Trade News

WASHINGTON -- A group representing many major automakers on Friday backed the Trump administration's decision to weaken Obama administration fuel efficiency standards, but said it opposed further reductions in requirements.

In March, the Trump administration issued final rules requiring 1.5 percent annual increases in efficiency through 2026 -- far weaker than the 5 percent increases in the discarded Obama-era rules -- but abandoned its August 2018 proposal to freeze requirements at 2020 levels through 2026.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing General Motors Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Toyota Motor Corp. and others -- on Friday intervened in a litigation on behalf of the Trump administration, saying it believed the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration "lawfully exercised their discretion in setting their standards in accordance with the applicable statutory requirements."

The group added the new standa…

Organizers said Friday they were canceling the 2020 New York auto show that had previously been pushed back until August, citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the venue's use as a field hospital.

The show, which was initially set for early April and is typically used to unveil many new vehicles, was previously postponed until August. The Javits Convention Center remains set-up as an active hospital and is in standby mode for the foreseeable future, organizers said.

The next New York show will take place April 2-11, 2021. A string of auto shows have been canceled this year and some automakers -- like Toyota Motor Corp. -- are opting to hold virtual unveilings of new vehicles.

Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, the organization that owns and operates the 120-year-old New York show, noted that automakers and their exhibit partners needed "immense planning" to construct a show. "Because of the uncertai…

DETROIT — The Original Equipment Suppliers Association has named Francoise Colpron as chair of the trade group's board of directors, effective immediately.

Colpron, 49, group president of French supplier Valeo's North American unit, was the association's vice chair since November. She has been a board member since 2015. Colpron was recognized by Automotive News as one of the 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry that same year, as well as in 2010.

"We are honored to have Francoise at the helm of our board of directors," Julie Fream, CEO of the association, said in a statement Friday. "We appreciate her strategic leadership and commitment to champion the mission of OESA."

Ramzi Hermiz, who was chairman since 2018, has been reelected to the board as an industry adviser. He has served on the board since 2015.

Hermiz had been CEO of Shiloh Industries, a global supplier of lightweighting, noise and vibration products for the auto indust…

Just two months after a $1 billion deal to sell most of its locations fell apart, Park Place Dealerships of Dallas has turned into a dealership buyer.

More acquisitions are possible as the luxury-brand dealership group aims to increase vehicle sales.

Park Place Dealerships will acquire Aston Martin Dallas from John Eagle Auto Group, the company said Thursday. The deal is expected to close within 90 days. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though the sale includes the purchase of assets from the store.

In December, public retailer Asbury Automotive Group of Duluth, Ga., announced it would buy 10 luxury Park Place stores in Texas with 17 new-vehicle franchises in the Dallas and Fort Worth markets. But in late March amid economic uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, Asbury ended its transaction agreements days before the deal was slated to close and said it would pay $10 million in damages.

The Aston Martin brand fits perfectly amon…

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.

Hans-Werner Kaas of McKinsey & Co. discusses key findings from the consulting firm's survey on how the pandemic is influencing consumers' intentions to purchase a vehicle; plus, shifting mobility habits.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe…

General Motors is delaying the resumption of second shifts at truck assembly plants in Michigan, Indiana and Mexico because of a lack of parts from Mexico, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters.

GM, which resumed production on Monday after suspending operations in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, will launch a second shift next week only at its Lansing Delta Township plant. It will not immediately begin, as it had earlier hoped, second shifts at its Fort Wayne, Ind., Flint, Mich., and Silao, Mexico, plants that build full-size trucks, but could resume a second shift by later next week, the source said.

GM spokesman Dan Flores said "demand for our full size picks has been very strong so we are certainly exploring ways to add production and will do that when it makes sense."

Mexican auto parts production is only this week beginning to slowly resume. GM's decision to delay resuming some production shifts shows the challenges of resuming prod…

TOKYO —  Nissan is considering cutting 20,000 jobs from its global workforce, focusing on Europe and developing countries, Japanese news media reported, as the automaker struggles to recover from plunging car sales and the effects of the coronavirus crisis.

The outbreak is forcing Nissan to cut back on production, and restructuring measures in Japan are also being considered, Kyodo news agency reported. The job reductions are part of a midterm reorganization plan that Nissan is due to unveil on May 28, Kyodo said.

The potential reduction would be  much larger than the 12,500 staff cuts Nissan announced in the middle of 2019.

Nissan has been in turmoil since the November 2018 arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, with an aging car lineup and management paralysis denting its outlook. The automaker warned last month it expects to post a loss for the latest fiscal year through March, as the pandemic shuttered dealerships in major markets and the …

BEIJING — Geely Automobilie Holdings will explore the possibility of deeper cooperation with Daimler, its Chairman, Li Shufu, said on Friday.

Geely built a 9.69 percent stake in Daimler in 2018, making it the German automaker's biggest single shareholder.

The two companies formed a China-based venture to build electric Smart cars and a separate premium ride-hailing venture. They also invested in Volocopter, a flying taxi company.

Geely will also "launch several new products and services to our markets around the world" this year, Li said in a statement to Reuters. Geely plans to roll out Lynk & CO models in Europe this year.

Li also said the Chinese auto market is returning to normal and that global auto supply chain disruption is "temporary and manageable."

Geely's holdings include Volvo Cars and Geely Automobile. In 2017 Geely spent $3.9 billion to become the biggest shareholder of Volvo AB, which is the world's second-largest truck m…

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. has been at loggerheads with a key group of creditors with time running out to cut a deal that addresses missed debt payments, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The deadlock between the car-rental company and creditors, including holders of asset-backed securities tied to fleets of vehicles, comes as some investors have grown more confident they’ll be made whole if Hertz files for bankruptcy and is forced to sell the cars backing their bonds, the people said.

Hertz has until Friday to either extend a forbearance agreement or make around $400 million of lease payments. If no deal can be reached, Hertz may need to seek court protection in the coming days, according to the people. Top shareholder Carl Icahn could still swoop in with a last-minute rescue to protect a $1.6 billion investment, now worth about $170 million as of Thursday’s close, one of the people said.

A representative for Hertz declined to comment. Read more

Volkswagen of America has parted ways with its chief marketing officer, Saad Chehab, nine months after hiring him.

In a brief statement announcing the separation today, Volkswagen said Chehab had left the company, effective immediately. The German brand named sales head Duncan Movassaghi to assume Chehab's duties on an interim basis.

Chehab's role had been confined to North America, and his departure was unrelated to a controversy this week over a Volkswagen ad with racial-discrimination overtones that ran in some European markets before being pulled.

Chehab, 53, a native of Lebanon who had previously been vice president, marketing communications for Kia Motors America from April 2017 to June 2019, joined VW in August, where he reported directly to Volkswagen of America CEO Scott Keogh. The two-time Automotive News All-Star — he won in 2012 for his work with Chrysler and again in 2019 for the work he had done with Kia — had been tasked to reposition Volk…

Car-sharing platforms, which have suffered during the COVID-19 lockdown, see an opportunity emerging: an increase in short-distance, local trips as U.S. consumers look for a different way of getting to work and running errands.

Executives from Turo, Getaround and Zipcar are hoping their pitch to customers — a means of travel that is cheaper than car ownership and sanitary — will also win business from public transit users and Uber and Lyft riders.

In addition to the uptick in shorter trips, the companies also report increased use by essential workers and health care staff. “Customer confidence in travel safety can change their booking habits,” said Preeti Wadhwani, a research analyst with Global Market Insights. “Health-care providers or first responders are relying on car-sharing companies such as Turo to commute to work.”

Getaround says overall trip volume in the U.S. has declined by almost 50 percent since states began shutting down their economi…

Used vehicle sales kept shrinking in April in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, albeit at a slower pace compared to the first three months.  

Last month, used-vehicle deliveries across the country dropped 7.3 percent to some 1.1 million, the China Automobile Dealers Association said. 

In the first four months, cumulative used-vehicle volume totaled 3.1 million, a slump of 30 percent from the same period last year. 

By contrast, China’s new-vehicle sales rebounded in April, ending a 21-month decline, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. 

During the month, nearly 2.1 million new vehicles were delivered in the country, an increase of 4.4 percent from a year earlier. 

Through April, China’s new-vehicle sales fell 31 percent to below 5.8 million. 

Overall, used-vehicle sales are expected to fall in 2020 after steady, robust growth over the past two decades.

In 2019, volu…