Trade News

The new chairman of NADA wants dealers to approach their operations and the industry with a "clean sheet of paper," asking how they would redesign both to be better if given the opportunity.

Paul Walser's answer? He would build a far more diverse dealer body, one that works in an improved and customer-based relationship with automakers, and one with politically active and engaged members.

Walser, 65, has been a dealer since he opened a Chevrolet store in 1985. He is a partner in Walser Automotive Group, which is headquartered in Minneapolis and has 27 stores in Minnesota, Kansas, California and Illinois.

In his opening remarks at the NADA Show, Walser used a clean sheet of paper to challenge members to think about the association and their roles as dealers in a different way, especially after a life-altering pandemic.

"The truth is, we don't live in the same world we used to," Walser told his virtual audience. "We need to…

Ford Motor Co. executives told dealers Thursday they expect to grow retail sales to 1.7 million vehicles in 2021, a 13 percent year-over-year increase, even as a microchip shortage slows production in the first quarter and the ongoing pandemic hinders demand.

The automaker said it's aiming for its highest retail share growth in seven years, behind new products such as the Mustang Mach-E, Bronco Sport crossover and Bronco SUV. While some volume growth was expected over 2020's coronavirus-impacted figures, Ford said the goal for this year would represent 5 percent improvement over 2019.

Executives outlined the target during the company's NADA Show make meeting. Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of the Americas and International Markets Group, was among the main speakers during the hourlong event. Others included Matt VanDyke, the incoming CEO of FordDirect; Marion Harris, CEO of Ford Motor Credit Co.; and Frederiek Toney, vice president of Globa…

Porsche expects U.S. retail sales to increase 17 percent over last year, the automaker told dealers at its NADA make meeting on Thursday.

Much of that momentum will be powered by Porsche's newest nameplate, the Taycan. Porsche projects U.S. sales of the electric fastback to double this year, dealers were told.

Porsche delivered 4,414 Taycans last year. That number could have been far greater had the pandemic not halted production just as U.S.-market Taycans were getting ready to be built.

At the make meeting, dealers asked about the prospect of an all-wheel-drive version of the entry-level Taycan, which would be popular in Snowbelt markets.

Porsche executives said they are pushing for the variant but noted it could be at least two years away.

Porsche knows that the "competition demands it and the dealers need it," said Mike Sullivan, chairman of the Porsche Dealer Board of Regents and owner of the LAcarGuy d…

Tesla built its own so-called walled garden of car charging stations; now EVgo Services LLC is trying to lure some of Elon Musk’s vehicles into the wild.

The independent network of car plugs, owned by LS Power, said it will retrofit half of its 800 U.S. charging stations to accommodate Tesla vehicles, which come with a proprietary plug not seen on rival electric cars. It also plans to include Tesla ports at 200 stations to be built by year’s end. The strategy should give EVgo a jolt of revenue as it waits for a parade of electric vehicles promised from other automakers.

“In the Bay Area and L.A., we still see markets where there are queues,” said EVgo Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Levy of the Tesla stations. “It’s a win for Tesla, because they’ll have happier customers...And we’re getting incremental kWH and that’s really important from a business perspective.”

In five years, sales of electric vehicles in the U.S. are expected to rise seven-fold, acc…

BorgWarner Inc. said its fourth-quarter net income surged 63 percent after closing on its $3.2 billion deal to acquire Delphi Technologies in October.

The engine and drivetrain products supplier reported net income of $358 million during the quarter, up from $220 million during the fourth quarter of 2019. Revenue increased more than 53 percent in the quarter to $3.93 billion, largely because of the Delphi acquisition.

Revenue for its air management division was up 26.7 percent in the fourth quarter to $1.94 billion with most of that increase coming from a $312 million boost from Delphi business. Without Delphi, that unit's revenue would have been up just 2.8 percent on the quarter.

Same for BorgWarner's drivetrain segment, which reported sales of $1.45 billion in the quarter, up more than 38 percent from the same quarter last year with Delphi business accounting for $255 million of the roughly $400 million increase in sales.

The auto supplier's fu…

Infiniti's bestseller — the midsize QX60 — receives a makeover this fall with an updated powertrain and more muscular styling.

The 2022 QX60 three-row crossover will be the first product launch since Nissan Motor Co. hatched greater collaboration between the mass-market Nissan and premium Infiniti brands.

Infiniti will share platforms, powertrains and assembly lines with Nissan to boost product development efficiencies. The second-generation QX60 will test whether the brands can share more components without sacrificing their distinct identities.

Updating the QX60 is a critical step in rejuvenating Infiniti, which has suffered multiyear sales declines in the U.S. In 2020, Infiniti deliveries slumped 32 percent -- the largest annual drop in the brand's history.

U.S. sales of the QX60 tallied 22,880 last year and accounted for 29 percent of Infiniti volume.

The QX60, along with the compact QX50, form the "backbone of Infiniti's sales in the …

The European Union is considering building an advanced semiconductor factory in Europe in an attempt to avoid relying on the U.S. and Asia for technology at the heart of some of its major industries.

The EU is exploring how to produce semiconductors with features smaller than 10 nanometers, and eventually down to 2 nanometer chips, according to people familiar with the project. The aim is to curtail dependence on countries such as Taiwan for chips to power 5G wireless systems, connected cars, high-performance computing, and more.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, the two leaders making the most innovative processors in the sector, could be involved in the EU project but nothing has been decided, a French Finance Ministry official said in a press briefing on Thursday, following the report from Bloomberg.

The plans come at a time when automakers are grappling with semiconductor shortages. Europe’s biggest c…

LG Energy Solution Co., the South Korean company that supplies electric-vehicle batteries to Tesla Inc. and others, said it expects to meet with SK Innovation Co. soon to talk about a settlement after the International Trade Commission banned imports of the latter company’s products to the U.S. for 10 years.

Any agreement on compensation will depend on how authentic SK Innovation’s proposal is, Woongjae Han, senior vice president of LG Energy’s legal department, said during a briefing in Seoul on Thursday. LG Energy isn’t considering engaging in legal action with other companies, he said.

The International Trade Commission on Wednesday ruled against SK Innovation, dealing a potential blow to efforts by Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen Group to ramp up production of electric vehicles.

SK Innovation will be able to import components for four years for domestic battery production for Ford’s EV F-150 launching next year, and for Volkswagen’s American MEB line f…

Apple's car plans could involve several potential manufacturing partners capable of building an electric self-driving vehicle for the technology giant.

The secret project has gained momentum in recent months, adding multiple former Tesla executives, gaining the supervision of Apple's top artificial intelligence executive and ramping up road tests. The initiative, known as Project Titan inside Apple, is attracting intense interest because of its potential to upend the automotive industry and supply chains, much like the iPhone did to the smartphone market.

If and when Apple commits to building a car, it is likely to seek multiple partners -- including a major one to build the vehicle and many others to supply key components. The following companies -- whose representatives declined to comment -- are possible candidates:

Foxconn

Foxconn Technology Group already has a close relationship with Apple. For well over a decade, it has been the U.S. company…