Trade News

For the most part, shoppers coming to Dulles Motorcars accept that the vehicle they're trading in is worth a lot less now than it was just a few weeks ago.

"It's not like they don't have a spouse [working] in the basement of their house," said Jeremy Lustman, the Leesburg, Va., group's vice president of operations, alluding to the state and local orders keeping most Americans at home during the coronavirus pandemic. "I mean, they understand what's happening."

The pandemic that has brought the U.S. economy to a near halt has also made for an abrupt turnaround in the used-vehicle business, a part of auto retailing that franchised dealers have increasingly relied on in recent years. Retail used-vehicle sales and wholesale auction volumes have plunged. Vehicle values are down significantly in the span of just a few weeks. It's left dealers wrestling with how to handle trade-ins and at what volumes to stock their lots in the coming weeks.

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Melinda Zabritski, who says she "fell into" the auto finance world, has become a leading voice in that space as a senior director at Experian Automotive. Since joining the company in 2004, she has advanced her career by developing innovative business ideas, commanding respect and embracing mentorship. Zabritski also says the auto industry has progressed in recognizing and promoting female leaders.

BMW is prepping to expand its crossover lineup — now at seven nameplates — once again, with a sporty version of the flagship X7.

While BMW has not announced plans for the new crossover, the automaker recently registered the X8 M trademark, as reported by X7Forum.com.

It's not clear whether the X8 would be approved for the U.S.

Production of the X8 "fastback," which would compete against the Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne Coupe, could begin at BMW's Spartanburg, S.C., plant in summer 2022, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions.

Consumers have evolved from desiring sedans to crossovers, and traditional coupe buyers are doing the same.

"A top of the line sporty crossover appeals to the person who would have purchased a performance two-seater or coupe a generation or two ago," Fiorani said in an email. "Instead of buying something like a BMW 850Ci, today's version of that driver wou…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co.'s pivot from transmissions to face masks at a Michigan plant began with an executive's late-night text to a colleague. It quickly morphed into a complex, intercontinental scramble to secure and ship machinery and materials — which was nearly thwarted by a flock of unfortunate birds.

It's the stuff of a Hollywood action thriller, even for a century-old automaker that has done logistical backflips in recent years to keep vehicle production from being disrupted by supplier fires and complex plant renovations.

"We have an amazing logistics team," Adrian Price, director of global core engineering for vehicle manufacturing, told Automotive News. "When we have issues, that team just swings into action, and they're able to work magic."

Ford's decision to mass-produce face masks at its Van Dyke Transmission Plant north of Detroit is part of a larger effort to make medical equipment for health care workers and COVI…

As the severity of the coronavirus outbreak was coming into focus mid-March with a plunging stock market and a national emergency declaration from the White House, Hyundai Motor America CEO Jose Muñoz and his top executives were trying to get in front of the wave about to crash down on the U.S. auto industry.

Muñoz, who was closely watching the disruption in Hyundai Motor Group's home market of South Korea and in China, wanted to move quickly and aggressively to support dealers and customers in the U.S. with the relaunch of the automaker's job-loss protection program for new buyers — first seen during the Great Recession. But not everyone was on board.

Muñoz stuck with the plan. That and other moves by Hyundai and its corporate siblings Genesis and Kia mark a line in the sand for the surging Hyundai Motor Group. After gaining market share and industry awards in recent years, the group is willing to spend to defend its gains and position itse…

Even as automakers aim to resume assembling vehicles in as little as two weeks, some now have a new problem: A critical supplier facility has been knocked out by a tornado.

BorgWarner is scrambling to figure out how to quickly put its South Carolina transfer case factory back together after it was demolished last week.

The plant is the source of transfer cases for the Ford F-150, Toyota's North America-made trucks, some Honda Motor Co. light trucks produced in Lincoln, Ala., and possibly other vehicle lines. BorgWarner declined to identify its customers or say how many models the Seneca, S.C., plant supplied.

The company also declined to comment on the condition of the plant or how long it might take to rebuild. But photos posted online by local employees and vendors show a large industrial center that appears to be significantly damaged and lacking a roof.

The plant's 970 employees make it the largest employer in rural Oconee County, in South Ca…

TOKYO — Mazda is tipping its hand about future plans for the brand's trademark rotary engine.

Mazda, in a press release celebrating the company's 100-year anniversary, says the rotary likely will return as a range extender in the new MX-30 electrified crossover.

That vehicle, slated for sale in Europe and Japan, debuted as an EV at last year's Tokyo Motor Show, featuring new design cues and front and rear doors that swing opposite each other.

Now, Mazda is hinting a hybrid version using a rotary engine may be down the road. In a media release highlighting Mazda's history of rotary-engine development, the carmaker noted a small Wankel engine was used as a range extender in a prototype Mazda 2 EV.

"A similar system could find its way onto the Mazda MX-30, a brand-new battery-electric crossover SUV arriving at dealerships this year," Mazda said.

The all-electric MX-30 for Europe and Japan uses a relatively small 35.5-kWh lithium ion battery an…

DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles planned to roll out a digital retailing platform that allows the buying process to take place online late this summer.

But the coronavirus outbreak forced the automaker to hurriedly pull up the release date to the spring as millions of consumers suddenly became confined to their homes. A tool that was envisioned as a convenient perk before the pandemic suddenly became a necessity for shoppers who still need to buy vehicles during a disruptive crisis.

Even though FCA started running commercials on April 1 promoting "the ability to shop and buy from the safety of your home," only some of its dealers were ready for such a monumental shift.

Jeff Kommor, FCA's head of U.S. sales, told Automotive News on Tuesday, April 14, that almost 20 percent of dealers were on the platform and that he expects more than 30 percent to be by the end of the month.

Kommor, in an email, said FCA began a pi…