers," said marketing and Internet director Steve Koch.

But something about presenting the data firsthand weekly in front of the owner "really hits home where you're at," he said.

Koch called the practice an example of the "inspect what you expect" concept and said it fostered the corporate culture at Cooper. It kept the company "management-driven" rather than "market-driven," active rather than reactive, he said.

Cooper Auto Group, of Edmond, Okla., ranks No. 133 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 6,810 new vehicles in 2020.

Before the change i…