Trade News

Dealerships that identify as having established digital retailing processes reported higher finance and insurance profits in April than those that didn't, according to a study by the National Automobile Dealers Association and digital retailing provider Roadster. Respondents also reported selling more vehicles with fewer employees, an indication that digitizing more of the car-buying experience is alleviating some of the burden on salespeople.

The study, conducted May 6 to 8, asked 236 franchised and independent dealerships to compare April sales results with those in February, before coronavirus-related closures.

F&I profits rose 58 percent on new vehicles in April for respondents with digital retailing processes. Dealerships that didn't offer digital retailing saw a smaller increase in F&I, up about 35 percent.

Dealerships also reported selling an average of 18 vehicles per salesperson in April, compared with a 13 vehic…

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper sent a letter Monday asking EPA Inspector General Sean O'Donnell to expand the agency's investigation into the new fuel efficiency rules adopted under the Trump administration.

In late February, Carper asked the inspector general to open an investigation into "potentially unlawful efforts and procedural problems" related to the vehicle emissions rules, citing reports received by his office that EPA political officers were dodging certain rule-making and procedural requirements and appeared to be trying to conceal documents critical of the draft rules.

President Donald Trump's rollback of Obama-era vehicle emissions standards was completed March 31. The new rules require 1.5 percent annual increases in efficiency through 2026. The final rules take effect June 29.

In the letter Monday, the Delaware congressman and top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said his office has obtained new documents revealing "sig…

FRANKFURT -- Germany's car finance companies are facing increased scrutiny from the country's main financial watchdog as the coronavirus crisis reduces the value of the vehicles used as collateral for their loans.

Bafin has stepped up how frequently the country's car leasing and auto finance companies must report liquidity and capital metrics, according to people familiar with the matter.

Scrutiny of the lenders is now the closest since at least the financial crisis more than a decade ago, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

A Bafin spokesman declined to comment.

Lockdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus have resulted in a collapse of car resale values and increased financial stress for many borrowers, a combination that could force increased provisions and writedowns at auto lenders. The companies generally are not subject to much scrutiny because their loans are usually backed by the cars that are…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. has briefly halted production at two assembly plants in two consecutive days after workers tested positive for COVID-19. 

Employees at the automaker’s Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan were sent home early Wednesday afternoon after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a spokeswoman, although the company hoped to restart production later Wednesday evening. Assembly lines at its Chicago Assembly Plant were briefly halted Tuesday afternoon and again overnight after two workers there were found to have the virus.

Ford again halted production at Chicago Assembly Wednesday afternoon following a supplier parts shortage, a spokeswoman said. The Wall Street Journal reported an issue at the nearby Lear Corp. seating plant. 

The incidents are the first known issues at Ford since the automaker restarted production at most of its North American assembly plants Monday.

The affected employees in Chicag…

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.

VW's executive director of innovation discusses how the company is fast-tracking the development of future products, moving forward with a venture capital fund to take stakes in startups, and using its Konnect innovation hub to collaborate with the Israeli mobility community.

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Since its founding six years ago, self-driving startup Zoox has devoted its efforts exclusively to creating a brand-new, bespoke people mover. But amid the current pandemic, the company has explored the possibility of using its prototypes for package deliveries.

"This gave us the opportunity to think about moving beyond people," CEO Aicha Evans said Tuesday. "In times of an emergency like this, we're helping the health sector, and cities and states, do essential services. We see this as an opportunity."

Whether the exploration remains a short-term anomaly or evolves into part of the company's overall strategy might hinge on the fate of Zoox itself.

Evans did not address reports of a prospective sale during an appearance Tuesday at the virtual EcoMotion mobility technology conference. But in recent weeks, multiple news outlets have reported the company has explored the possibility.

Given the capital-intensive challenge…

WINDSOR, Ont. -- Auto assembly is slowly coming back online in Canada. 

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was the latest to fire up production lines as production resumed at its Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ont., where the automaker builds minivans.

All employees, from unionized hourly workers to office staff a few miles away at the company’s Canadian headquarters had to undergo a health screening before reporting to work.

Automotive News Canada was one of a handful of media that saw firsthand how employees are screened before entering the workplace — be it a factory or office space.

Six tents and six trailers have been deployed in parking lots east and west of the plant. Employees are first required to pass a daily online personal health questionnaire, delivered through an app on mobile phones.

They then slowly and methodically filed through a screening tent, following red dots spaced about six feet apart in the empl…

Sustainability and boosting transportation efficiency are top priorities for Daniel Ramot.

Ramot is CEO of Via, a company that operates on-demand, app-based passenger shuttles in some cities and also provides a digital infrastructure for optimizing various types of transit services.

He says that despite the challenges the coronavirus pandemic presents for the auto industry and transportation in general, it brings opportunities for Via to further aid public transit providers.

"Longer term, public transport is facing, on the one side, the challenge that people may not want to take public transportation. They may be much more weary of boarding a vehicle that has other passengers on it; they may want to drive themselves," Ramot said Tuesday in a fireside chat during the virtual EcoMotion event. "There's definitely some headwinds around getting people back onto public transport."

COVID-19 highlights areas in which public …

The signs of a recovery are small, but they're there.

Hakan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars, has watched information on sales trickle into his office on a daily basis and sees signals of a rebound.

So far, he says, the automaker's sales in China have risen 20 percent this month, compared with the same period last year. In the Southern U.S., he says, Volvo has sold more cars over the past 10 days than it did last year at that time.

"It's a very small period but still a sign of recovery," he said. "Hopefully, this will be history some months from now, and we will be back into business."

Samuelsson's remarks came Tuesday during a remote appearance at the EcoMotion mobility conference.

He said those were encouraging signs because the company's challenges are not related to supply-chain disruptions. "Our problem is our customers have to come back and buy cars," he said.

Whatever the economic and log…

WASHINGTON -- Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. said on Tuesday it had agreed to make changes to its underwriting practices as part of a $550 million settlement with 33 states and the District of Columbia over subprime auto loans.

The states said Santander violated consumer protection laws by placing borrowers with subprime credit into auto loans it knew carried a high probability of default. Santander has agreed to pay $65 million for restitution for some customers and to waive deficiency balances on loans worth $478 million. It will also pay $7 million to the states to manage restitution claims.

Santander, the nation's largest subprime auto financing company and an arm of Spanish bank Banco Santander SA that went public in 2014, said it was pleased to resolve the investigation and "no additional charges will be taken in connection with the settlement."

"Santander profited by approving high-cost loans to disadvantaged auto buyers who were doomed from…