Trade News

LAS VEGAS -- The success of General Motors and its dealers depends on them working together, GM CEO Mary Barra told dealers Monday. So GM is focused on getting dealers -- large and small-- ready for the future.

"It's very important as we work at putting the customer at the center that we partner with our dealers because you're the person has that relationship with that customer every day," Barra told dealers at her first NADA Show. "Customers are also increasing their expectations of what brands mean and what service means. So as we partner together, I know we can navigate the landscape in front of us and come out in a leadership position."

GM's sales are strong in rural and suburban areas largely because of the dealers there, said Barra. Brian Sweeney, who previously led Chevrolet, took on the newly created role of vice president of dealer operations and innovation in November. He will lead retail innovation and work with Chevrolet, Buick and GMC dealers to im…

LAS VEGAS — National Automobile Dealers Association Chairman Rhett Ricart used his introductory address at the 2020 NADA Show to reassure dealers that they'll "be just fine" as new technology and services transform the automotive industry.

"We'll meet disruption at the door and no matter what the name is, we'll answer it," he said in an impassioned 15-minute speech.

"Dealers thrive on disruption...There's something to be said of auto dealers that went through wars, recessions, depressions, oil embargoes, global economic meltdowns, OEM bankruptcies, and are still upright, standing tall, and stronger than ever."

Ricart, 63, is CEO of Ricart Automotive Group, which sells seven brands at seven stores in Columbus, Ohio.

He said Monday his top priority as chairman is to improve dealer profitability. Ricart previously told Automotive News that the group's top challenges this year include working with manufacturers to keep vehicles affordable and to ensur…

LAS VEGAS — Electric cars and autonomous vehicles are coming to the U.S. and have great potential to disrupt the automotive status quo, but there's still time for automakers and retailers to embrace the change and incorporate it into their business models, Henio Arcangeli Jr., senior vice president at American Honda Motor Co., told a dealer meeting.

"My advice to you is don't panic," Arcangeli told dealers at a Monday luncheon for the American International Automobile Dealers Association, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. "Instead, think about what you can do to take a larger share of the business that's out there."

The Honda executive was talking specifically about dealer fears that electrification can hurt profitability since EVs generally need less service than gasoline-powered vehicles. For example, EVs don't need oil changes or tune-ups, and their service schedule is more focused on tires, brakes and software.

"There is a real opportunity h…

LAS VEGAS -- Cadillac will reveal its first electric vehicle -- a midsize crossover -- in April, Cadillac president Steve Carlisle told dealers Monday.

Cadillac executives encouraged dealers to begin thinking about their EV future while also taking advantage of a plethora of new internal-combustion vehicles in the brand's lineup.

The brand plans to give dealers a more detailed preview of the next two years at a conference in Austin, Texas, Sept. 1-4.

Cadillac showed a rendering of the midsize electric crossover during the unveiling of the XT6 crossover in Detroit in January 2019. The crossover will begin a swift cadence of EV launches for General Motors. The automaker has said that it plans to build 20 EVs globally by 2023.

"We want to start working with Cadillac and our dealers' future, which is EV," said David Butler, executive manager of Michigan-based The Suburban Collection and Cadillac's national dealer council chairman.

The dealer co…

Owen Bieber, who led the UAW in negotiating landmark labor deals that expanded health care coverage and job protections, helping to ease the pain for workers during a turbulent period as Detroit automakers battled economic downturns and the rise of Japanese and European brands, died on Monday, the union said in a statement. He was 90.

Bieber, a tall, quiet man with roots in rural western Michigan, was the last of the UAW's top leaders to come out of the era of Walter Reuther, the fiery UAW chief who built the union into a powerful social force from 1946 until 1970, when he died in a plane crash.

During Bieber's tenure steering the UAW, from 1983 to 1995, the union battled job cuts and membership losses as the Detroit 3, notably General Motors, lost market share to Japanese and other automakers.

Under Bieber, the Canadian Auto Workers union split off from the UAW while the union won the establishment of a Jobs Bank program at GM, Ford and Chrysler. …

Aubry Padilla remembers the moment.

She had been selling cars for a couple of years when she had one of her best months ever—selling 30 cars, far and away tops at her dealership. At the monthly sales meeting, Padilla recalls, the owner looked at her and said, “Wow, 30 cars, Aubry. I hope it’s not a fluke.” Then he looked to the salesman who was in second place, who had sold 13 cars, and effusively congratulated and praised him.

Padilla was stunned. “It was in that moment when I realized I was in a gentleman’s club. In that moment, I felt a fire inside me. I never wanted to feel that way again,” she says. “It was a pivotal moment for me.”

Padilla used that fire and motivation to work hard, moving up first to internet sales manager and then to finance manager at the dealership. Then in 2015, she was invited to coffee by Ed Garcia, one of the principals of New Mexico’s Garcia Auto Group…

SHANGHAI -- In the past two weeks, the spread of the coronavirus has slowed significantly in China except for the epicenter, the central province of Hubei. 

But panic triggered by the epidemic has taken hold across the country, making it impossible for automakers and most other industries to normalize operations. 

The number of new infection cases in China, excluding Hubei, declined for 13 straight days, dropping to 115 on Sunday. In Shanghai, China’s most populous city, local authorities reported only three newly confirmed infection cases on Sunday. 

However, fearful of the virus, which has resulted in nearly 1,700 deaths in Hubei as of Sunday, Chinese provinces and municipalities are maintaining strict restrictions on travel and business activity. 

People traveling across provinces and municipalities are required to be quarantined at home for two weeks upon arrival. Businesses must undergo a lengthy process to apply for gover…

GAC Motor Co. and Geely Automobile Holdings are upgrading the technology in air filtration systems to protect vehicle occupants from the deadly coronavirus. 

GAC said it will upgrade the system for free for existing car buyers. And starting next month, vehicles will be fitted with the upgraded system before delivery, GAC said Sunday. 

GAC said the upgraded filtration capability matches that of an N95 face mask. 

The face mask, typically used by medics, is believed to be able to block more than 95 percent of particles measuring 0.3 microns and above. 

Geely said last week it was developing an intelligent air purification system with filtering capability on par with that of an N95 face mask.  

Geely expects to complete development of the system before the end of the month and start mass procuring it around March 10. 

General Motors lost ground in China last month as its two joint ventures both underperformed the overall market.

Sales at SAIC-GM, GM’s car joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp., slipped 30 percent to 125,464 in January, according to figures SAIC disclosed last week. 

Deliveries at SAIC-GM-Wuling, the Detroit automaker’s light-vehicle partnership with SAIC, plummeted 51 percent to 78,240.

In January, total sales at the two joint ventures slumped 40 percent to 203,704.

By contrast, new light-vehicle deliveries across China fell 20 percent to 1.61 million during the month due to the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday and the coronavirus epidemic that spread from the central China city of Wuhan at the end of the month.

SAIC-GM produces and markets Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet cars and light trucks, while SAIC-GM-Wuling builds and distributes Baojun-badged entry-level cars and Wuling-brand minibuses.

GM only releases China sales on a qu…

Dealership technology company Reynolds and Reynolds Co. has acquired GoMoto, a supplier of self-service kiosks for dealership service departments.

The deal will expand digital retailing abilities for Reynolds, which specializes in dealership management systems and customer relationship management platforms, the company said Friday.

Reynolds and GoMoto did not disclose terms of the deal.

"It is a crossing of some really nice dynamics, of the consumer experience and our dealership customers," David Bates, Reynolds' vice president of customer support, told Automotive News. "We believe it will grow quickly. But how that happens, we're still trying to figure out."Reynolds said GoMoto brings the ability to speed up the check-in process in service lanes. The kiosks create tailored maintenance recommendations to a customer, contributing to higher rates of upsells.

The kiosks are being used by dealerships representing multiple…

Duke Hale, CEO of HAAH Automotive Holdings, top center, leads the Vantas staff in a team-building exercise to build on company culture. Hale's Sunday morning cheer included, "What are we going to do today? Win!"