Trade News

Ford Motor Co. posted second-quarter net income of $1.9 billion and increased its forecast for the year but said it expects to lose $1.5 billion more on electric vehicles than previously projected.

Citing consumer concerns with pricing, the company also scaled back EV output plans but vowed to continue on a path to earning 8 percent margins on EVs in three years.

Still, overall revenue in the quarter jumped 12 percent to $45 billion, and net income nearly tripled from a year earlier.

“It was a really strong quarter,” CFO John Lawler said in a call with media, noting it was “more evidence of what’s possible,” with the company’s Ford + growth plan.

Ford's adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose slightly to $3.8 billion. About $2.3 billion came from Ford Blue, the company's gasoline-powered vehicle business. Ford made $2.4 billion on its commercial business, Ford Pro, and lost $1.1 billion on its electric vehicle business, Model e.

F…

A Delaware bankruptcy judge said she’s worried Lordstown Motors Corp. was attempting to sell itself in Chapter 11 before a rival EV maker can take it to trial over allegations Lordstown stole designs and technology to develop its flagship vehicle, the Endurance electric truck.

Judge Mary Walrath on Thursday permitted rival vehicle maker Karma Automotive to move forward with an upcoming trial in California against Lordstown. The outcome of the trial will determine which company owns assets related to the Endurance which are being marketed in to potential buyers, she said.

Judge Walrath also said she worried that the investment bank Lordstown retained to help sell its assets, Jefferies LLC, wasn’t informing potential bidders about the ownership dispute with Karma. Lordstown did mention the Karma litigation in papers it submitted to court when it filed Chapter 11 in June and lawyers said during Thursday’s hearing that the dispute has been mentioned in Securities …

Auto retail giant AutoNation this week rolled out AutoNation Mobility, a new-vehicle micro lease service.Tim Martin, AutoNation's head of mobility operations, announced the new program in a LinkedIn post.

It offers new-vehicle leases in six- or 12-month terms, allowing for 800, 1,000, or 1,200 miles of driving each month. The service is available in Southern California and South Florida, according to the AutoNation Mobility website, which features the tagline: "The future of driving is Flexible."

The micro leases include routine maintenance, vehicle registration, a limited maintenance plan and roadside assistance through the vehicle manufacturer. Consumers are required to provide vehicle insurance. AutoNation Mobility is offering a variety of vehicle styles, makes and models.

The website features a tool allowing consumers to compare the cost of a micro lease to that of a traditional lease or loan. An example estimates that a 12-month micro lease for a 2…

The joint electric vehicle charging network seven major automakers announced this week shows an industry commitment to improve the charging experience — a serious pain point for their customers. But analysts say it is unlikely to dent Tesla's charging network dominance.

BMW Group, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz Group and Stellantis said they will launch their own network of 30,000 fast chargers along highways and in urban areas. The first stations are slated to open next summer and will be available to any EV brand.

Expanding a reliable charging infrastructure is an industry and Biden administration priority. Tesla's extensive charging network and system reliability give it a leg up over other charging providers. Several automakers in the last few months have announced partnerships with Tesla that allow their EV customers to use Tesla Superchargers without an adapter. The joint venture is another step toward broadening the charging network,…

Automotive supplier Forvia is planning to close its seating plant in Highland Park, Mich., and lay off 511 employees in the latest round of job cuts.

The company expects the permanent layoffs to be complete around Sept. 23, according to a WARN notice filed with the state, dated July 17.

The layoffs will be in the just-in-time department and constitute a plant closure, the notice said.

The company, which changed its name from Faurecia last year after a merger with Hella, notified the state last December that it would be eliminating 268 jobs at the plant. Waymon Halty, vice president at UAW Local 155 representing the employees, said at the time those cuts were the result of the company moving the metals division to Mexico to reduce costs.

An explanation for the plant closure was not provided by the company, though it looks to coincide with a loss of business. The plant supplies seats for the Jeep Wagoneer program at Stellantis' Warren Truck Assemb…

A new report says Tesla created a secret team to suppress thousands of range complaints. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares says $25k is the sweet spot for affordable EVs. Plus, we’ll hear from Toyota Motor North America’s Nick Sitarski about the company’s new ADAS suite and its different approach to safety features.

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In many industries, including automotive, it is an increasingly common practice for companies to contract with a business process outsourcing organization to help manage the more mundane, but necessary, functions that keep their operations running. Customer service tasks are most typically relegated tobusiness process outsourcing in addition to other tedious duties such as data entry, collections and certain accounting functions. The prevailing wisdom has been that for front-of-the-house activities, like inside sales and targeted marketing activities, a business is better off assigning these responsibilities to their own employees, since they are trained on the products and services they sell, are familiar with the corporate culture and have a suitable understanding of customer needs.

But is this the optimal strategy? Sophisticated business process outsourcing can now deliver "smart sourcing," an enhanced iteration of outsourcing that can help companies im…

The automotive industry is transitioning from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric and autonomous vehicles. A wide variety of factors are driving this change, including recent technological advancements that have made the transition more feasible to shifts in government policies and consumer demand for sustainable transportation that accelerated electric vehicle adoption. This report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the key factors driving this transition and how component suppliers must react to market needs.

"Let me put it in a bigger context, where we're looking at what's happening in the industry going forward. And I say this with a smile — last week, about 17,000 dealers walked out the front door of the dealership, looked up and said, 'Hey, it's not raining money anymore.' Of course, everybody looks to fixed operations; fixed ops is always the backstop, right? There are two primary revenue streams in fixed ops — customer pay and warranty. We're in a rising interest rate [so] people pull back on expenditures; that has a [customer pay] effect. Warranty — my company, Warrcloud [is forecasting] — a 19 percent increase in warranty dollars between now and the end of 2025. Two things impact that. We're going to start selling more new cars [so] we're going to see millions more warranty-covered vehicles on the road. That's the obvious reason. The not-obvious reason is, according to JD Power, we predict the average warranty costs on an electric vehicle are 300 percent higher — yo…

The fixed ops community is rallying around one of its own.

Shawn Butler, fixed operations manager at Bristol Honda, Johnson City Acura and Johnson City Mazda in Tennessee and friend to many, is battling cancer. A fundraising campaign has been established to help defray expenses not covered by Butler's medical insurance.

Butler wasin Automotive News' Fixed Ops Journal as he tackled turning around the service department at Bristol Honda in Bristol, Tenn.

His friends at the weekly Zoom show, of which Butler was a founding member, took to LinkedIn to voice their support and encourage people to donate.

"He's our guy. He's a member of the family and damn if we aren't going to support him to win because as we say on the show, winning is important," wrote show co-host Joe Chambers.

"No win has ever been more important for Shawn Butler. He needs all of the support he can get so step up and help the guy that has hel…

Ryan Mutalib is fixed operations director at Jeff Wyler Honda of Colerain, a Cincinnati suburb, and a recent 40 Under 40 honoree.

First car: 1987 Toyota Supra.

First concert you attended: Kriss Kross.

Name a pet peeve: Being on hold for customer service.

Most thrilling/adventurous thing you've done: Had a baby at 39 years old.

First job: Golf course caddy.

Something on your bucket list: Visit all 50 states.

One thing you learned on the job you never forgot: Always think differently from your competition.

If you could pick up a new skill, what would it be? Rock climbing.

3 people you'd invite to dinner, living or dead: Comedians Chris Farley, Dave Chappelle and Adam Sandler.

What did you want to be when you were a kid? Auto technician.

What's your Netflix binge show? "Succession" on HBO Max.

You're king for a day. What's your fi…