Trade News

Stockpiles at new-vehicle dealerships dropped to a 45-day supply in April from 53 days the previous month, the China Automobile Dealers Association said on Thursday. 

It was the second-sraight monthly decline in dealership inventories tracked by the trade group after China abandoned strict pandemic controls in December.

In April, inventories at stores stocking luxury brands and imported vehicles decreased to a 29-day supply from 38 days in March.

The average backlog at stores under Chinese brands slid to 38 days from 39 days the previous month. 

Stockpiles at dealerships marketing foreign mass-market brands producing in China dipped to 50 days from 62 days a month earlier.

Last month, dealerships at SAIC Motor Corp.’s Roewe brand carried the highest average inventory at 76 days. 

They were followed by Buick and Nissan dealerships, which reported an average backlog of 74 days and 71 days, respectively, according to the …

General Motors aims to bring in more revenue from commercial and fleet buyers with a new unit designed to simplify the sales process and create a "one-stop" experience.

The initiative, called GM Envolve, will give businesses a dedicated sales account executive who can reach across multiple divisions, whether the customers are buying vehicles or in need of help with energy management. The unit will handle sales of internal combustion products as well as electric vehicles such as GM's BrightDrop delivery vans and the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV.

The automaker planned to unveil GM Envolve on Wednesday at its annual Fleet Solutions Summit in San Diego.

GM said its commercial business is on the upswing, with sales rising for five consecutive quarters. In recent years, the company said it has attracted more than 300 fleet customers that buy at least 300 GM vehicles each year.

One goal of GM Envolve, officials said, is to help commercial customers i…

Self-driving technology company Cruise is expanding its operations to more cities in Texas.

The company, backed by General Motors, said Wednesday that it will begin "supervised testing" with a safety driver at the wheel next week in Houston, followed by Dallas at a future date. A Cruise spokesperson told Automotive News the initial deployments in those cities represent "the first step to launching driverless operations with no safety driver in the car."

Cruise currently operates commercial driverless robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, as well as San Francisco and Phoenix.

"Exciting news for Team Cruise!" GM CEO Mary Barra wrote Wednesday in a LinkedIn post. "Another step closer to the autonomous future as people experience driverless rides in new areas."

Cruise expanded its San Francisco operations last month to add daytime service and cover a larger geographic area. The company said employees now can ride at all hours in San Francisco, while da…

CarGurus Inc.'s first-quarter net income tumbled 37 percent to $11.9 million as its digital wholesale division revenue plunged 76 percent, contributing to a worsening loss for that segment vs. a year earlier.

The vehicle listings company insists that its wholesale digital trading platform, CarOffer — which is a big part of digital wholesale — has turned a corner, along with overall operations.

"While we recently faced operational challenges with our CarOffer business, progress this quarter demonstrates our agility in responding promptly and effectively to navigate the year ahead," CEO Jason Trevisan said during the company's Tuesday earnings call.

CarOffer's "strong execution" helped it exceed forecast guidance for the quarter and focus on overall growth goals, Trevisan said.

Wall Street seemed pleased with the results. CarGurus' stock price traded at $18.94 late Wednesday afternoon, up nearly 16 percent from the previous day's close.

…

The pace car for the 107th running of the Indy 500 scheduled for May 28 will be, for the 20th time since 1978, a Chevrolet Corvette. But this one is a bit different from past pace cars.

It's a 2023 Corvette Z06 hardtop convertible, the first time a Corvette with a folding metal roof has paced the race.

With a top speed of 189 mph, the 670-hp Corvette featuring a 5.5-liter V-8 is nearly fast enough to keep up with the open-wheel cars in the race. A carbon aero package provides 734 pounds of downforce at 186 mph, more than any other Corvette.

The pace car is painted red mist and sports a two-tone interior. This marks the 34th time since 1948 that a Chevrolet has set the pace for the Indy 500.

SAN FRANCISCO/TOKYO - Panasonic said on Wednesday that it will delay the commercial production of its 4680 battery cells championed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and begin operations during the April to September period in 2024, later than previously scheduled, as the company aims to improve their performance.

Tesla's Japanese supplier, Panasonic, previously planned to start volume production for Tesla between April 2023 to March 2024.

"Mass production rescheduled to begin during 1H FY3/25 to introduce performance improvement measures that will further enhance competitiveness," Panasonic said on its earnings presentation materials, referring to the first half of the fiscal year ending March 2025.

Panasonic is running a pilot 4680 production line at its Wakayama factory in Japan, while Tesla is already producing the 4680 battery cells, which Musk has touted as being key to making cheaper and compelling electric cars. But the carmaker struggled to meet its target…

Battery-electric vehicles' market share could grow rapidly in the next decade, buoyed in part by industrial policy like the Inflation Reduction Act, supply chain experts said during an industry webinar Wednesday.

As demand increases, manufacturers will need to find a sufficient and affordable supply of the minerals needed to produce EV batteries. This need has emerged as a geopolitical issue, with global industrial policy makers seeking to secure supply chains.

Graham Evans, S&P Global Mobility's director of auto supply chain and technology, said during the webinar that BEV production globally could increase to about 44 million in 2030 from about 8.8 million in 2022, an increase in market share to about 45 percent from less than 10 percent.

The increase in demand for BEVs would translate to increased demand for batteries — to about 3.4 terrawatt hours from about 0.5 terrawatt hours — and, in turn, the raw materials needed to produce them. One terraw…

Vroom Inc. said Tuesday its revenue and sales volume fell in the first quarter as the company kept working through a long-term business plan that prioritizes improving profitability. However, it narrowed its net loss year over year.

The online used-vehicle retailer reported a net loss of $75 million for the quarter ended March 31, slimmer than the $310.5 million lost in the first quarter of 2022. Revenue fell 79 percent to $196.5 million.

Tuesday marked one year since Vroom announced implementing that long-term plan, which included slowing the business down through 2022 to sell fewer used cars and trucks and instead focus on reducing costs, improving its title and registration processes and positioning to grow more sustainably.

"As we execute our strategy in 2023, we intend to resume growth, sell through aged inventory, improve variable cost per unit, continue to reduce fixed costs and continue to convert balance sheet items into cash all while living wi…

A conversation with U.S. Steel Chief Commercial Officer Ken Jaycox about the company’s work with “green steel.” Toyota, seen as a laggard on electric vehicles, plans to show a new concept this year. It also aims for record production and sales.

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Workers at a Clarios vehicle battery plant in Holland, Ohio, began striking Monday morning after voting down a contract proposal, local TV news station 13abc reported. The approximately 400 striking workers are members of UAW Local 12.

Clarios is a leading global producer of low-voltage batteries for a range of vehicles, with 18 plants and more than 5,800 employees in the U.S. The Holland plant, near Toledo, employs about 650 employees and produces 125,000 to 150,000 batteries a week for Ford and General Motors.

"This is really going to hurt their delivery to these companies," Bruce Baumhower, president of UAW Local 12, told Automotive News.

"Toledo is a key location for Clarios and has been a focus of recent investment as we anticipate our ability to competitively support growth and increased customer demand well into the future," a company spokesperson said.

Contract negotiations at the plant began in April, with a previous contract expiring Ap…

China’s increasingly heated price war is exacting a heavy toll on automakers. Steep discounts have failed to reverse a slide in sales for most manufacturers, and earnings have taken a hit.   

A Bloomberg analysis of first-quarter results from more than a dozen Chinese automakers showed revenue and profit margins are under pressure. Save for a few exceptions such as BYD Co. and Changan Automobile Group Co., most top listed Chinese automakers suffered a decline in profits — the worst showing since the beginning of 2020, when the industry was crunched by the start of the pandemic.

“It turned out the price cuts didn’t stimulate too much extra demand,” said Minghsun Lee, head of greater China auto research at Bank of America Corp. “Consumers have the perception that car companies will continue to cut prices, so they’ll wait.”

Here’s how key metrics of deliveries, revenue and profits are faring: 

Of the 17 Chinese carmakers that have pu…

Porsche is launching the most powerful version of the midengine Boxster roadster — a 493-hp two-seater powered by a race car engine.

The 2024 Porsche 718 Spyder RS arrives in the U.S. next spring and starts at $162,150, including shipping.

The new variant debuts in June at an event in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany, to mark 75 years of Porsche sports cars. It will also make a cameo in July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.

The 718 Spyder RS is a last hurrah for combustion engine loyalists as Porsche steers toward a mostly electric future. An electric Boxster should arrive mid-decade.

"With the wave of electric models coming in the next few years, Porsche traditionalists will stop at nothing for just one more high-powered sports car," said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions. "Upping the power on the Boxster gives us that one last growl of a high-revving flat six as it shrieks around the co…