Trade News

The Supreme Court sided with businesses in two cases this month that lessen the powers of the Federal Trade Commission and narrow the scope of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The decisions were victories for companies, including auto dealerships and lenders. Still, legal experts say compliance in both instances remains vital.

Though the FTC's ability to retrieve ill-gotten gains from businesses and return them to consumers is impacted, it likely won't change how the agency approaches its cases against auto dealerships, said Michael Goodman, a partner at Hudson Cook.

Several cases the FTC brought against dealerships were resolved without including monetary redress or penalties, he said.

"That kind of relief is more common when the FTC believes there has been consumer harm," he said. For the agency to seek monetary redress, "it would have to be a pretty extreme advertising case against the dealer."

The FTC can still investigate dealerships an…

Auto supplier Dana Inc. said its first-quarter sales grew because of a recovery in demand for light and heavy vehicles, but profit conversion was diminished by material cost increases and other supply chain constraints.

Dana reported net income of $71 million in the quarter, up 22 percent from the year-earlier period.

The axle and transmission producer, of Maumee, Ohio, joined several suppliers this month in reporting first-quarter results as the COVID-19 crisis lingers around the globe. More companies are set to report results over the next few weeks.

Dana posted revenue of $2.26 billion, an increase of 17 percent from the year-earlier period.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose about 14 percent to $234 million. Dana reported adjusted free cash flow to of negative $26 million, although that was an improvement from negative $114 million a year earlier.

The company's sales in the light-vehicle segment…

MILAN — Alfa Romeo, the premium Italian line with a racing heritage, must do better in the crucial U.S. market, the CEO of the brand said.

Frenchman Jean-Philippe Imparato ran the Peugeot brand for PSA until the merger with Fiat Chrysler formed Stellantis on Jan. 16, when he was put over Alfa Romeo. He has assembled a mostly Italian leadership team and has American industry veteran Larry Dominique, who had been plotting Peugeot's return to the U.S., in charge of North America.

Alfa Romeo sales in the U.S. rose 25 percent in the first quarter, a little more than the segment's 20 percent rise, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center. But it still ranked 14th out of 15 luxury brands in the market, having pulled ahead of only Jaguar.

"We must improve the quality of our business model in terms of economic performance, product quality and the right distribution channels," Imparato said at a roundtable with Italian media on April 21.

WASHINGTON -- A group representing auto suppliers told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday it opposes setting a firm date to end the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and expects those vehicles will be sold for at least another 20 years.

The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, which represents more than 1,000 vehicle suppliers, told a Senate Commerce subcommittee on transportation that the Biden administration should continue to set regulatory requirements that ensure suppliers keep working to improve internal combustion engines.

Ann Wilson, MEMA's senior vice president of government affairs, told the panel that new gasoline-powered vehicles "will likely be on the road for an additional 20 years."

Climate change concerns "will not be met unless the propulsion system containing the internal combustion engine continues to improve its efficiency," she added.

Wilson warned that a "fully electric vehicle fleet will require significantly fe…

Net income nearly increased fivefold for Asbury Automotive Group Inc. in the first quarter this year thanks to favorable comparisons with the same time last year during the coronavirus pandemic. The retailer also posted record-high adjusted earnings per share.

Asbury, the sixth-largest U.S. new-vehicle retailer, on Tuesday reported net income of $92.8 million in the first quarter, up from $19.5 million a year earlier. In 2019's first quarter, Asbury posted net income of $40.9 million.

The Duluth, Ga., company also reported revenue of $2.19 billion, up 36 percent.

Asbury's core business lines improved by double-digit percentages across the board, with gross profit for finance-and-insurance surging 25 percent and parts and service profit up 21 percent.

New- and used-vehicle sales increased 24 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Asbury CEO David Hult said in a statement that the quarter was "very active" for the company.

"In addition…

Lithia Motors Inc., fresh off its purchase of Michigan's Suburban Collection this month, has acquired a Honda dealership in New Jersey in a deal that is expected to add $230 million in annual revenue.

Lithia bought Planet Honda of Union on Sunday from Tim Ciasulli. The dealership had been in the Ciasulli family for 48 years. It has been renamed Planet Honda.

Bill Feinstein, who owned 20 percent of the dealership, is staying on as general manager and will lead the store.

"We are excited to welcome Bill Feinstein and his dedicated team to the Lithia and Driveway family," Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer said in a statement. "Adding one of the highest performing Honda stores in the country further strengthens our ability to serve communities throughout the New York and New Jersey metropolitan areas."

Lithia rolled out Driveway, a portal that lets customers purchase or sell vehicles online and schedule at-home service, last year.

The dealership group …

FRANKFURT -- Tesla Inc. has tweaked the application for its planned Gigafactory in Europe, the German state in which the plant is being built said on Tuesday, adding it was not possible at this stage to say how long approvals would take.

Tesla on Monday had said that the construction of its planned factory, located in Gruenheide outside Berlin, was moving forward, adding production and deliveries were "on track for late 2021" without specifying further.

The EV maker had previously planned to have the factory up and running by July 1.

A spokesman for Tesla declined to comment further.

The Ministry of Agriculture in the German state of Brandenburg said the amended application would include the construction and operation of a battery cell factory, which was previously flagged by Tesla.

"Since there are no further details about the nature and scope of the planned changes, statements on the process and the time it will take to take a final decis…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. this week will open order banks for the Mustang Mach-E GT and Mach-E GT Performance Edition variants as the company continues the rollout of its first electric crossover.

The Mach-E GT will start at $61,000 while the Mach-E GT Performance Edition will start at $66,000. Both prices include $1,100 for shipping.

Ford said the Mach-E GT will deliver 480 peak hp and 600 pound-feet of torque with an estimated 0 to 60 mph time of 3.8 seconds. The GT Performance Edition will be even more powerful, boasting 480 hp and 634 pound-feet of torque and a 0 to 60 mph time of 3.5 seconds.

"We're pushing the boundaries of what an electric vehicle can offer," Dave Pericak, vehicle program director, said in a statement. "These Mustang Mach-E models not only give customers the added capability expected from the GT name, but the responsiveness of their electric powertrains will ensure they have a thrilling experience behind the…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it's investing $185 million in a research lab for electric vehicle battery development as it moves closer to manufacturing its own cells.

Called Ford Ion Park, the 200,000-square-foot facility in southeast Michigan will have 150 employees and be capable of designing and manufacturing battery electrodes, cells and arrays at the pilot level. It's planned to open by the end of 2022.

"We're already scaling production of all-electric vehicles around the world as more customers experience and crave the fun-to-drive benefits of electric vehicles with zero emissions," Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's chief product platform and operations officer, said in a statement. "Investing in more battery R&D ultimately will help us speed the process to deliver more, even better, lower cost EVs for customers over time."

The plans for the battery lab follow CEO Jim Farley's comments last week in an Automotive News World Congress interview that…

If creases and origami are your thing, the fourth-generation Tucson crossover will have appeal.

Redesigned for 2022, Hyundai's compact crossover offers more comfort, polish, power, room and safety gear than what Consumer Reports called the mediocre model it replaces.

Car and Driver calls the exterior styling "daring" and destined to shake up the compact-SUV segment.

Under the hood, the latest Tucson is equipped with a 2.5-liter, direct-injection, four-cylinder gasoline engine or a 1.6-liter, turbocharged, direct-injection hybrid or plug-in hybrid setup. The base 2.5-liter engine cranks out 187 hp, while the hybrid powertrain generates 227 hp.

It competes in one of the toughest industry segments that is dominated by the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Chevrolet Equinox, Mazda CX-5 and Ford Escape.

We've collected some early reviews of the 2022 Tucson.

"This engine is perfectly fine around …

Tesla's quarterly report on Monday hit targets qualifying CEO Elon Musk for two options payouts worth a combined $11 billion.

The EV maker beat Wall Street's expectations for first-quarter revenue and profit, boosted by record deliveries, robust demand from China and environmental credit sales.

It reported quarterly revenue of $10.39 billion and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $1.84 billion, surpassing milestones that trigger the vesting of the fifth and sixth of 12 installments of options granted to Musk in his 2018 pay package to buy discounted Tesla shares.

Musk, who is also a major shareholder and CEO of rocket maker SpaceX, receives no salary at Tesla. His pay package requires Tesla's market capitalization and financial growth to hit a series of rising targets.

Despite production that is a fraction of that of Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen Group or General Motors, Tesla has become by far the…