DAILY DRIVE PODCAST: November 9, 2022

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unloads almost 20 million shares after buying Twitter. Nissan profits soar on better pricing. Lucid posts a net loss of $670 million in Q3. Plus, the CEO of insurance tech company Humn.ai talks about how mapping risk through a vehicle’s journey can help address insurance issues for fleets.

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Editorial: Ford dealers are right to balk at EV requirements

Legacy automakers and their dealer networks face some serious decisions as electric vehicles grow in popularity and internal combustion vehicles lose some of their luster under tightening emission regulations.

But few of those decisions are as fundamental as this: Will automakers work with dealers to make the transition to EVs a reality, or will they view the transition as an opportunity to pressure their "trusted business partners?"

This is the struggle playing out right now across Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. dealer network as the automaker implements an Orwellian "Model e" playbook that would treat all dealers equally — as it must under existing franchise laws — while effectively making some more equal than others.

That is wrongheaded, and state dealer associations as well as Ford dealers are right to pressure the automaker to amend some aspects of its strategy.

Ford's requirement that its dealers invest up to $1.2 million in their businesses to pre…

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Dealer Jimmy Ellis dies at 67

Georgia dealer Jimmy Ellis, CEO of Jim Ellis Automotive Group, died Saturday at a hospital in Roswell, Ga.

He was 67. No cause of death was shared.

All Jim Ellis Automotive locations in metro Atlanta closed Wednesday for funeral services, a black banner atop the company's website read.

Ellis, born Aug. 26, 1955, became CEO of the family business in 2015 after serving as vice president and COO for 18 years.

Loren Roberts, associate director of marketing for Jim Ellis Automotive Advertising Agency, who has worked for the company nine years, described Ellis as a visionary leader.

"His passion and drive instilled confidence and motivation in those that worked for him," Roberts told Automotive News. "But above that, he was a man that cared deeply about his employees and family and took every opportunity to make sure people felt valued and appreciated."

Ellis' parents, Jim and Billie Ellis, poured their life savings into their first dealer…

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Germany blocks Chinese stake in 2 chipmakers over security concerns

BERLIN -- The German government on Wednesday blocked prospective Chinese investment in two domestic semiconductor producers after the moves raised concerns over national security and the flow of sensitive technological know-how to Beijing.

The government said it had vetoed the takeover of the chip factory of the Dortmund-based company Elmos by Silex, a Swedish company that is a subsidiary of Chinese group Sai Microelectronics.

Berlin also blocked investment in ERS Electronic, which is based in Bavaria, government sources told Reuters.

A spokesperson for ERS Electronic said there were no plans to sell the company but it had been exploring the option of getting investment from a Chinese private equity firm.

The decisions came at a time of heightened sensitivity around relations between Berlin and Beijing.

The government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited China last week, is trying to balance a push for access to the Chinese market for Eur…

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Tesla changes insurance incentive to spur sales

SHANGHAI -- Tesla Inc. said it raised insurance incentives for EV orders in China placed before Nov. 30, but reduced them for orders made next month, a move to urge consumers to place orders earlier.

The U.S. automaker previously offered an insurance incentive of 7,000 yuan ($970) for orders between Oct. 1 and Dec. 30. But on Tuesday Tesla said the incentive for November was raised to 8,000 yuan and reduced for December orders to 4,000 yuan.

"As long as you like it enough, pick up Tesla immediately!" Tesla said in its official Weibo account when announcing the policy change.

The insurance incentive is a cash rebate offered to buyers to buy insurance from Tesla's partner insurers.

Tesla delivered 71,704 China-made electric vehicles in October, down 14 percent from a record high in September, according to the China Passenger Car Association last week.

Tesla also slashed starter prices in China on the Model 3 and Model Y and closed what had be…

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BYD plans new premium EV brand

SHANGHAI -- BYD said on Tuesday it would launch a new premium brand in the first quarter of 2023 under the name Yangwang, with the first model slated to be an off-road vehicle.

Vehicles produced under the new brand will be priced at between 800,000 and 1.5 million yuan, BYD added.

BYD, which ditched gasoline vehicles from its product mix this year, has been able to capitalize on a range of incentives for electric vehicles offered by the Chinese central government and local governments.

The automaker, which produces both pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars, has topped electric vehicle sales in the world's biggest auto market, with sales more than tripling in the first 10 months of this year to 1.4 million, company filings show.

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Sunflower Bank launches partnership with On the Road Lending to provide affordable loans for reliable cars in rural Texas communities

DALLAS -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sunflower Bank is proud to announce its partnership with On the Road Lending, a nonprofit auto lender that provides character-based affordable loans for reliable cars. The $525,000 investment with an additional $25,000 designated for operating support will enable On the Road Lending to bring its services to rural communities where there are often no public transportation options.

Through a listening session held together in May 2022, both On the Road Lending and Sunflower Bank identified the importance of addressing the significant transportation needs gap that exists in rural Texas.

“A car loan through On the Road Lending is life-changing because owning a reliable car increases job opportunities by removing transportation barriers,” said Lonnie Smith, On the Road Lending’s president. “It also improves quality of life through better access to health care, education, and even healthier food choices. Ultimately On the Road Lending fue…

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Auto Financial Group signs integration agreement with MeridianLink

HOUSTON, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Auto Financial Group (AFG), announced today that it has signed an integration agreement with MeridianLink, Inc.® (NYSE: MLNK), a leading provider of modern software platforms for financial institutions and consumer reporting agencies. This partnership further reinforces AFG's mission to pursue innovative solutions that help our clients streamline their workflows.    

With this integration, AFG's Balloon Lending Program will be even easier to implement for financial institutions using MeridianLink's loan origination system (LOS). The loan origination process will be more efficient, and users will not need to toggle between two platforms, increasing productivity and minimizing errors. Information will be updated automatically between both systems, keeping all loan documentation in sync and up to date.

"With this integration, financial institutions using MeridianLink will be able to originate AFG loans seamlessl…

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Lucid reports Q3 net loss of $670 million, reiterates 2022 production target

Lucid Group Inc. reported a third-quarter net loss of $670 million but reiterated its production goal of 6,000 to 7,000 units of its Air electric sedan this year after dealing with supply chain issues and growing pains as an EV startup.

The company's stock price fell 13 percent to $11.79 in after-market trading after Lucid posted the results.

The automaker reported revenue of $196 million in the quarter, compared with just $232,000 a year earlier, the company said. Lucid launched the Air sedan in the fourth quarter of 2021 from its factory in Arizona but has repeatedly cut its production goals.

Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said on Tuesday’s earnings call that the automaker continues to struggle with supply-chain issues but expects to meet its 2022 production guidance despite the challenges.

“In fact,” Rawlinson said, “even now we are experiencing a challenge with one particular item that will lead to a very temporary timeout for the…

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Fuccillo Automotive sells Chevy, Toyota and Hyundai dealerships

The Maguire Family of Dealerships of Ithaca, N.Y., expanded into the greater Buffalo, N.Y., market with its Oct. 26 purchase of three dealerships in Grand Island, N.Y., from Billy Fuccillo Jr. of Fuccillo Automotive Group, McGuire President Phil Maguire confirmed to Automotive News.

Formerly known as Fuccillo Chevrolet of Grand Island, Fuccillo Toyota of Grand Island and Fuccillo Hyundai of Grand Island, the stores all sit within 100 acres of each other off a highway, Maguire said.

"It's a great opportunity and the scenery is very beautiful on Grand Island," Maguire said.

Grand Island, surrounded by the Niagara River that flows between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, is north of Buffalo and south of Niagara Falls.

The stores were renamed Maguire Chevrolet of Grand Island, Maguire Toyota of Grand Island and Maguire Hyundai of Grand Island.

These are the latest store sales for Fuccillo Automotive, which at one time had more than 20 dealerships.…

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Rivian under pressure to boost output, maintain demand amid cooling economy

Rivian Automotive is a runaway hit with its R1T pickup and R1S SUV in the eyes of owners and automotive journalists, but the electric vehicle startup is no longer a Wall Street darling due to missed production targets and concern over easing demand in today's economic climate.

When the automaker reports third-quarter earnings on Wednesday after the market close, financial analysts are expecting revenue of about $552 million on improving deliveries of its adventure vehicles, but also another net loss similar to Rivian's $1.7 billion loss in the second quarter.

The mean estimate from 16 analysts, based on Refinitiv data, is for a loss of $1.82 per share despite revenue rising from just $1 million in the same period a year ago, Reuters said. Rivian launched the R1T electric pickup in the fourth quarter of 2021 to widespread acclaim.

CEO RJ Scaringe, who has been under pressure to increase production of Rivian's consumer vehicles and electric delivery v…

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Stock price-induced impairment charge leads to TrueCar net loss of $77.1 million

Vehicle listings company TrueCar Inc. reported Monday a loss of $77.1 million for the third quarter — a drop from a much slimmer loss in the same period a year ago .

The company said a vast majority of that loss, which compares with a year-earlier net loss of $6.8 million, can be attributed to a one-time impairment charge of $59.8 million brought on by the sharp decline in its share price. TrueCar's share price dropped 55 percent, from $3.33 to $1.51, between May 31 and Sept. 30.

TrueCar executives in a Tuesday call with analysts noted that the stock drop meant a similar sharp decline in the company's market capitalization but did not elaborate much on the charge.

"This is a non-cash charge, so there's no impact on our adjusted EBITDA nor our cash balance," TrueCar CFO Jantoon Reigersman said on the call.

TrueCar's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization also worsened, swinging to a defici…

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