Trade News

I'm going to spend a f**king billion dollars to overturn the dealer franchise laws in America," Elon Musk told the esteemed representative of Texas auto dealers, according to the new book Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century.

Musk has said the book, by Tim Higgins, is both false and boring. I'm dubious of the former: Higgins is a friend of mine — we worked together at the Detroit Free Press and at Bloomberg News. He's also a meticulous reporter and careful writer. Most certainly, it is not boring.

It chronicles Musk's amazing rise, his unbelievable tolerance for risk, his arrogance, his success against the odds and his own poor choices. Having lived through so many years of the Tesla roller coaster, it helps to have someone write it all down so it can all be sorted out.

Much of the attention in the general business press is about another F-bomb anecdote, in which Apple contemplated buying Tesla, but Musk insisted on being CEO of the c…

Lear Corp. is planning to set up a new manufacturing plant and create hundreds of new jobs on Detroit's east side after landing a contract to supply seats for General Motors' electric vehicles.

The seating and electronics supplier said the just-in-time seating manufacturing plant is planned for the site of the former Cadillac Stamping Plant. It will support the company's supply to GM's battery electric vehicles that will be built at Factory Zero, Lear confirmed.

"We are excited to be supporting GM's vision of moving to an all-electric future, and even more excited to be supporting that vision here in Detroit," the company said in an emailed statement to Crain's Detroit Business, a sister publication to Automotive News. "The facility will be one of our most energy-efficient plants in North America, and not only create hundreds of new jobs, but will be another important step forward in the redevelopment of Detroit's eastside neighborhood."

Lear CEO Ray S…

NHTSA has opened an investigation into how Ford Motor Co. proceeded with issuing a September 2020 recall of several of its newer-model vehicles.

Ford ended up recalling more than 700,000 vehicles, including 620,246 in the U.S., from the 2020 model year for poor electrical connections that could have caused vehicles' rearview cameras to intermittently show blank or distorted images.

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation now wants to examine "both the timeliness and scope of Ford's rearview camera recall," according to a document outlining the investigation. The agency indicated it will also look into Ford's compliance with reporting requirements.

The faulty images could have reduced drivers' visibility and led to crashes. Magna Electronics supplied the cameras.

The extensive recall included certain Ford Edge, Escape, Expedition, Explorer, F-150, F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, F-550 SD, Mustang, Ranger and Transit vehicles. The 2020 Lincoln Corsai…

Lear Corp. swung to net income of $175 million in its second quarter despite a $1 billion sales hit from production and supply issues that are hurting the business more than executives had anticipated.

The Southfield-based automotive seating and electronics supplier reported $4.8 billion in sales in the quarter, up 95 percent from the same quarter last year, which was marred by COVID-19 shutdowns.

However, revenue fell significantly from the $5.4 billion Lear recorded in the first quarter, due primarily to major customers such as General Motors halting production because of the microchip shortage.

The company lowered its full-year guidance range to $19.7 billion to $20.5 billion in net sales, compared with the $20.35 billion to $21.15 billion it predicted in May.

“Our customers experienced significant production disruptions, which reduced Lear’s second quarter revenue by approximately one billion dollars,” senior vice president and CFO Jason Car…

Volkswagen of America has issued a stop-sale on the all-wheel-drive versions of its new Taos compact crossover, telling dealers this week to halt sales of the models because "an issue may cause the vehicle to shut off while in use."

U.S. dealers were informed of the unidentified problem Monday, Mark Gillies, a spokesman for VW, confirmed, adding that the German company "is now following the required NHTSA reporting time frame." He said he was unaware of any injuries related to the unexpected shutdowns.

The notice sent to dealers said customers with Taos vehicles equipped with VW's 4Motion awd system alleged that their vehicle's engine "has shut off unexpectedly when coming to a stop." The notice said that VW was "working on a repair to address the issue; at this time a repair is not available."

VW launched the 2022 Taos in the second quarter and sold 4,939 in its first months on dealer lots. The Taos is one of two VW compact crossovers, along with t…

Two dealership groups have expanded their presence in Colorado, while a relatively new group owned by the founder of Bad Boy Mowers made its second dealership acquisition in the central U.S.

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

Schomp Automotive Group bolstered its Denver-area presence on Monday when it bought its first Nissan dealership.

Schomp of Highlands Ranch, Colo., acquired Empire Littleton Nissan from Chris Lenckosz and renamed the store Schomp Nissan.

"It's in Denver, so we see it as sort of a tuck-in to our existing operations," said Michael Dunlap, Schomp's vice president of business development.

Dunlap said Schomp has seven other dealerships in the Denver area.

"We already have sort of the headquarters and the scale to be able to absorb it. It's in the south side of Denver where our home base is; where we already have three store…

The EV revolution is closer than it appears, with automakers rapidly developing a slew of new vehicles that will wow consumers. But anxiety around charging and range is likely to hold buyers back until private and public stakeholders ramp up infrastructure, according to panelists at an automotive forum Thursday.

Within a few short years, automakers and suppliers will improve battery technology, and range could eventually become a nonissue as ultrafast chargers add 500 miles worth of electrons in minutes. But current conditions are not yet ideal for broad electric vehicle ownership, said speakers at the Management Briefing Seminars.

"The way we look at that is if you are going to make the transition from internal combustion to EV, it comes without compromise," said Mark Hanchett, CEO of EV startup Atlis Motor Vehicles. Standing in the way is charge time, range, the impact of towing on EV driving distance, and charging infrastructure, he said.

"Overcoming …

Vehicle listings company CarGurus has rebounded from the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, with both revenue and profit soaring in the second quarter.

The Cambridge, Mass., company on Thursday reported revenue of $217.7 million in the quarter ended June 30, up 130 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. Subscription revenue generated by its listings marketplace rose 80 percent to $144.2 million — $134.1 million of that in the U.S.

The company said consolidated net income more than tripled to $27.4 million from $7.1 million a year earlier. That came as CarGurus restored some of its operating expenses, particularly around sales and marketing — spending the company had cut back in recent quarters.

"Our core listings business demonstrated durability and resiliency, despite industrywide macroeconomic headwinds, while growth accelerated in digital wholesale with our CarOffer platform," CEO Jason Trevisan said in a statement. "Now, more than ever,…

The Biden administration Thursday proposed new mileage standards and limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks that exceeded what some environmentalists feared would be issued.

The fuel economy and emissions requirements proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation would strengthen mandates eased by the Trump administration -- and, over time, mark a return to a more stringent path charted by former President Barack Obama in 2012.

It would mandate fleet-wide vehicle mileage of 52 mpg by 2026, up from 40 mpg this year. The EPA said its proposal would result in a 10 percent reduction in vehicle emissions in model year 2023 and then a 5 percent greater emissions reduction improvement each year after through 2026.

“It’s definitely an improvement” over previously reported versions, said David Cooke, a senior vehicles analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It’s better than what we thought. It’s still…

Sending a truck trundling down a highway without a human aboard would constitute a major development for most autonomous vehicle companies. For Plus, it's less a milestone and more a milepost.

A self-driving big rig operated by the company drove a 20-mile stretch of the Wufengshan highway near China's Yangtze River delta last month, the company's first such truck demonstration conducted in China.

Plus CEO David Liu welcomed the development, but in an industry prone to hype, was more circumspect in declaring it some sort of feat.

"I think this showcases that, you know, the future is kind of here," he told Automotive News. "But there is still a lot of work to be done."

A video of the demonstration showed the tractor-trailer changing lanes and showcased the Level 4 automated technology at work. Plus had obtained a special permit from the local government to conduct the demonstration.

Demonstrations are nice, but for driverless technology…

DETROIT — Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm touted President Joe Biden's ambitious goal — half of all vehicles sold in the U.S. will be emissions-free by the end of the decade — as she toured General Motors' electric vehicle assembly plant here Thursday.

"We've got the Detroit 3 at the White House, and we're here showing exactly what they're talking about," Granholm said, referring to the CEOs of GM and Ford, and the COO of Stellantis' North America unit, who joined Biden on the South Lawn of the White House for Thursday's announcement.

Factory Zero, formerly called Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, will soon begin building GM's next generation of EVs, starting with the GMC Hummer pickup this year. GM also plans to build the electric Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Hummer SUV and Cruise Origin at the plant. All of the EVs will be powered by GM's proprietary Ultium batteries, which can offer a range of more than 400 miles on a full charge, GM estimates.

"The envi…

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — U.S. electric vehicle sales will continue to grow, but automakers won't meet an ambitious new federal goal aimed at helping address climate change and countering China's rapid rise as a leading EV and battery hub, according to forecasters.

The Biden administration on Thursday set a nonbinding sales target: Battery-electric or plug-in hybrids will account for half of all new light vehicles sold in 2030, a goal supported by major U.S. and foreign automakers as well as the UAW.

LMC Automotive expects about 24 percent of sales will be EVs by 2030, while IHS Markit estimates 32 percent, and Wells Fargo forecasts 16 percent. IHS says when combined with plug-in hybrids, the tally rises to 38 percent, while LMC says the combined total will be about 30 percent, both still well short of the 50 percent mark.

"You have to get consumers on board," Stephanie Brinley, principal analyst of the Americas at IHS Markit, said on a panel Thursday …