Trade News

Lithia Motors Inc. is about to take control of southeast Michigan's Suburban Collection, in a move that will mark one of the largest dealership buy-sell transactions in the past decade while cementing the Oregon group's reach in the Midwest.

Suburban Collection dealerships in Michigan are slated to close Saturday, April 10, through 1 p.m. April 12 for "necessary system updates," according to a message on the group's website.

A source told Automotive News on Friday that inventory will be assessed over the weekend and the stores will reopen Monday under Lithia ownership.

Suburban CEO David Fischer Jr. declined to comment on Friday, as did a spokeswoman for Lithia.

Lithia's planned acquisition of Michigan's Suburban Collection, one of the nation's largest privately held dealership groups, was reported by Automotive News in January.

Adding the Suburban Collection will bring the nation's third-largest new-vehicle retailer closer to its goal of…

Auto retail giant AutoNation Inc. is now the exclusive and official automotive partner of Major League Soccer's Inter Miami CF, complete with naming rights to its 18,000-seat stadium, which has been renamed after AutoNation's DRV PNK initiative to support cancer research and treatment.

AutoNation, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said Friday that its deal with Inter Miami also includes branding rights on the club's first team training kits.

And with the three-year partnership, AutoNation will expand its reach to Spanish-speaking customers. The deal includes "extensive TV and digital exposure" through livestreaming via the Inter Miami app and Inter Miami Spanish language streaming show, the companies said in press releases.

Financial details about the partnership weren't disclosed.

AutoNation also will sponsor goalkeeper saves during games. The auto retailer and the club will make donations to cancer research for each Inter Miami save, up to $100,000 each…

Steve Faulkner, a relatively new Midwest dealer, has acquired two stores on both sides of the Wabash River in southern Illinois and southern Indiana.

Faulkner on March 29 acquired J Wilderman Autoplex in Mount Carmel, Ill., a single rooftop selling Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles, and Patriot Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in nearby Princeton, Ind., from Jim Wilderman.

Terms of the transactions weren't disclosed.

J Wilderman Autoplex was renamed Steve Faulkner Automotive, while Patriot Chevrolet-Buick-GMC was renamed Steve Faulkner Chevrolet-Buick-GMC.

The J Wilderman Autoplex dates to 1917 when it started as Kamp Motors Sales, according to a 2017 Associated Press article. Wilderman bought the Chrysler dealership in 1974 and added Ford in 1985, according to the article.

Faulkner now has at least three stores. Last year he acquired Merle Kelly Ford in Chanute, Kan.

Performance Brokerage Services represented Wilderman in the two tran…

Foxconn Vice Chairman Jay Lee explains how big data, analytics and artificial intelligence are helping automakers and suppliers create a ''worry-free'' manufacturing environment.

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Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. are spending millions of dollars to provide drivers with access to COVID-19 vaccines and offering tens of millions of free or discounted rides to vaccination sites for people in communities that lack access to transportation and healthcare services.

The effort is both public-spirited, and self-interested.

Ride-hailing demand is ramping up throughout the U.S. from pandemic-induced lows, but drivers are still slow to return to the road, slowing the companies' efforts to rebuild revenues.

Lack of transportation is a major hurdle to healthcare equity and vaccine access, and studies show fewer options for medical care in low-income and Black communities, which are frequently poorly served by public transit and have lower car ownership rates.

At Uber, a large team of employees has started calling thousands of drivers who left the platform over the past year, asking them what they need to return, Uber U.S. and Canada …

New-vehicle sales in China spiked 75 percent in March to approach 2.53 million deliveries despite the ongoing microchip shortage, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Friday. The stronger-than-expected rebound was due to abnormally low volume a year earlier when the coronavirus outbreak severely affected Chinese business activities including auto sales, the industry group said. Last month, deliveries of new light vehicles -- sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses – surged 77 percent to top 1.87 million. Demand for new commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses also jumped 68 percent to some 651,000 deliveries. In the month, sales of EVs soared 240 percent to around 226,000. The number includes some 190,000 full electric vehicles, 36,000 plug-in hybrids and 59 fuel cell vehicles. For the first quarter, industrywide new-vehicle sales rebounded 76 percent from a year earlier to exceed 6.48 million deliveries.&n…

SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. said on Friday it has decided to suspend production for two days starting on Monday at its Asan plant because of a chip shortage.

It said the suspension was because of the "supply conditions" for semiconductor parts for powertrain control units.

"We are closely monitoring the situation to take prompt and necessary measures to optimize production in line with the supply conditions," Hyundai said in a statement.

The Asan factory turns out 300,000 vehicles each year, including the Sonata and Grandeur sedans.

Hyundai last week announced it would suspend output at Ulsan, its main South Korean factory, from April 7 to April 14 because of chip and component supply issues.

Underscoring the severity of the global chip shortage crisis, Hyundai has become the latest automaker to halt manufacturing because of the chip shortage.

Hyundai had been able to avoid a hit from the shortage up to now largely …

The Center for Automotive Research plans to go forward with the annual Management Briefing Seminars as a hybrid event in early August, forgoing the virtual format it used last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based nonprofit research group has seminars scheduled Wednesday, Aug. 4, and Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021.

As always, CAR plans to hold the event at the Grand Traverse Resort near Traverse City, Mich. The resort held in-person conferences in fall 2020 and CAR cited its sanitary protocols as reason to hold live events.

"It will be a hybrid event, so we will be offering both the in-person experience, and for those not comfortable attending in person or are unable to attend in person, there will be a virtual option available," said Katie Ramsburgh, director of community relations and marketing operations at CAR.

Registration will open on Thursday, April 15. Both registration options will be available at that time, Ramsburgh …

Early owners of Ford Motor Co.'s newest electric vehicle, the Mustang Mach-E crossover, have experienced a battery problem that leaves their vehicles unable to start after charging, according to a service bulletin filed by Ford with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Ford said a software glitch can cause the EV's smaller 12-volt battery to discharge while the larger high-voltage battery pack is charging.

Owners who have experienced the issue said they are unable to start their vehicles after charging, according to The Verge, which first reported the issue on Thursday.

Ford said only "a small number" of Mach-Es built before Feb. 3 were affected, and dealers are able to correct the issue by reprogramming several of the electronic control modules on the vehicle.

Ford said it sold 6,614 Mach-Es in the first quarter. Tesla, the industry's EV leader, said it delivered a record 184,800 cars worldwide in the quarter.

Industry veteran Bo Andersson has stepped down from his leadership positions at Yazaki Corp.

Andersson resigned as CEO of the Japanese family-owned wiring supplier's North and Central American businesses and as president of its European operation on March 31, the company said Thursday.

Andersson, 65, will continue to work at the company in a senior executive advisory role, Yazaki said.

Ryosuke Yazaki, a third-generation family member, succeeded Andersson as CEO of Yazaki North America.

"The automotive industry and technology are both moving faster than ever before," Yazaki, 39, said in the company's statement. "With rapid change comes both tremendous challenges and great opportunities. Yazaki is positioned well and will play a critical role in moving the automotive industry forward."

Hans Lemmens was named CEO of Yazaki Europe. He takes the helm after serving as executive vice president for sales at the company since 2018. He has held …

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is forgoing the traditional two-week summer shutdown at most of its U.S. plants because of the ongoing semiconductor shortage, and employees will instead have to schedule their vacation time through their individual locals, the automaker said Thursday.

Additionally, Ford announced new downtime for plants in Illinois, Michigan and Missouri amid the crisis.

The automaker informed the UAW that workers at its Dearborn (Mich.) Truck Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant, Flat Rock (Mich.) Assembly Plant, Kentucky Truck Plant, Ohio Assembly Plant, Chicago Assembly Plant and Kansas City (Mo.) Assembly Plant will be working during the traditional shutdown weeks in late June and early July. John Savona, Ford's vice president of manufacturing and labor affairs, said in a letter that employees at those sites would be able to schedule their typical two-week vacation time through the union. A spokeswoman said timing and other details would vary by plant. Read more