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We explore opportunities to reduce the weight of battery packs in electric vehicles as the industry looks to bring them to scale and improve range.

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Two dealership groups expanded their portfolios with acquisitions in the third quarter, while one transaction included first-time dealers.

Here's a look at three transactions involving domestic- and import-brand stores. One deal involved an Automotive News top 150 dealership group.

Ken Garff Automotive Group has entered a new state and added a new brand to its portfolio with its latest dealership acquisition.

Ken Garff bought Earnhardt Kia in Phoenix on Aug. 9 from Earnhardt Auto Centers. The dealership has been renamed Ken Garff Kia.

"We have been interested for some time in expanding our dealership footprint into the Arizona market and are thrilled to now be present through this acquisition," John Garff, CEO of parent company Ken Garff Enterprises Inc., said in a release.

Ken Garff now has 52 dealerships across Arizona, California, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Texas and Utah.

"The Kia brand is cons…

TOKYO— Frederick "Fritz" Hitchcock, the veteran California megadealer and longtime Toyota retailer who once served as chairman of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, has died, Toyota Motor North America said. He was 81.

Hitchcock, CEO of Hitchcock Automotive Resources, died Saturday after a fall on Friday evening, according to Toyota. Hitchcock opened his first car dealership in 1971 and founded Hitchcock Automotive Resources in City of Industry, Calif., in 1979 to oversee his growing network.

At one point, Hitchcock ran new-car dealerships representing the Toyota, BMW, Ford, Hyundai and Volkswagen brands. He eventually sold all but his Toyota stores, keeping three Southern California Toyota dealerships: Puente Hills Toyota, Northridge Toyota and Toyota of Santa Barbara.

Hitchcock began selling Toyotas in 1976 and rode the rapid expansion of the Japanese automaker's U.S. operations through both trade wars and boom cycles. He was an…

Increasing numbers of car dealers are deciding to sell their stores – a trend that’s creating expansion opportunities for auto groups both large and small. What factors are driving this consolidation trend and how long might it last? Experts from Flow Automotive, Cox Automotive and Haig Partners weigh in with valuable insights and perspectives.

Q: For more than 30 years, we’ve had mega dealers/groups, but single-point operators have done fine competing side-by-side with them. Are things changing now, and if so, why?

Don Flow, Flow Automotive: Single-point dealerships that are radically focused on providing a great customer experience will always create value for customers. But the challenge will be to retain the value in the form of sustained profitability. The costs associated with technology and retaining highly competent people, the differential in the cost of capital and accelerating marketing costs will erode profitabil…

WASHINGTON — U.S. vehicle safety regulators have opened a preliminary evaluation to assess potential issues with Tesla's advanced driver-assistance system known as Autopilot after a series of crashes around the country.

The investigation was opened Friday and covers Tesla models Y, S, X and 3 from the 2014 to 2021 model years, according to a document filed by NHTSA. An estimated 765,000 vehicles could be affected.

The agency's Office of Defects Investigation said it has identified 11 crashes since January 2018 in which various Tesla models were driven near first-responder scenes and subsequently struck one or more vehicles involved with those scenes. In addition to the 11 crashes, the agency's report cites 17 injuries and one death.

The Tesla vehicles involved in the crashes were all confirmed to "have been engaged in either Autopilot or Traffic-Aware Cruise Control during the approach to the crashes," the agency said in its report.

"Most incident…

Electric cars are better for the environment and cheaper to run. They're gaining traction in many countries as governments strive for carbon neutrality. But one thing they don't have on regular vehicles — that throaty roar that lights up the eyes of gearheads around the world.

Yamaha Motor Co. is working on a solution. The company, better known for its motorcycles and sharing historic ties with music instrument maker Yamaha Corp., is crafting a range of soundscapes to replicate the noise an internal combustion engine vehicle makes upon acceleration.

Engineers at the division, called alive, believe sound is crucial for a driver to get a sense of control and speed. Many people prefer the classic vroom-vroom, but the sky's the limit, according to Hideo Fujita, who is part of the team developing the soundscapes at Yamaha. "Even one that sounds like Star Wars" is possible, he said.

Yamaha also is getting some help from its musical stablemate. It sourced sou…

DETROIT — The electric Chevrolet Silverado, taking a cue from the crab-walking GMC Hummer EV, will offer a four-wheel steering feature to tighten turns and enhance maneuverability.

Four-wheel steering enables the pickup to increase agility and tighten turning radius at low speeds, Chevy said in a statement last week. The feature could help the brand compete against a deluge of upcoming electric pickups, including the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian's R1T and the Tesla Cybertruck. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said on Twitter that the Cybertruck will have four-wheel steering, and a patent application filed by Rivian suggests it also might offer the feature.

The electric Silverado will be powered by General Motors' proprietary Ultium batteries, with a GM-estimated range of more than 400 miles on a full charge.

It will be built at Factory Zero, GM's EV plant in Detroit. GM has declined to provide production timing, but forecasters expect output…

LOS ANGELES — In a few short months, a new chapter will start for the Hyundai Ioniq nameplate as the automaker sets out to capture 10 percent of the global electric vehicle market by 2025 and fully electrify its lineup by 2040.

The Ioniq name will go from representing an eco-friendly hatchback in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric variants to a subbrand that will offer three new EVs in the U.S. by 2024, starting with the Ioniq 5 compact crossover in the fall. A stylish midsize sedan and a three-row crossover will follow.

But a chapter is also ending, and it says something about the near-term direction of the EV industry in the U.S. that is unfortunate.

Many of the coming EVs are overweight resource hogs, often with massive batteries and inefficient SUV designs as part of a raging battle over range, power and consumer taste.

They are also pretty pricey.

In contrast, Hyundai's affordable Ioniq electric variant, which was the most efficient …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate's passage of a bipartisan infrastructure bill last week that includes billions in funding for electric vehicle charging stations represents a key stepping stone for the industry as automakers strive to reach greater EV sales targets by the end of the decade.

President Joe Biden's industry-supported target of having half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. be emissions-free in 2030 — bolstered by proposed rules for more stringent fuel-efficiency and emissions standards — could be a catalyst for the industry's EV transformation.

John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said it will require a comprehensive national strategy that includes supportive policies, public and private investment, and broad-based incentives.

"The necessary complementary policy measures are important," said Bozzella, whose group represents most major automakers in the U.S. "When you think about the enormity of th…

Old habits die hard in the auto industry. Yet, the pandemic has revealed that change born of necessity can be a blessing in disguise. Dealers who formerly did not embrace digital retailing tools, for example, accelerated adoption last year, and in a survey from digital financial solutions provider eLend, 87 percent reported that digital retail-initiated transactions resulted in unchanged or higher gross income per vehicle retailed.

I would argue another change will have great value for, and be embraced by, new-vehicle retailers: the service department business development center.

I have spoken with a few dealers who told me their automaker partners are encouraging dealers to look to service to help make up any profits lost by a lack of new inventory, including implementing a BDC.

Record-high transaction prices and a scarcity of new models stemming from the global microchip shortage are leading more customers to hold onto older vehicles or shop the used-…

Volvo Cars isn't waffling in its embrace of a zero- emissions future. By 2030, the Swedish automaker plans to ditch combustion engines globally and go all-electric. Volvo also is debuting a new retail strategy for its battery-electric vehicles — selling them online only for a fixed, no-haggle price that will include service, roadside assistance and insurance costs.

"We are convinced the premium car market will be electric," Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson told Automotive News in June.

By going all-EV, "we believe that is going to secure a better business, a better profitability for us, because being a sustainable brand is making us more premium," Samuelsson said.

Volvo launched its EV offensive last year with the debut of a battery-powered version of its XC40 compact crossover. As of this July, the brand's electrified Recharge models represented 20 percent of its U.S. sales.

EV sales are likely to go still higher with…