Trade News

Canadian supplier Magna International Inc. returned to profit in the third quarter as key customers ramped up production to meet recovering demand for new cars in Europe, China and the United States.

Magna on Friday reported net income of $405 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $233 million during the same quarter in 2019. Last year’s quarter was affected by the UAW’s strike against General Motors, a Magna customer.

Revenue slipped 2 percent to $9.1 billion.

Shares of Magna closed Friday's trading in New York up 3.7 percent to $57.42.

In a statement, Magna said it benefited this year from “cost savings and efficiencies,” including some “restructuring actions” taken during the third quarter. It also cited “the benefit of COVID-19 related government employee support programs” as reasons for profitability during the pandemic.

Magna said it has weathered the pandemic to date.

“While many of our man…

Uber Technologies Inc. reported a wider loss for the third quarter, offering a stark reminder of the challenges facing its business even after winning a political victory in California this week.

The euphoria investors felt after Uber successfully avoided an assault on its business model in California, driving a surge in the stock, was partly deflated Thursday. Shares of Uber were down 1 percent to $41.50 in after-hours trading Thursday and had been down as much as 5.9 percent.

The third-quarter loss, excluding interest, taxes and other expenses, deepened to $625 million, though it was roughly in line with an average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The loss narrowed from the previous quarter.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to limit travel spending. Sales for the ride-hailing company declined 18 percent to $3.1 billion, better than analysts expected. Uber reaffirmed in the report Thursday that it remains on track to turn a quarterly adju…

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story contained an incomplete quote from KAR CEO Jim Hallett. The full quote now appears.

Eight months after switching to all-digital sales because of the coronavirus pandemic, Manheim said Thursday it will once again run cars down physical auction lanes.

As part of a pilot program, vehicles will run down lanes at Manheim Nashville beginning Nov. 10 and at Manheim Daytona Beach on Nov. 11.

The Cox Automotive auction giant said the move comes after it became more confident in its phased-in reopening approach as well as in response to customer demand.

The decision to run cars down lanes again is a stark contrast from the approach of competitor KAR Global, which has pledged its commitment to digital-only sales at its ADESA auctions. KAR CEO Jim Hallett, who had pushed for more digital-only sales before the pandemic, said Wednesday: "We are 100 percent digital, and we have no plans to return to running cars.”<…

Join CDK Global to learn more about what is possible and how technologies such as augmented reality, voice assistants, heads-up displays, and 5G will usher the service department into the future.

Stephen Gannon, Vice President, Business Strategy, CDK GlobalKim Saylor, Product Marketing, Fixed Operations, CDK GlobalDave Versical, Founding Editor, Fixed Ops Journal

This conversation was originally broadcast on November 5, 2020, as the final conversation in the Fixed Ops Journal Forum series. Watch the recordings here.

China's new-vehicle sales kept ticking up at a double-digit pace for the second straight month in October, according to a preliminary tally released Thursday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The association estimates that automakers delivered more than 2.54 million new vehicles last month, rising 11 percent from a year earlier.

Sales of new light vehicles including sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses rose 7.3 percent. Demand for new commercial vehicles including trucks and buses jumped nearly 28 percent, the group estimates. 

In the first 10 months, new-vehicle sales across China dropped 4.8 percent to some 19.66 million, according to association estimates, with light-vehicle demand falling 10 percent and commercial vehicle deliveries surging 21 percent. 

The industry group didn’t break down sales volumes for commercial vehicles or light vehicles for October or the first 10 months. It is exp…

Honda deliveries hit a record for the fourth consecutive month in October on demand for three core models, as well as hybrids, while Nissan’s sales rose 5 percent.

Honda’s October sales advanced 22 percent to a new monthly high of 180,655, Honda Motor Co.’s China office said this week.

The Accord and Civic sedans, and the CR-V crossover, all available in gasoline and hybrid versions, each booked deliveries of more than 20,000 last month, the company said.  

In addition to the three popular models, Honda markets hybrid variants of six other locally produced vehicles: the Inspire, Crider and Envix sedans, the Breeze crossover, and the Odyssey and Elysion multipurpose vehicles.

In October, Honda’s hybrids racked up sales of 21,868 -- a monthly high, the office said.

Because of a 34 percent slump due to the coronavirus outbreak in the first quarter, Honda’s China sales through October dipped 1.9 percent to just under 1.25 million.

…

Great Wall Motor Co., in an effort to expand its global manufacturing footprint, completed an acquisition of General Motors’ assembly plant in Rayong of eastern Thailand, after agreeing to the deal early this year.

After a renovation, the factory will reopen sometime in the first quarter of 2021 to build right-hand-drive pickups, SUVs and sedans, the leading Chinese light-truck maker said this week.

Initially, the retooled plant will produce up to 80,000 vehicles a year. Some vehicles will be sold in Thailand and the rest will be exported to Southeast Asian countries, Australia and South Africa, Great Wall said.

Great Wall signed an agreement with GM in February to purchase the factory. 

The Rayong factory is the Chinese company’s second assembly plant outside China. In 2019, it opened a plant in the Tula Oblast region of central Russia.

Great Wall, based in the north China city of Baoding, is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai.  Read more

Volkswagen will introduce eight ID-series electric vehicles in China by the end of 2023, aiming to greatly enhance its green credentials in the key market.

The first ID model, the locally built ID4 compact crossover, will arrive in early 2021, VW Group China CEO Stephan Wollenstein said in the south China city of Shenzhen on Tuesday. 

The ID4 will offer two variants -- the ID4 X, and a smaller and sporty version -- the ID4 Crozz. 

The ID4 X is produced at VW Group’s joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp., while the ID4 Crozz is assembled at the German group’s partnership with China FAW Group Corp. 

The two ID4 variants, which were revealed in Shenzhen on Tuesday, each have a range of more than 500 kilometers on one change, Wollenstein said. 

To support its expanding EV lineup, VW will increase the number of battery changing stations in China to more than 250 by the end of 2020, from 40 currently, he added. 

Woll…

AV designers could pick scenic route

One of the first things I noticed on an early ride in a self-driving prototype had nothing to do with the vehicle and everything to do with the view.

Sitting in the rear seat of a May Mobility shuttle as it trundled around a few blocks of downtown Detroit, I gazed out the panoramic moonroof and through the large windows on the lengthened rear door and saw the Motor City in a whole new way. As much as the ride was a technology demonstration, it inadvertently was a reminder of the city's architectural greatness.

I was reminded of this years-old experience this week after reading that Sarah Sandman, an artist with the TED Fellows, hit upon a similar sentiment when Lexus asked her and others in the global program to imagine new autonomous-vehicle designs.

"One of the most magical moments of travel that I've ever experienced was on the Empire Builder train going cross country," she said of the Amtrak route th…

Bentley will drop internal combustion engines from its lineup by 2030 and switch the entire model range to full-electric vehicles as part of longterm plans to dramatically cut emissions.

The Volkswagen Group ultraluxury brand confirmed Thursday it will add two plug-in hybrids next year and its first full-electric vehicle in 2025.

The EV will be the first of a family of EVs, Bentley's engineering chief, Matthias Rabe, said during an online presentation Thursday.

The moves are part of Bentley’s strategy to position itself as a socially responsible company with the aim of being climate and carbon neutral by 2030.

By 2026, the brand will electrify powerful 8- and 12-cylinder engines and only offer plug-in hybrid and full-electric models as part of a strategy called Beyond 100, which references its 100-year history.

 "We want to create a carbon neutral company, end to end, by 2030," CEO Adrian Hallmark said Thursday. "A 100-year-old company…

Longtime Toyota Motor North America executive Ed Laukes will retire Jan. 4 as group vice president of Toyota Division marketing.

A successor in the top marketing role is expected to be named next month, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday.

Laukes, 62, oversees market planning, advertising, sales promotion, incentives, merchandising and motorsports, along with Toyota's social and digital media, in a role he has held since April 2017. He joined the automaker in 1989, and held management positions with the Toyota and Lexus brands, as well as the company's field staff. He was previously vice president of integrated marketing operations, and vice president of engagement marketing and guest experience.

His retirement comes as Toyota's U.S. sales gain momentum and recover from the coronavirus outbreak.

The automaker's U.S. sales rose 8.8 percent to 205,349 in October -- a record for the month -- with volume up 7.8 percent at…