Trade News

Lithia Motors Inc. confirmed it bought a majority of Virginia's Priority Auto Group —14 dealerships — from Dennis Ellmer on Monday, but the transaction did not include the group's two Lexus dealerships.

Ellmer is staying on with Lithia and will remain CEO of Priority Auto, Tom Dobry, Lithia's vice president of strategic operations, confirmed to Automotive News in an email.

Ellmer separately retained the two Lexus stores, Dobry said.

The transaction marks Lithia's first U.S. dealership deal of 2023 and even without the Lexus stores, marks this year's biggest deal in terms of the number of dealerships acquired, as tracked by Automotive News.

The acquisition builds off Lithia's small footprint in the Mid-Atlantic state and gives the auto retailer a sizable presence throughout Virginia.

The acquired dealerships in the Chesapeake, Hampton and Newport News, Va., markets include Priority Toyota Chesapeake, Priority Infiniti of Greenbrier, Priori…

WASHINGTON — U.S auto safety regulators told nearly two dozen major automakers on Tuesday not to comply with a Massachusetts vehicle telematics law, saying it poses significant safety concerns.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a letter to major automakers they must comply with a federal vehicle safety law and not with a state law that requires open remote access to vehicle telematics and vehicle-generated data.

Because federal conflicts with and therefore preempts the state law, "NHTSA expects vehicle manufacturers to fully comply with their Federal safety obligations."  

The 2020 measure seeks to allow independent repair shops to access diagnostic data that newer cars can send directly to dealers and manufacturers to allow consumers to seek repairs outside dealerships.

The NHTSA said a malicious actor "could utilize such open access to remotely command vehicles to operate dangerously, including attacking multiple …

Join Automotive News at noon Eastern on Wednesday for a LinkedIn Live discussion on the future of AM radio in EVs.

Mike Ramsey, vice president and analyst at Gartner, will join Automotive News Executive Editor Jamie Butters and Staff Reporter Molly Boigon as they discuss the factors driving the exclusion of broadcast AM radio in vehicles, why some in Congress are pushing for it to stay and the larger EV landscape impacting the debate.

We will hear from AN readers who submitted their voice notes about AM radio and engage with commenters. We welcome questions and comments in advance

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Toyota thinks its future EVs will travel 900 miles or more on a single charge. GM picks Indiana for its newest battery plant. Plus, the Inflation Reduction Act's advanced manufacturing production tax credit is a game-changer for battery makers, but pushback is growing in Congress.

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Chinese battery maker Gotion Inc. plans to move forward with a $2.4 billion battery parts plant near Big Rapids after receiving results from a federal review looking into potential national security risks.

The company said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States determined in its review of the project that its proposed purchase of land in Green Township in Mecosta County "is not a covered real estate transaction and is not a covered transaction under the Defense Production Act of 1950," according to a Gotion news release.

A covered transaction is a deal subject to CFIUS jurisdiction. Covered transactions can include foreign investment in the United States and certain real estate transactions by foreign people that are reviewed to determine the effect of such deals on U.S. national security.

"We voluntarily submitted all the needed documents to the U.S. Department of Treasury Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to be transparent…

Consumer Reports tests show brake lights on some electric vehicles from Hyundai, Kia and Genesis do not illuminate when the vehicle is brought to a stop while using aggressive regenerative-braking settings.

This potential safety concern means drivers following these EVs could have no warning that the vehicle is quickly slowing down. The lack of visual aid could lead to potentially hazardous situations.

When particular cars are set in the most aggressive "one-pedal-driving" regenerative-braking mode, the brake light won't illuminate unless the driver's foot is completely off the accelerator, even as the vehicle slows to near stop, said Alex Knizek, Consumer Reports' manager of auto testing and insights.

"Hyundai is aware of the customer concerns regarding EV brake light illumination. Hyundai engineering teams are investigating and reviewing our EV braking strategies. All Hyundai Motor Group electric vehicles meet the FMVSS No. 108 standard that regulates…

Polestar's electric fastback, the Polestar 2, delivers more power, range and content for the new model year — along with a higher sticker price. The 2024 model arrives in August.

The updated Polestar 2, like its XC40 and C40 siblings from major shareholder Volvo, receives a new-generation permanent magnet electric motor and new silicon carbide inverters to help boost efficiency and performance. It also gets larger, improved lithium ion batteries.

For 2024, the single-motor Polestar 2 starts at $51,300, including shipping — a 3 percent premium over the current model. The single-motor variant shifts from front- to rear-wheel drive.

A new motor produces 299 hp, 68 hp over the current model. The car promises 320 miles of driving range and a 0 to 60 mph time of 5.9 seconds.

The dual-motor Polestar 2 now starts at $56,700, including shipping — a 6 percent price hike over the 2023 model. The increase is offset by a previously …

SUSONO, Japan — Solid-state batteries for electric vehicle with ranges of 900 miles or more. Software operating systems that update automatically. Futuristic factories where cars drive themselves through final assembly. Ultra-slick aerodynamics developed through rocket science.

Those are just a few of the new technologies that Toyota is packing into its toolbox for EVs of tomorrow.

Under pressure to show it has a winning game plan for the disruptive new age of electric vehicles, Toyota Motor Corp. has spilled fresh details about its plans to leapfrog ahead in just a few years.

Top executives of the automaker revealed parts of its wide-ranging strategy for the first time this month at Toyota's Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in the foothills of Mount Fuji under the theme "Let's change the future of cars."

An all-day executive briefing drove home Toyota's point that, contrary to being left behind, it has both the technolo…

Stella Automotive AI, a Tampa, Fla., auto retail technology startup funded in part by dealership groups Maroone USA and Pohanka Automotive Group, has hired auto industry consultant Rich Sands as its new CEO.

His hiring, effective May 26 and announced Monday, comes after the company in early May announced it had closed a seed round of financing.

Beyond Geoffrey Pohanka, the 2023 chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association and chairman of his namesake group, and Mike Maroone, CEO of Maroone USA, funding round participants included Czubay Family Enterprises and Presidio Group, a Denver and Atlanta investment banking and advisory firm focused on auto retail and consumer mobility. Ken Czubay, a partner with Phil Smith Auto Group, told Automotive News that Czubay Family Enterprises is his family's "small investment vehicle."

Stella Automotive did not immediately share how much was raised in the round.

Sands, 49, most recently was an automoti…

General Motors says it will invest about $630 million at its Ft. Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana for future full-size pickup production. Lithia’s acquisition goals just got even bigger. Plus, U.S. Department of Energy deputy assistant secretary Michael Berube talks about the department’s Hydrogen Hubs initiative.

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India’s transition to electric vehicles is giving automakers whose conventional gasoline cars have failed to make a mark a second chance.

High taxes, price-conscious consumers and tricky logistical issues have made it tough for many foreign carmakers to thrive in one of Asia’s biggest economies. They’ve found it difficult to loosen the grip of local players like Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., a household name since the 1980s thanks to its iconic Maruti 800 that became the first affordable car for the masses.

But with the advent of EVs, firms like MG Motor India Pvt, the local unit of China’s SAIC Motor Corp., Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG may finally gain a better foothold.

While MG Motor controls just a fraction of the local passenger vehicle market, last month it announced ambitious plans to grab a share of the country’s budding EV space, expecting to derive as much as three-quarters of its sales in India from electric cars by 2028 via the…