Trade News

After a three-month pilot program, F&I product provider EFG Cos. is debuting its first mileage service contract to knit coverage more closely to customers' driving habits.

Complex underwriting strategies delayed the launch of the product, which EFG believes may be the first of its kind.

The product, called the Motorist Assistance Plan vehicle service contract, can shift coverage in 2,500-mile increments on new vehicles or used cars with 150,000 miles or less on the odometer.

Eric Fifield, chief revenue officer at EFG, said the product's features distinguish it from standard mileage terms that consumers typically fall short of or exceed.

"Customers see more value in the product because you tailor it to their exact driving habits," Fifield told Automotive News. "And F&I producers have more confidence that what they're selling matches the customer's driving habits."

Sales of the contract increased pr…

Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta helped craft the troubled automaker's latest turnaround plan. Now his allies are pressing the board to promote him to co-CEO to drive the new strategy, said four people with direct knowledge.

Thus far, Nissan Motor Co.'s 12-member board has no plan to change the roles of CEO Makoto Uchida or his No. 2 Gupta, the people told Reuters. But the behind-the-scenes campaign, involving at least half a dozen current and former executives, points to continued tensions at the top of the Japanese automaker, which has had four CEOs in four years.

The people, all of whom have ties to Nissan's leadership team, declined to be identified because they aren't authorized to speak to reporters and because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Nissan responded in a statement to Reuters there are "no plans or consideration for any change in the management structure at Nissan, and no change to the close collaborative working relationship between Mr. Uch…

BEIJING/SHANGHAI -- Geely Automobile Holdings said on Wednesday its board had approved a preliminary proposal for the possible issue of shares and a listing on mainland China's Nasdaq-like STAR board.

The Zhejiang-based automaker, whose parent is Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is currently listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of 116.77 billion Hong Kong dollars ($15.07 billion).

Geely Automobile and sister brand Volvo Cars, which Zhejiang Geely Holding bought from Ford Motor in 2010, are planning to merge and list in Hong Kong and possibly Stockholm.

Apart from Volvo, Zhejiang Geely Holding also holds a 9.7 percent stake in Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler.

Geely Automobile said in a filing that the new shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange would not involve conversion of existing shares. The board will hold further talks on the size of the issue.

The money raised will be used for "business development and general worki…

Uber Technologies Inc. is getting into software. The company is making the technology that powers its ride-hailing business available to others, starting with public transit agencies.

California’s Marin County transportation providers are the first customers to buy access to Uber’s software in a deal the company announced Wednesday. The tie-up represents a potential new revenue stream for Uber at a time when the company could use it.

“This is not a one-off. This is a new product and a new business,” said David Reich, head of Uber Transit, adding that the company intends to partner with other transit agencies in the future. “Together we want to make car ownership a thing of the past.”

But the effort is starting small.

The program, called Marin Connect, will power logistics for just four wheelchair-accessible vans when it begins on July 1. Teaming up with Marin Transit and the Transportation Authority of Marin, it will also make public transit sched…

The first undisguised images of Volkswagen's upcoming ID4 battery electric crossover have leaked online, showing that it will hue closely to the styling of the German automaker's fossil fuel-powered lineup while maintaining elements that identify it as an EV.

Images of the Tiguan-size EV appeared on vwidtalk.com, a forum about VW's EV lineup.

Automotive News has confirmed the authenticity of the images.

VW declined to comment,

The ID4, which is set to go on sale in the U.S. at the end of 2020, is the VW brand's second EV produced on a new MEB global architecture. The first, a Golf-size hatchback called the ID3, has been delayed by software glitches and is expected to begin deliveries in Europe in September.

The smaller ID3 is not expected to be sold in the U.S.

VW planned to show the ID4 this summer after sales of the ID3 began.

Initially, the ID4 will be assembled in Germany, with output also planned in Tennessee.

The Federal Reserve stayed the course on the benchmark interest rate last week, highlighting expectations for a rough road ahead for the U.S. economy. Until the coronavirus crisis ends, the lending environment will likely remain under duress.

Opportunities remain in the new-car market — but one economist says inventory challenges, a tighter credit environment and high unemployment rates will hinder sales.

The benchmark rate, which directly impacts auto lending, is a litmus test for the health of the lending market. The nation's central bank cut rates to zero in mid-March to ease the flow of credit as the coronavirus ravaged key U.S. auto markets. Auto loan rates have largely benefited from the drop, though Cox Automotive's chief economist, Jonathan Smoke, noted in his blog that subprime buyers remain challenged in credit access.

"Lower rates are helping to drive down average loan payments, but the consumers getting those lower pay…

Leasing, which comprises nearly one-third of new-vehicle sales, dropped in April to the lowest levels since 2015 as the coronavirus pandemic collapsed the top two leasing markets in the country and automakers saturated the market with loan incentives. Rising customer demand prompted automakers to pull back on many of those programs, but leasing levels remain well below normal.

Leasing levels fell to 24 percent in April, Experian said, down from 30 percent in April 2019. The last time the levels were below 25 percent was in the fourth quarter 2014.

Discounting auto loans is cheaper for automakers than leasing, said Melinda Zabritski, Experian's senior director of automotive financial solutions, so pulling back on leasing for the near-term makes sense. She said it is "hard to tell" when normal levels will return. "I have a hard time speculating because this is so unprecedented," Zabritski said.

As leasing levels dropped, shares of …

The vehicle that started the luxury-SUV segment in 1970, the Range Rover, is getting a special 50th-anniversary edition this year.

Land Rover said Tuesday it will build just 1,970 Range Rover Fifty models for all of its global markets. Fewer than 400 are planned to be sold in North America. Land Rover has 188 U.S. dealers, so each dealer will have the opportunity to order at least one, possibly two vehicles.

The Range Rover Fifty will be available in standard or long wheelbase and with a 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 engine rated at 518 hp. It will be available in four colors, but the Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations division will offer small numbers of the vehicle painted in one of three additional heritage colors from the original 1970 Range Rover lineup: Tuscan Blue, Bahama Gold or Davos White. All versions have special 22-inch wheels and a "Fifty" script on the thresholds, seats, console and exterior designed by Land Rover's chief creat…

Audi says it has opened a new automated-driving development office in Silicon Valley to help the German premium brand develop advanced driver-assistance systems for North America.

The office, in San Jose, Calif., eventually will be home to more than 60 engineers to "develop new functionalities, catered specifically to North American Audi customer needs," according to Frank Grosshauser, senior director for ADAS for Audi of America. The office will focus on development of Level 2+ systems, Audi says.

The brand has outfitted a fleet of specially marked Q7 crossovers with roof-mounted sensor kits to collect data. The vehicles are wrapped with a QR code that allows those who come across the vehicles to access a webpage about Audi's work in the area.

Audi is working with other Volkswagen Group brands in an effort called the Car.Software organization, to develop automated-driving capabilities for its vehicles.

Chrysler Corp.'s new engineering center and proving ground on 3,800 acres in Chelsea, Mich., formally opens on June 16, 1954, with dedication ceremonies.

To mark the milestone, Jack McGarth set a world closed-track record of 179.386 mph and Betty Skelton established a women's land speed record of 143.44 mph, both behind the wheel of a Dodge Firearrow show car.

Chrysler also used the event to publicly demonstrate for the first time a turbine-powered car, the 1954 Plymouth sport coupe.

At the time, Chrysler said engineers and other drivers at the proving ground would cover 2.5 million miles of driving in the coming year, 1954-55.

Nothing was left untested. Using a camera mounted over an open engine compartment, a 1954 Chrysler was run through a water pit to determine how and where water might land on components and cause the engine to misfire or the vehicle to stall.

Today, the center sits on 4,000 acres an…

Tesla Inc. is delivering Model Y crossovers to customers with "significant defects", including loose seat belts and back seats that are not attached to the base, according to a report by the blog Electrek.

The issues have prompted some buyers to refuse delivery of their vehicles, the report said, at a time when Tesla is attempting to boost numbers with an end-of-quarter push. The automaker is attempting to jump-start operations after its Fremont, Calif., plant was idled for weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The blog cited an email from CEO Elon Musk to staff last week acknowledging some issues with general assembly of the vehicles and saying it was "extremely important" to ramp up production and "minimize rectification needs." Musk told employees he planned to walk the line weekly to troubleshoot production snafus.

Electrek cited a Tesla owner in Maryland who attempted to pick up a Model Y last week but refused delivery b…