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BERLIN -- A technical project manager at Continental has admitted to involvement in the Volkswagen diesel scandal and incriminated other defendants, German prosecutors told Reuters.

The unidentified individual admitted to having knowledge of and involvement in the illegal use of so-called defeat devices in VW diesel vehicles, the prosecutor's office said, adding the person would be treated with leniency during sentencing as a result of the statements.

The defeat devices, disclosed in 2015, were used to cheat engine emissions test and triggered the biggest corporate scandal in VW's history.

Other accused individuals had contacted the prosecutor's office "to make confessional statements," the office added.

A total of 60 people are under investigation for aiding and abetting fraud, breach of trust and aiding and abetting breach of trust, prosecutors said.

Continental declined to comment.

In November 2021, the public prosecutor's office …

Lithia Motors Inc., now the largest seller of new vehicles in the U.S., appears to have eliminated around 1,000 unspecified positions this year.

The move comes amid lower gross profits on new and used vehicles and as the auto retailer's same-store new and used vehicle sales slipped in the first quarter compared to a year earlier.

Lithia COO Chris Holzshu, on the company's first-quarter earnings call last week, said the group has been focused on "right-sizing" in certain pockets that had increased its selling, general and administrative expenses "in a declining [gross profit per unit] environment and sales environment that we had to adapt to.

"Since we last spoke coming off of Q4's call, we've eliminated about 1,000 positions in the field and have right-sized a lot of pay plans, kind of getting folks ready for this new environment that helps us leverage the gross and the net. And so, [in] March actually, we saw a lot of that come through the bottom line …

Elon Musk slipped into Washington Wednesday for talks with lawmakers about artificial intelligence. The Tesla Inc. CEO later tweeted about the meetings, suggesting that regulating AI might be appropriate. 

“That which affects safety of the public has, over time, become regulated to ensure that companies do not cut corners,” he wrote. “AI has great power to do good and evil. Better the former.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has been considering legislation to regulate artificial intelligence. 

“We had a very good meeting. We talked about Buffalo, Tesla has a large plant in Buffalo,” Schumer told reporters after the meeting. “And we talked about AI.”

But Representative Thomas Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican, dismissed the idea of regulating the technology: “If AI is outlawed, only those outside of the law will have AI.”

Artificial intelligence has been a focus of research for years, from …

A look at how Japan’s two largest automakers are talking up their new-found focus on electric vehicles. Group 1 Automotive’s net income drops in the first quarter. And Toyota finally gets some good news on production.

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Hertz Global Holdings Inc. on Thursday reported that its overall revenue rose 13 percent to $2.05 billion for the quarter ended March 31. 

The company also posted an adjusted quarterly net income of 39 cents per share, compared with Refinitiv IBES estimates of 21 cents.

Demand for rentals remains strong as more companies mandate work from office and people resume their travel plans after a long pandemic-induced hiatus.

The company also benefited from price hikes on one-way rentals amid flight disruptions in the U.S. last year, as more people opted to hire vehicles and get to their destination on time.

"Hertz reported better-than-expected results as they continue to benefit from strong consumer demand for travel and the ongoing recovery in business travel," Ivan Feinseth, Tigress Financial Partners analyst, said.

Demand for Hertz's rental services was also helped by the company's EV fleet as consumers looking to purchase a car wi…

Despite a double-digit percentage rise in used-vehicle sales at Sonic Automotive Inc.'s EchoPark brand of used-only stores, the auto retailer's net income fell by half in the first quarter on lower sales and gross profits on new and used vehicles at its franchised dealerships.

Sonic, of Charlotte, N.C., said net income plunged 51 percent to $47.7 million, while revenue increased 1 percent to $3.49 billion, a first-quarter record, the company noted.

Among its franchised dealerships, average gross profit per retail new vehicle fell 19 percent to $5,463. The average gross profit per used vehicle at its franchised dealerships slipped 6.1 percent to $1,626.

EchoPark's first-quarter revenue rose 4.6 percent to $650.5 million, a first-quarter record. The used-vehicle-only business lost $46.8 million in the quarter, worse than its $35.3-million loss in the unit a year earlier.

"We are committed to EchoPark's long-term earnings potential and remain focused…

Geely's EV brand Zeekr is the latest to join a growing list of automakers that have turned to the "gigapress" die casting technique pioneered by Tesla to slash the cost of electric vehicles.

Zeekr's manufacturing technology chief Jiang Kehong told Reuters the Chinese carmaker had started using massive aluminum die casts to make a large rear underbody section of the Zeekr 009 six-seat, multi-purpose van.

He said the technique had helped Zeekr eliminate almost 800 welding points, cut defects, made the vehicle lighter, and boosted structural stiffness, in turn improving the ride of the MPV which went on sale in China this year.

"In the future, Zeekr will use giga-casting technology on more models," Jiang said.

Zeekr's shift to the gigapress technique comes at the same time Chinese rival Xpeng has adopted a new vehicle platform technology that also mimics the way Tesla designs and manufactures electric cars.

Metal and plastic die casting has l…

Job-recruitment platform WrenchWay, which gives auto technicians an insider's view of dealerships' operations, equipment, pay levels, company culture and other pertinent information, recently asked techs their thoughts on solving the national shortage of wrench turners.

They asked: What is the one thing that needs to change to improve the technician shortage? The responses roughly fell into five categories: public perception; focus on younger generations; compensation; career paths and work environment; and diversity, leadership and more.

Here is a sampling of technicians' responses.

"The one thing that needs to change: public perception. As long as college degrees keep being glorified and no attention is given to the importance of technicians, we're fighting a losing battle." — Marco J Zwanenburg, automotive technician, Naples Luxury Imports, Naples, Fla.

"We need to motivate young people by showing them the positives of our trade. The …

Beck & Masten Buick-GMC North and Beck & Masten Buick-GMC South have been recognized for their commitment to hiring female service advisers.

The WomenInTheServiceLane award, presented by online service and parts forum the Ted Ings Fixed Ops Roundtable, recognized the Houston stores for having women fill half of the adviser roles. Group Fixed Operations Director Mike Hoeller, North Service Director Lee Velazquez, South Fixed Operations Director Vennie Trevino and South Service Manager Hannah Wilson were commended for advocating for the hiring of more women.

The quarterly award is given to service departments that have women making up at least 40 percent of the service advisers.

"Far too many dealership service leaders use the excuse of 'always hiring the best person for the job' as a cover for hiring those who look like them — usually males," said Roger Conant, who established the award program. "That's unconscious bias, an…

Tesla has long sold itself as a technology firm more than an auto company. But its recent price cuts suggest otherwise, at least in the short term, analysts say.

CEO Elon Musk's decision to slash stickers in order to maintain growth and keep its new factories humming is a tactic familiar to auto industry analysts who warn Tesla's brand value may be at stake.

"These actions certainly help in the short term to increase sales volume and fend off the growing number of competitors," said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds. "In the long term, however, Tesla is walking a razor's edge between maintaining its brand prestige while simultaneously attempting to grow volume."

Musk said last month that moving metal is Tesla's top priority, given high interest rates and economic uncertainty. In the near future, he promised, Tesla will offer vehicle autonomy with software it calls Full Self-Driving, giving it a wildly profi…

"We are a lot more creative in the ways that we approach our customers. Parts department, service department come together and we listen to the people that come in to do business with us. If we're not listening, then we just do the same thing over and over again. As our customers' habits develop into better use of technology, they see comfort and ease in their transactions in other areas. We try to beat our competition to that. So mobile service is a huge part of our growth. Servicing fleets, taking care of customers that didn't want to come in and wait ... We've decided that we would not say 'no' to a customer." — Robert Sullivan, fixed operations director at Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates near Chicago, on the "Driving Vision" podcast hosted by Sam D'Arc, COO of Zeigler Auto Group.

Group 1 Automotive Inc.'s net income plunged 22 percent for the first quarter even as acquisitions, service business growth and elevated vehicle pricing pushed the dealership group's revenue to a new quarterly record.

Net income for the quarter was $158.4 million, Group 1 reported Wednesday. Revenue increased 7.4 percent to $4.13 billion.

Group 1, of Houston, retailed more new and used vehicles in the quarter, but per-vehicle gross profits for both dropped by double-digit percentages.

Net income dropped because new-vehicle supply "has loosened" and gross profits are coming down as a result, CEO Daryl Kenningham told Automotive News after first-quarter results were released. In other words, while new-vehicle inventory levels are still historically low for the industry and prices still elevated, the market is starting to normalize from the extremes experienced the past few years.

"We all knew it was going to happen," Kenningham said. "The question …