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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 …

California-based battery manufacturer startup Sparkz Inc. said Tuesday it had agreed to a partnership with the UAW as it finalizes plans to begin commercializing zero-cobalt, zero-nickel battery production.

The UAW has been working to organize new battery facilities as the auto industry shifts to electric vehicle production. Sparkz and the UAW said they had signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a national labor-management agreement and statement of neutrality.

"Sparkz is proud to partner with the United Auto Workers to secure the American worker's place in the new energy economy, while re-engineering the battery supply chain domestically," CEO Sanjiv Malhotra said in a statement.

White House climate adviser John Podesta praised the announcement.

"With this partnership, Sparkz and UAW are helping create good-paying, high-quality American jobs building batteries for our clean energy and transportation future," he said in a statemen…

Stellantis plans to cut about 3,500 hourly jobs in the U.S. through buyouts and retirement incentives. Earnings fall for Asbury and Penske. Honda executives get an unpleasant surprise at the Shanghai auto show. Plus, a conversation about the ever-evolving state of EV tax credits in the U.S. and how it affects retailers.

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Tesla Inc. supervisors at a Florida service center violated U.S. labor law by telling employees not to discuss pay and other working conditions or bring complaints to higher level managers, a U.S. labor board official has ruled.

Managers at the Orlando repair shop illegally silenced workers in 2021 after some of them complained that new hires were being paid more, according to the decision issued Tuesday by National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas. 

The judge ordered Tesla to cease and desist from violating workers' rights and to post notice of the violations in the service center and email it to employees. 

The ruling is the latest loss for Tesla before the labor board as it also faces lawsuits alleging widespread race and sex discrimination at its assembly plants. 

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

In late 2021 employees became aware that new hires at the…

Auto retail giant Lithia Motors Inc. exited Alabama last month with the sale of a Subaru dealership and the group sold two additional dealerships — which it owned for just a few months — in the third quarter of 2022.

Ryan Mayer, owner and president of Tameron Gulf Coast dealership group, bought Subaru of Mobile on March 30, he confirmed to Automotive News.

The dealership was renamed Tameron Subaru. It marks the first Subaru dealership for Mayer's group and its first acquisition since buying a Mississippi Kia dealership from Group 1 Automotive Inc. in April 2021.

"Subaru is high on our list of brands that we want to acquire," Mayer told Automotive News. "Obviously, there's not many Subaru dealerships around and that one was right in the center of what we consider our market. We aggressively pursued Lithia and eventually were able to come to an agreement. It was something that made sense for them and for us."

Tameron Gulf Coast, of Daphne, Ala., no…

A Calabasas, Calif., luxury used-vehicle dealership challenging automaker off-lease buyout policies in court has settled with Mercedes-Benz and seen its lawsuits against General Motors and BMW dismissed.

Calabasas Luxury Motorcars had objected to GM, BMW and Mercedes allegedly refusing to allow third-party retailers to buy or accept as trade-ins vehicles leased by the three automakers' customers. According to Calabasas, the brands have improperly limited this off-lease capability to their franchised dealers.

All three automakers argued the lessees don't own their leased vehicles and any right those customers have to buy their leased models is not transferable.

The three cases also explored whether two sections of California code implied a right for customers and third-party dealerships to arrange lease buyouts — an argument rejected by two federal judges but not ruled out by a third.

An attorney for Calabasas has not yet responded to an April 21 …

Tesla Inc. is now charging less for the cheapest version of the Model Y crossover than what the typical new vehicle sells for in the U.S., a threshold Elon Musk crossed in blazing fashion.

At $46,990, the base Model Y now costs $759 less than the average amount paid for a car or truck in the U.S. The differential between these figures has changed by more than $20,000 since the middle of last year.

No carmaker has made such a dramatic reduction to a high-volume vehicle in the modern age of the automobile. The Model Y was the best-selling EV in the U.S. last year, and one of the top crossovers of any type.

While Musk has denied that Tesla is starting a price war, his peers see it differently. Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley, whose Mustang Mach-E SUV lost considerable share to the Model Y last quarter — despite some discounting — said last week that price battles are “breaking out everywhere.”

Indeed, Tesla has been slashing prices beyond America’s b…