Trade News

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals invalidated a noncompete agreement the former general manager of a Kia dealership in Madison signed when he was hired, finding it overbroad and unenforceable.

Noncompete agreements "are pretty common, especially at general manager levels," according to Kevin Palmersheim, who represents Metro Kia of Madison, the dealership that sued to prevent its ex-general manager from working for competitors.

Because state laws vary, such agreements can be especially tricky for dealer groups operating in more than one state, said Palmersheim, of Middleton, Wis. In Wisconsin, for example, if any provision in a noncompete agreement is deemed unreasonable, the whole agreement is unenforceable. But in nearby Illinois and Minnesota, only the specific unreasonable restrictions can't be enforced, he said.

Metro Kia of Madison's challenged agreement purported to prohibit Drake Lallas from engaging "directly or indirectly, per…

Seven local automotive groups in the Greater Chattanooga area donated $81,000 to purchase 15 fully stocked toolkits for students in the automotive technician training program at Chattanooga State's Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

The dealer groups, which represent more than 20 automotive brands, also pledged to hold job fairs and meet-and-greets with industry professionals and organize work-study programs that would allow students to work at a dealership while completing their studies.

Brad Cobb, president of the Bowers Automotive Group, heard a talk by someone running a local business incubator who was working with Chattanooga State and the trucking industry. He wondered whether the local dealerships could do a similar program.

"I reached out to Chattanooga State and we developed the concept for the program to address the need" for tools, Cobb said in a statement. "I then contacted the local dealers to ask for their support…

Construction of a $3.7-billion electric-vehicle battery plant jointly owned by Stellantis and LG Energy Solution has resumed, the automaker said July 5

NextStar Energy, the name of the joint venture in Windsor, Ont., signed a binding agreement with the federal government ensuring the production of battery cells and modules at the facility.

The agreement includes the Canadian government’s commitment “to level the playing field with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA),” Stellantis said in a statement.

NextStar lawyers spent the month of June reviewing a financial aid package the federal government gave the company on June 2.

Terms of the offer are unknown. But, Ontario has pledged to pay for up to one third of the entire package. Sources say that could be as much as $3.7 billion.

NextStar earlier this year said it wanted more subsidies to help pay for production of the cells and modules. It wanted terms similar to the U.S. IRA.

Ste…

A new Open Lending report found a majority of financial institutions are seeing increased delinquency rates across borrower demographics. More people are feeling the squeeze of continued inflation, recurring interest rate hikes and the end of pandemic stimulus checks and child tax credits. These issues, along with the recent turmoil at banks nationwide, have created a perfect storm for delinquencies to flourish.

But despite such a contentious environment, financial institutions can lower their risk while still providing necessary funds to borrowers by adopting lending enablement solutions.

The combination of the initial increases in consumer savings and the government fiscal stimulus and relief programs resulted in low delinquency rates on car loans during the first two years of the pandemic. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the personal saving rate over the last quarter of 2022 averaged under 4 percent, less than half of wh…

Volkswagen sales fell 1.7 percent to 76,934 in the second quarter despite a surge in ID4 electric vehicle deliveries after production expanded to the U.S. VW's four core crossovers and its top-selling car all declined during the latest period. Meanwhile, Audi sales rose 16 percent to 55,582 on growth among its most popular models.

Brands: VW, down 1.7%; Audi up 16%

Notable nameplates: VW Atlas, down 13%; Tiguan, down 7.1%; Atlas Cross Sport, down 8.3%; Taos, down 3.9%; Jetta, down 9.8%; ID4, up 303%; Audi Q5, up 17%: Q7, up 31%; A5, up 39%

Quote: "With record consumer demand for our BEV portfolio, a strong premium market and better supply conditions, Audi of America is on track to have one of our best years ever," Daniel Weissland, president of Audi of America, said in a written statement.

Did you know? Crossovers accounted for 85 percent of VW's first-half sales. Audi EV sales represented 10 percent of total brand sales for the second quarter, th…

June caps a stronger-than-expected first half for U.S. sales. Ford gets a favorable court ruling on its EV program for dealers. Plus, Navier CEO Sampriti Bhattacharyya talks about how the company hopes to disrupt the way transportation works in most major cities.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

Android

Spotify

Hyundai Motor America's second-quarter sales rose 15 percent to 227,629 between the Hyundai and Genesis brands. Strong demand for Hyundai electrified and hybrid vehicles as well as robust Genesis deliveries helped the automaker achieve the double-digit growth.

In June, Hyundai and Genesis' combined sales rose 11 percent to 75,354.

Though Hyundai's retail sales dipped 2 percent to 61,991 in June, electrified models represented 20 percent of all vehicles sold to consumers and jumped 53 percent year over year during the month. Retail sales of Hyundai crossovers accounted for nearly 74 percent of total June volume, according to the company.

Hyundai said the Ioniq 5 EV, Tucson plug-in hybrid and Kona EV each set monthly sales records in June.

"Despite the ongoing challenges in the market due to higher interest rates, Hyundai had an outstanding performance in the month of June, for the quarter and for the first half of the year," Hyundai Motor America C…

American Honda Finance Corp. remained among the nation's top three new-vehicle financiers in 2022 despite giving up a large piece of its market share, according to Experian statistics on the top 20 auto lenders in 2022.

The Honda captive finance company was involved in 5.13 percent of new-vehicle loans and leases last year, down 3.61 percentage points from 2021, tying for third place with Ford Motor Credit Co. In 2021, Honda was No. 2, and Ford ranked sixth. Toyota's captive finance operations — Toyota Financial Services and Southeast Toyota Finance's World Omni Financial Corp. — ranked first again in 2022 with a combined 11.92 percent of the market.

A Honda spokesperson cited inventory for its decline.

"As with others in the industry, Honda's overall vehicle sales have been impacted by global supply challenges for the past few years to varying degrees," Honda spokesperson Chris Martin said in a statement. "As you would expect, these ups and downs in av…

As the retail automotive industry continues its regression to pre-pandemic business realities, the absence of a fundamental sales process is illuminated by the reports of decreased F&I income per sale reported by the publicly traded automotive retailers.

The "road to the F&I sale" is not a fail-safe path toward success at every turn but rather a coordinated process built upon best practices that tend to result in the best outcome more times than not.

While this road can vary by training provider, one thing remains consistent: the importance of the customer interview. This step, like the beginning of each assembly line, is essential to the foundation of a profitable outcome.

Many F&I managers will challenge all aspects of the interview: time required, location, etc. Some may not understand that each is part of the process for a reason. Get educated on the "why" and not just trained on the "how."

If you are l…

The American Financial Services Association on June 21 sent a letter to a Congressional subcommittee requesting it consider amending a proposed Federal Trade Commission rule and preserve dealers' ability to sell consumers protection products for their vehicles.

The trade association sent a letter to U.S. Rep Steve Womack, R-Ark., who chairs the Subcommittee on Financial Services & General Government, asking him to add language to stop the FTC from finalizing or implementing the Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule.

The rule would limit dealers' ability to sell consumers add-on protection products such as service contracts, Guaranteed Asset Protection coverage and tire and wheel protection at the time of their car purchase. The rule's current language would require dealers to disclose accurate pricing in ads and sales discussions, obtain consumers' consent for add-on charges and keep records of ads and transactions. It also would prohi…

SAO PAULO — Chinese automaker BYD on Tuesday said it will invest 3 billion reais ($620.17 million) in a new industrial complex in northeastern Brazil, as it aims to boost local production to offer more competitive prices.

The complex, made up of three plants, will be built in the Camacari industrial park in the northeastern state of Bahia, on land formerly occupied by a Ford plant that closed in 2021.

The announcement comes on the back of a reported push from the government to incentivize BYD to build a new electric vehicle hub after Ford closed its plant in the state.

Operations at the factories are expected to start in mid-2024.

One of the plants will be dedicated to production of chassis for buses and electric trucks, BYD said in a statement.

The second plant will be focused on hybrid and electric vehicles with initial production estimated at 150,000 vehicles per year, while the third will process lithium and iron phosphate for the …