Trade News

The absence of cars in lanes was one reason KAR Global was able to report a third-quarter profit, despite lower revenue.

Gaining efficiencies by going digital is part of a strategy that was accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic and is unlikely to change anytime soon, CEO Jim Hallett said.

"We are 100 percent digital, and we have no plans to return to running cars," Hallett told investors in a conference call Wednesday.

Shares of KAR closed Wednesday's trading up 1 percent to $16.41.

Hallett had already been shifting the auction company in a more digital direction before the pandemic hit, citing safety concerns around cars and trucks running through lanes. In March, as COVID-19 cases were rising in the U.S., KAR shuttered auction operations before resuming them as all-digital sales in April.

Many employees who supported sale-day operations have been let go. In March, KAR had 15,000 active employees. By early April, it had furloughed some 1…

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.

Mack McLarty, chairman of McLarty Associates and former Clinton White House chief of staff, provides a recap of last night's U.S. election and what we know so far. He also discusses life in the ''War Room,'' the election's impact on the auto industry and what votes meant in the auto stronghold of Ohio.

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Ford Motor Co., which stopped reporting U.S. monthly sales nearly two years ago, has reversed course and will release monthly figures for the “foreseeable future.”

Ford wants to give investors more detail on its U.S. performance during the pandemic, said Said Deep, a company spokesman. Jim Farley took over as CEO Oct. 1 from a retiring Jim Hackett as the automaker is launching four key models -- a redesign of its top-selling F-150 pickup, the electric Mustang Mach-E , the revived Bronco SUV and Bronco Sport.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford and much of the rest of the industry followed General Motors in switching to quarterly reporting.

A GM spokeswoman said in an email to Automotive News that the automaker would continue to report sales quarterly.

"We believe the best way to assess sales trends in our business is by looking at results on a quarterly basis.," she said.

October sales

Ford's U.S. sales fell 6.1 percent in October, dragg…

Consumer demand and short supply pushed up pricing on new- and used-vehicle sales, spurring third-quarter profits for all six publicly traded finance-and-insurance retailers.

In a record-setting quarter amid the coronavirus pandemic, all six retailers raised same-store F&I profits by more than $100. Several public groups reported record-high F&I profit per vehicle, and two retailers earned more than $2,000 on average in F&I profit per vehicle sold. New leadership, ongoing training efforts and technology improvements in the finance office were among reasons given for the growth.

Group 1 Automotive, of Houston, raised average F&I profit per vehicle retailed in the U.S. above $2,000 in the third quarter to $2,041, the second retailer to do so after AutoNation Inc. F&I profit per vehicle retailed rose 17 percent, or $290, the most improved profit growth among the public groups.

Companywide, including Group 1 dealers…

DETROIT — Ford Credit posted a $1.1 billion profit in the third quarter, up 53 percent from the same period a year earlier as strong auction values helped the lender to its best results since 2005.

Ford Motor Co.'s finance arm, which CEO Jim Farley called a "secret weapon," helped the automaker to a better-than-expected $2.4 billion net income in a quarter that shattered analyst expectations.

Ford Credit CEO Marion Harris said on an earnings call that the lender benefited from a "pretty big inventory" of used vehicles heading into the reporting period that it was able to sell in an improving market. Auction values rose roughly 7.5 percent to $21,045 per vehicle, compared with $19,585 in the second quarter.

The lender ended the quarter with $31 billion in liquidity, down slightly from the $35.4 billion it had this time last year. Credit loss reserves in Q3 rose 2.2 percent from the prior quarter to $1.3 billion.

Officia…

Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it was recalling about 375,000 Explorers in North America to fix a defect that has led to six reported injuries.

The recalled vehicles are from the 2013-17 model years.

Ford said "some of the affected vehicles, sold or registered in certain areas of North America states and provinces where corrosion is common, have experienced a fracture of the outboard section of the rear suspension toe link after completion of a prior safety recall repair." A fracture of a rear toe link can reduce steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

The action affects about 350,000 vehicles in the U.S. and 25,200 in Canada. The affected vehicles were built at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant from Sept. 4, 2012, through Jan. 25, 2017.

The automaker said it was aware of reports of 13 accidents and six injuries related to the defect.

Dealers will complete a torque inspection of the cross-axis ball joint and replace it as necessary, th…

Unifor today said it would hold a news conference on Thursday to provide an update on the status of negotiations with General Motors in Canada, putting the talks on a timetable similar to previous bargaining sessions with Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

The news conference, set for 11 a.m. ET Thursday at a downtown Toronto hotel, will come after a strike deadline set for 11:59 p.m. ET Wednesday. Negotiations were continuing in Toronto on Tuesday as the deadline approached.

Unifor also held news conferences the day after the strike deadline in its negotiations with Ford and FCA. A deal with Ford was reached several hours after the original deadline passed in September, while a tentative contract with FCA was reached shortly before that deadline in October.

The talks cover about 1,600 union members in Canada, most of them working at GM’s St. Catharines, Ontario, powertrain plant, which builds engines and transmissions for vario…

International Automotive Components Group said Tuesday that CFO David Prystash will succeed Manfred Gingl as CEO at the start of next year.

IAC, based in Luxembourg, supplies cockpits, instrument panels, consoles, doors, headliners and overhead systems.

Gingl will remain CEO through the end of the year and will continue as executive chairman of the board of directors after the transition.

Prystash joined IAC in 2018 after holding several leadership positions at General Motors, including vice president and CFO of global product development, purchasing and supply chain and CFO of global manufacturing and labor relations.

Prystash has held leadership roles outside of the auto industry. He also spent 24 years at Ford Motor Co. in various senior financial and operational posts.

"With David at the helm, our deep leadership team bench is well-positioned to continue the positive momentum IAC has seen over the last…

Volkswagen of America's Audi unit is recalling more than 94,000 vehicles in the U.S. because the C-pillar padding may not absorb enough impact in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of head injury in passengers who are not wearing seat belts.

The recall affects certain Audi Q7 crossovers from the 2018-20 model years built between July 2017 and April 2020.

A spokesman from Audi told Automotive News that the recall was found through routine testing and the automaker it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this defect.

In April, one Audi Q7 failed a conformity-of-production test with respect to the head injury criterion. The issue was corrected in production in April and the parts delivered from the supplier have been within specifications since, according to a NHTSA document.

Antolin Ebergassing GmbH of Austria is the component manufacturer listed on the NHTSA document.

Dealers and owners …

Lebanon’s public prosecutor dismissed a lawsuit against Carlos Ghosn for entering Israel that was filed earlier this year within days of his arrival in Beirut.

Judge Ghassan Oueidat said the judiciary can’t prosecute Ghosn because he committed the alleged offense over 10 years ago. Ghosn, who was arrested on charges of financial wrongdoing and faced trial in Japan, made a dramatic escape at the end of December and flew to Lebanon, where he’s a citizen.

A group of lawyers filed a complaint with Lebanon’s judiciary alleging that Ghosn’s visits to Israel when he was chairman of Renault SA and later Nissan Motor Co. broke laws forbidding citizens from interacting with Lebanon’s foe. Israel and Lebanon are technically in a state of war.

Just about every powertrain configuration has been offered in regular production vehicles except one: the wheel hub motor.

It's not been for lack of trying, though.

For example, General Motors early this century tinkered with a Chevrolet S-10 pickup powered by an electric motor in each wheel. The effort was abandoned when engineers could not solve three problems: reducing unsprung weight, effectively sealing the motor against the elements and maintaining proper operating temperature.

In the 15 years since GM built the electric S-10, wheel hub motor technology has improved, and now, if all goes according to plan, the Lordstown Endurance electric truck will introduce wheel hub motors about a year from now.

The Endurance also uses a motor in each wheel to provide full-time four-wheel drive. It will be the only truck on the market that does not use any of these parts: a transmission, axles, transfer case, driveshaft, U-join…

For the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek, the focus of the subcompact's update is not a revised front bumper or grille, though it does have both — it's power. There's finally more oomph available. By utilizing the same 2.5-liter engine found in the Legacy, Forester and Outback, Subaru addresses the biggest knock on the Crosstrek: It needed more zip. The 2.5-liter engine provides 182 hp and 176 pound-feet of torque, a jump from the 2.0-liter engine's 152 hp and 145 pound-feet of torque. The more powerful engine is available on two trims: Sport and Limited. Here's a roundup of snippets of Crosstrek reviews from the automotive media.

"With 3,265 pounds to haul about (272 less than an equivalent Forester Sport and 399 less than an Outback Premium), this engine is a natural fit for the small Crosstrek. From a standstill, the lifted wagon now pulls with significantly more confidence, its larger engine making good use of the extra half-liter of displacement. Stand on the ga…