Trade News

FRANKFURT -- Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius said the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles and the industry as a whole faces painful cutbacks to overcome the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virus outbreak will force manufacturers to do more significant restructuring than they planned before the crisis erupted, Kallenius said Wednesday during a webcast hosted by the German manufacturer’s main labor union, IG Metall.

The “significantly harsher reality” for the industry following COVID-19 will necessitate “drastic” salary cuts, with Daimler executives facing bigger reductions than rank-and-file workers, Kallenius said. The adjustments are necessary to protect Daimler’s financial condition and safeguard huge investments in future technologies, he said.

The virus outbreak shuttered factories and showrooms across the globe, exacerbating Daimler’s struggle to execute a deep restructuring announced last year. Kallenius indicated in April that the planned mea…

Sales at American Honda fell 16 percent in June and 28 percent in the second quarter, as the mainstream Honda and premium Acura brands suffered from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

June deliveries marked a continued recovery that began in May, but the automaker said supply issues limited volume. Most Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the U.S. are made in North America, which suffered plant shutdowns that affected inventory levels.

Two bright spots for the Japanese automaker: the Honda Pilot and Acura RDX crossovers posted gains last month compared with June 2019.

Brands: Honda, down 17% in June; Acura, down 0.6%.

Notable nameplates: Honda Civic, down 22% in June; Honda Accord, down 30%; Honda CR-V, down 13%; Honda Pilot, up 4.7%; Acura ILX, down 16%; Acura TLX, down 21%; Acura RDX, up 11%.

Incentives: Honda, $2,570 per vehicle in the second quarter, up 48% from a year earlier; Acura, $6,242 per ve…

DETROIT — Lincoln Motor Co. confirmed Wednesday it will end production of the Continental at the end of 2020 as the luxury brand abandons sedans.

U.S. sales of the Continental, reintroduced in 2016, slowed in recent years as customers shifted to the brand's growing crossover lineup. Lincoln announced this year that it would end production of its other sedan, the MKZ, at the end of the year.

"Lincoln is investing in growth segments and the brand will feature a full portfolio of SUVs, including a fully electric vehicle in the future," the brand said in a statement. "Lincoln will continue to keep its newest SUVs fresh and we will have more news to share later this year; however, as the full-size premium sedan segment continues to decline in the U.S., we plan to end production of the Lincoln Continental at the end of this year."

Lincoln informed workers Wednesday at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant that Continental production would end.

“We buil…

General Motors' U.S. light-vehicle sales plunged 34 percent in the second quarter because of the coronavirus pandemic's impact on demand and slim inventories at dealerships.

GM delivered 492,489 vehicles in the quarter, the automaker said in a statement Wednesday. Volume for each of GM's four brands fell at least 33 percent.

Retail sales fell about 24 percent during the quarter. April was GM's weakest month, when retail sales fell about 35 percent from a year earlier, but as demand began to outpace supply in May and June, retail sales were down about 20 percent during those months, GM said.

GM shut down its plants in the U.S. from mid-March to mid-May to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Many dealerships around the country also closed or limited hours and services because of the pandemic.

Although sales dipped 5.3 percent for the GMC Sierra and 14 percent for the Chevrolet Silverado, according to the Automotive News Data Center, GM said dem…

Sales for FCA US fell 39 percent in the pandemic-wracked second quarter.

The automaker said it prioritized vehicle deliveries to retail customers during the quarter while fleet sales were low. FCA sales in the first half of 2020 were down 26 percent to 816,998.

Brands: Ram, down 35%; Jeep, down 27%; Dodge, down 63%; Chrysler, down 58%; Alfa Romeo, down 21%; Fiat down 54%

Notable nameplates: Ram pickups, down 35%; Jeep Cherokee, down 51%; Grand Cherokee, down 29%; Wrangler, down 16%; Gladiator, up 174%; Chrysler Pacifica, down 56%; Dodge Charger, down 53%; Challenger, down 53%

Incentives: $5,434 per vehicle in June, up 18% from a year earlier, ALG says

Average transaction price: $41,924 in June, up 4.2% from a year earlier, according to ALG

Quote: "This quarter demonstrated the resilience of the U.S. consumer," Jeff Kommor, head of U.S. sales, said in a statement. "Retail sales have been rebou…

With economic activity in a pandemic freeze during much of the second quarter, Nissan's quarterly sales cratered 50 percent.

The Nissan division sold 161,233 vehicles in the quarter, down 50 percent from the year earlier. Infiniti volume tumbled 44 percent to 16,095 vehicles.

Behind the dismal performance is good news.

Monthly sales momentum rose consistently in April, May and June — with retail deliveries accounting for a growing share of volume, said David Kershaw, Nissan division vice president of sales and regional operations.

"Retail sales have exceeded our expectations in the second quarter as we continue to decrease rental fleet volume and focus on steadily building a quality, sustainable business for our employees, dealers and for our customers," Kershaw said, declining to disclose the retail-fleet sales mix.

Nissan is pivoting away from an aggressive pursuit of market share championed by former Chairman Carlos Ghosn. A cornerstone…

The toaster-shaped shuttle slammed into a concrete barrier. Shards of glass sprayed through the air. Hub motors on the rear wheels detached from the underlying vehicle structure.

For Local Motors, this constituted a good start.

Where none existed before, the mobility company — perhaps most well-known for 3D-printing vehicles — had developed testing protocols to vet the crashworthiness of its purpose-built Olli autonomous shuttle. That was a year and a half ago.

The company took lessons from that initial round of testing and iterated on its printing methods, its frontal-crash structures and made design changes to the vehicle itself. In January, Local Motors ran a second gauntlet of crash tests more narrowly focused on components that showed substantial gains in how crash energy is dissipated in a vehicle without traditional crumple zones.

Among the findings: Local Motors says its 3D-printed frontal crush structure per…

Subaru of America reported a 12 percent decrease in its June deliveries as the industry works to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Forester compact crossover bucked the downward trend as its June sales rose 32 percent to 19,490. It accounted for more than a third of Subaru's 53,911 sales in the month, and the vehicle's volume is down just 0.4 percent year to date.

"The Forester continued to shine in our lineup of all-star vehicles, drawing a healthy demand from car buyers looking for vehicles they can rely on when times are tough," Jeff Walters, senior vice president of sales, said in a statement.

Subaru's other key light trucks — the Ascent, Outback and Crosstrek — fell in June. The lower-volume WRX/STI and BRZ cars saw gains.

Subaru of America earlier this week said it would switch to quarterly sales reports after June, but a spokesperson on Wednesday evening told Automotive News that the brand changed its …

Volkswagen is freshening its top-selling global crossover to give it new styling and new features — just not here, and not yet.

The changes being baked into the updated Tiguan — including new styling, an upgraded infotainment system, a new steering wheel and configurable ambient lighting — will hit its German homeland and neighboring European markets this fall.

But the U.S. and Canada won't see the upgrades revealed Tuesday until the changes come with the 2022 model year, some 16 months from now.

The changes will include a freshened interior featuring Volkswagen Group's latest MIB 3 infotainment system, a steering wheel with upscale touch controls instead of analog buttons and optional personalization options.

On the exterior, the updated Tiguan will get a redesigned front fascia and standard LED headlights, as well as some new exterior colors such as Oryx White and Kings Red.

The crossover's powertrain will…

DETROIT — UAW President Rory Gamble and U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider in a nearly two-hour meeting Tuesday discussed the possibility of an "independent monitor" to ensure progress on reform efforts aimed at rooting out corruption.

The unusual gathering, amid the backdrop of an ongoing federal corruption probe, came as Gamble tries to prove the union can clean itself up from within, even as Schneider calls for more meaningful changes.

The two sides, according to a joint release, discussed the prospect of altering longstanding UAW procedures to implement direct election of officers — a move Schneider has publicly advocated for. Gamble also laid out steps the union has taken in recent months to add more stringent controls over spending and other financial matters.

The release said the two sides are considering third-party oversight of any future agreements over reform efforts.

"The Justice Department seeks genuine and sincere reform of the UAW so a…

Subaru of America, once a monthly sales streak darling as its U.S. volume rapidly expanded over the past decade, is switching to quarterly sales reporting.

The automaker will report its June U.S. sales Wednesday, then switch its cadence going forward.

The automaker, of Camden, N.J., was one of the few holdouts still reporting on a monthly basis. After Subaru switches to quarterly, Honda, Hyundai-Kia, Mazda, Toyota and Volvo will remain the only automakers to report monthly.

Subaru follows Porsche, Nissan, Mitsubishi and BMW in making the switch this year.

Starting in December 2011, Subaru cultivated a 93-month streak of year-over-year sales gains, which was snapped in September when sales dropped 9.4 percent.

While Subaru also had a monthly sales decline in December, 2019 was another record year for the brand, with 700,117 vehicle sales, an increase of 2.9 percent.

The automaker posted monthly increases in January and February, but s…

DETROIT — The UAW paid out more than $80 million to workers who went on strike against General Motors for 40 days last fall, according to the union's annual report filed Tuesday.

UAW members received weekly checks of $250 to $275 after the first week of the strike. The payments amounted to more than 10 percent of the roughly $800 million that was in the union's strike fund before the walkout.

In addition to benefit costs, the UAW paid $23,626 to print strike signs at the end of September, according to its filing with the Department of Labor. The union paid $18,550 for more signs Oct. 17, and it paid a printing company nearly $62,000 for "strike materials" in early December.

The UAW also dealt with strikes against Mack Truck and Aramark, a custodial company that services multiple GM sites.

GM has said the strike cost it more than $3 billion.

The walkout occurred toward the end of a year in which UAW membership grew by more than 3,000 people,…