Trade News

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. considers its first attempt to grow used-only sales with standalone locations a failed experiment. In 2017, when the last Q auto location closed, executives said the retailer planned to focus its investments on "alternative routes to market" that will deliver higher profits.

Clicklane, Asbury's omnichannel solution that formally launched last week, aims to tackle the central problem it faced with physical used-only stores: securing finance offers for credit-challenged consumers. Omnichannel refers to offering a seamless buying experience to consumers whether they shop online, in store or both.

The result could catapult the retailer's used-vehicle sales strategy into new markets while simultaneously improving the digital retailing environment for consumers in all credit tiers.

Lacking the lending infrastructure of a franchised store, Asbury's Q auto standalone used-only locations struggled to offer financ…

HAMBURG -- Volkswagen pledged to continue talks among its key stakeholders on Wednesday following a meeting of the company's supervisory board, as the world's largest automaker seeks ways to defuse a leadership crisis.

The meeting of the board of directors was convened after CEO Herbert Diess demanded a contract extension and more backing for his reform efforts, some of which had been opposed by the company's powerful labor chiefs.

"Talks between the participants continue in a constructive manner," the supervisory board spokesman said in a statement.

"Decisions were not made in today's meeting, as expected."

Diess has sought to shift VW from being the world's biggest maker of combustion engined vehicles into a company capable of mass producing electric and increasingly autonomous cars.

The pace and depth of his reforms, including efforts to lower costs in Germany and to transform Volkswagen into a tech company, has led to clashes with labor…

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

Mazda North American Operations President Jeff Guyton is seeing a spirit of cooperation among employees and a dealer body that has never been "higher" on the brand as it aims to eke out a U.S. sales victory during a volatile 2020.

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Michelin intends to convert its global tiremaking operations to a greener business in the next three decades, with a major environment initiative:

All of its tires will be manufactured using 80 percent sustainable materials by the year 2048.

That will require a significant transformation in the company's production systems, design and supply chains, acknowledged Alexis Garcin, chairman of Michelin North America, in an interview with Automotive News. But the company believes it already knows most of the materials and processes it needs to get the job done.

But 100 percent sustainable materials? That is still a quest to be determined, Garcin said.

"We don't know today how to get completely to 100 percent," he said. "We need time because we think the innovation and technology is not ready to support that. We still have some unknowns.

"But we have part of that answer. We know there will be 20 percent that will have difficulties, which is why we…

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Rep. Mike Kelly's request for an emergency order that would block Pennsylvania from certifying its election results, including Joe Biden's win over President Donald Trump.

The Republican congressman and other plaintiffs had asked the court to prevent the state from taking any further action to certify its results of the Nov. 3 election and to undo any such actions already taken, according to a court filing last week.

Pennsylvania certified its presidential election results Nov. 24, declaring Democrat Biden the winner.

Kelly owns Mike Kelly Automotive, which retails Cadillac, Chevrolet, Kia, Hyundai and Toyota brands in Pennsylvania — a state where auto sales were temporarily banned in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The congressman's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mercedes-Benz is developing a U.S. variant of the eSprinter commercial van built on a new electric platform.

The new eSprinter will consist of a front module, an underbody module and a rear module, Mercedes-Benz Vans sales and marketing boss Klaus Rehkugler told German media on Tuesday.

The design will allow for two body sizes and three battery options, the largest of which would top 100 kilowatt-hours, according to Automobilwoche, a German-language sibling publication of Automotive News. In addition to the panel van, a flat-bed body also is possible.

Automotive News reported on Monday that Mercedes plans to begin selling the eSprinter in the U.S. as early as the third quarter of 2023.

The U.S. version of the eSprinter could be powered by up to a 120-kWh battery, sources told Automotive News. That would be a significant upgrade over the 55-kWh battery in the current European version and that of a competing electric van expected from Ford Motor Co…

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. delayed production of the Bronco SUV after coronavirus-related logistics issues hampered German supplier Webasto's ability to equip a Michigan facility in time to make the vehicle's removable roof, according to people familiar with the situation.

Webasto in April of last year said it would invest up to $47.9 million in a new manufacturing plant in Plymouth Township, Mich., creating 441 new jobs. The project, supported by a $2.7 million grant from the state and a property tax abatement from the township, came after the supplier announced new contracts with Ford and other automakers.

Webasto declined to comment, referring questions to Ford. A Ford spokesman declined to name the supplier or specific issue involved in the Bronco delay, referring to the statement it issued last week announcing production would move to summer 2021.

The Detroit Free Press first reported on Monday that the delay stemmed from the v…

Stellantis, the new company being created to combine Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with France's Groupe PSA beginning next year, will start business with $6 billion a year in expected gains from synergies, says the merger's chief architect, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares.

That is an increase from the approximately $4.5 billion in new synergies that were forecast when the two companies announced their marriage in December 2019.

The improved outlook, Tavares said in a newly published interview with Automotive News sibling publication Automotive News Europe, is the result of "listening to the proposals of the 25 cross-company teams we created to prepare for the merger, within a strict legal frame."

Tavares said the two automakers have had 600 people working to smoothly merge FCA and PSA since the deal was signed a year ago.

He said uniting the companies will result in "roughly $20 [billion] to $25 billion of value creation."

Tavares, currently CEO of PSA,…