Trade News

AutoNation Inc. and Automatic Labs Inc., a unit of SiriusXM Holdings Inc., are expanding the AutoNation Connected Car Program to new markets.

The Connected Car Program, powered by Automatic Labs' in-vehicle adapter and app, was launched at five AutoNation stores in the U.S. in April 2019, the automotive retailer said in a statement Thursday.

The program is expanding in AutoNation's Houston, Phoenix and New York markets, Marc Cannon, AutoNation's chief marketing officer, wrote in an email to Automotive News.

The Automatic app gives customers and AutoNation access to vehicle health notifications, active recalls and engine light-check alerts. AutoNation said 97 percent of customers who activated the Connected Car Program at point of sale remain engaged with the program, and it has seen a higher retention of customers' vehicle maintenance and service business.

"This service establishes a strong and lasting connection betw…

Nissan will boost its marketing outlays by nearly 60 percent from last year and more than double the dealer sales-volume bonuses to help drive foot traffic at stores and lift dealer profitability.

The financially embattled automaker is facing rebellion from dealers, some of whom are walking away from the sales incentive program after Nissan decoupled some bonus money from hitting volume-based targets.

The incentive program changes, announced to Nissan's U.S. dealers Thursday, came on the same day Nissan Motor Co. cut its full-year operating profit forecast by 43 percent. Nissan posted a net loss of ¥26.1 billion ($238 million) for the October-December quarter — a performance that contrasts sharply with upbeat forecasts from rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.

"We have been on a tough road, and we appreciate you sticking with us," David Kershaw, Nissan division vice president of sales and regional operations, said in a letter to dealers. "Our go…

Dana Inc. saw a decrease in its fourth-quarter net income, largely due to elevated costs that reduced profit and pressured company margins.

The axles and transmissions supplier said said Thursday that net income for the quarter dropped 15 percent to $85 million.

The supplier said sales in the fourth quarter gained 1 percent to $1.99 billion. The company said the slight increase is attributable to recent acquisitions and backlog conversions.

Last year, the supplier completed its acquisition of Canadian company Nordresa Motors Inc. in a move to grow its electrified drivetrain capabilities. Dana also completed its acquisition of drive systems business Oerlikon, the largest deal in company history, last year.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the fourth quarter also increased 1 percent to $226 million.

Adjusted free cash flow fell more than 9 percent to $218 million, the company said, largely due to hig…

Internal combustion engines may not be the only casualty of the sweeping shift toward electric vehicles that's allegedly coming in the years ahead.

It could be time to say goodbye to hybrids as well.

Production costs and a changing regulatory environment are combining to make hybrids and plug-in hybrids an increasingly unattractive proposition for automakers, according to a report from Morgan Stanley.

The investment firm issued a research note Tuesday that highlights divergent paths for automakers, some of which have committed to hybrid development while others are bypassing them in the fast lane toward an all-electric future.

Morgan Stanley published a report called "The Case Against Hybrids" in October 2019. Only four months later, the company says it's "even more bearish on hybrids today."

Growing concerns include the regulatory front, where the United Kingdom said last week that it plans to prohibit the sale of new gasoline and…

Tesla Inc. isn’t yet in the clear with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

On Dec. 4, the same day the agency closed its second investigation into the electric-car maker in as many years, the SEC sent a subpoena seeking information on a fresh set of matters, Tesla disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday. The regulator is looking into “certain financial data and contracts including Tesla’s regular financing arrangements,” according to the company.

The investigation the SEC closed in December related to projections and public statements regarding Model 3 production rates. Earlier in 2019, the agency went to court with CEO Elon Musk over tweets he sent about how many cars the company would build for the year.

A judge forced the two sides to shore up a settlement reached in 2018 over claims Musk made during his short-lived efforts to take Tesla private.

Two days after the SEC issued the subpoena late last year, Tesla lost its third general …

DETROIT — BorgWarner Inc. posted moderate results in the fourth quarter and touted future restructuring efforts and its acquisition of Delphi Technologies as growth points for the first quarter.

BorgWarner reported on Thursday that fourth-quarter net income fell 4.34 percent to $220 million.

Net sales fell less than 1 percent to $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter, while adjusted operating income rose 5.3 percent to $340 million.

BorgWarner said light-vehicle outgrowth offset commercial-vehicle headwinds, and that its European business benefitted from stronger-than-expected diesel demand.

The powertrain and drivetrain supplier was also not impacted by the 40-day UAW strike at General Motors in the third or fourth quarters, which took a toll on the net profits of many other Tier 1 suppliers such as Aptiv and Lear Corp.

The supplier's engine segment sales were down less than 1 percent to $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter.

Drivetra…

New-vehicle sales in China declined 18 percent to 1.94 million in January as the early Lunar New Year holiday and worries over the spread of the deadly coronavirus curbed showroom traffic and dealer orders, signaling the industry’s two-year slide will continue in 2020.   

The viral epidemic that spread from Wuhan in central China to the rest of the country in late January will also result in sharply lower sales in February, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers warned in a statement Thursday.

In another sign of the market’s gloom, retail light-vehicle sales fell 22 percent to 1.71 million units, the biggest-ever drop for the month of January, the China Passenger Car Association said Thursday. The group warned that February sales may drop more than 30 percent.

January marked the 19th consecutive month industry sales have dropped in China.  

The main reason behind the latest slump in volume was the weeklong Lunar New Year …

The deadly coronavirus that has plagued China for weeks continues to hamper new-vehicle sales as dealers struggle to resume operations. Only 20 percent of China’s auto dealerships have reopened as of Tuesday, the China Automobile Dealers Association said, citing results of a survey of 2,895 franchised stores across the country. 

At the same time, dealer inventories remain elevated, the group said.

More than 73 percent of dealerships surveyed said they remain subject to strict and lengthy processes to obtain local government approval to reopen, CADA said. 

A lack of face masks and other protective measures, employee shortages stemming from travel restrictions and anticipation of low showroom traffic, as consumers hunker down at home or elsewhere amid the epidemic, are also undermining dealers, CADA said.  

To help dealerships pull through the viral outbreak, the trade group published an open letter last week urging China's Banking an…

Sales at BYD Co., China’s largest electrified vehicle maker, slumped 43 percent to 25,173 vehicles in January due mainly to the Lunar New Year holiday and steep cuts in electrified vehicle subsidies last year. 

The company’s electrified vehicle deliveries plunged 75 percent to 7,133 last month. 

That wiped out demand for gasoline vehicles, which rose 18 percent to 18,040, according to BYD filings with stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, where it is listed. 

China’s weeklong Lunar New Year holiday began on Jan. 5. Last year, it started on Feb. 5. 

BYD’s sales have slid seven straight months after Beijing slashed subsidies for battery EVs more than 60 percent and halved subsidies for plug-in hybrids in June. 

In 2019, the company’s new-vehicle deliveries slipped 11 percent to 461,399.

EV and plug-in hybrid sales dropped 7.4 percent to 229,506 while deliveries of gasoline vehicles declined 15 percent to 2…

WASHINGTON -- Tesla Inc. is recalling 15,000 Model X crossovers because of a potential issue that can lead to a loss of power steering assist that could make steering harder and increase the risk of a crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada said aluminum bolts that attach the electric power steering gear assist motor to the gear housing may corrode and break causing a reduction or complete loss of power steering assist in some 2016 model year Model X vehicles.

NHTSA said there are no known crashes or injuries associated with the issue. The recall covers 14,193 U.S. vehicles and 843 in Canada. Tesla will arrange for the replacement of the mounting bolts and will also replace the steering gear if needed, Transport Canada said.