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Automotive political donations flow in as November's midterm elections near

WASHINGTON — In nine days, voters will decide on 470 congressional seats, potentially shaking up the balance of power in Congress for the next two years.

With sweeping legislation tied to vehicle electrification already signed into law, the outcome of the Nov. 8 midterm elections is likely to be less disruptive to the auto industry than the forthcoming presidential election in 2024.

Still, the industry needs policy certainty to inform major investment decisions, especially with a revolutionary — and costly — transition to electrification underway.

"It's hard to make significant investments if there's uncertainty that the policies could change and that you won't get a return on that investment," said Andy Buczek, government policy adviser at Dykema law firm's office here.

We'll break down what's at stake for the industry in the upcoming election on Monday, includin…

The vice president for global policy and public affairs at Circulor explains how new technology can precisely track emissions, prevent exploitative mining practices, and help automakers prove they meet Inflation Reduction Act requirements.

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AutoForecast Solutions added more than 289,000 vehicles to its tally of the number of vehicles cut because of the microchip shortage in 2022, sending the year-to-date total up about 8 percent from just a week earlier.

European assembly plants accounted for most of the latest cuts, with about 249,100 vehicles removed from automakers’ production plans there. About 22,200 were lost in North America, 15,200 in Asia outside of China and 2,900 in the Middle East and Africa.

About 3.91 million vehicles have been removed from automakers’ production plans around the world this year, according to AFS. That number is projected to reach 4.28 million vehicles by the end of the year, up about 16,200 from the previous estimate.

As the shortage nears its third year, it remains unclear when it will finally end. Hope that new microchip production capacity will outpace high demand across multiple sectors before the end of 2023 “is fading from reality,” said Sam Fiorani, A…

Hyundai Motor Group will attempt to speed up its construction of a massive new manufacturing project in Georgia to get a fleet of U.S.-made electric vehicles to market sooner.

But until then, the company and its three brands — Hyundai, Genesis and Kia — will face a "severe impact," acknowledged Jose Muñoz, Hyundai Motor Co. COO, speaking at the plant's official groundbreaking last week.

"The issue is how do we handle the next two to three years," Muñoz said of the company's new situation.

The group has been on an EV sales tear this year with the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Niro EV and Genesis GV60. The three brands together hold the No. 2 slot behind Tesla in terms of EV registrations through August, with a 9 percent share of the EV market, according to Experian.

But since the company announced its intentions to invest in Georgia in May, the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in September has altered the content a…

CHICAGO — It's not the "great resignation."

The challenges in the U.S. labor market today can be better understood as the "great reassessment," said Adam Robinson, CEO of Hireology, a recruitment technology company that works with auto dealerships.

There is a broad rethinking happening about "what it means to have an employment relationship," Robinson said Wednesday during Hireology's Elevate conference here.

The notion of work-life balance is evolving into a consideration of how work can fit in and around life. And labor supply challenges were present even before the pandemic brought sweeping changes to the way Americans work, he said.

"If you're sitting here thinking that this is going to get better, I don't believe it's going to get better," Robinson said during a keynote address.

Yet, he added, the challenge of recruiting and hiring qualified employees is not insurmountable. It will be critical for employ…

DETROIT — General Motors and Ford Motor Co. say they expect to clear backlogs of unfinished vehicles before the end of the year, a positive sign for their balance sheets going into 2023 after battling prolonged supply snags.

GM said it shipped out three-quarters of its 95,000 vehicles awaiting microchips and other scarce parts in the third quarter. Ford was further behind on that front, with the number of vehicles in limbo more than doubling during the quarter to 40,000.

The financial results both companies reported last week show the importance of being able to get those vehicles to dealerships and into customers' hands. GM's net income rose 37 percent from a year earlier to $3.3 billion, and its revenue surged to a third- quarter record, partly as a result of those shipments.

Meanwhile, Ford's earnings were were hampered by its increased backlog, as well as a planned wind down of its self-driving partner, Argo AI. A $2.7 billion nonca…

U.S. dealerships are enjoying drastically lower turnover rates as their employees' pay has soared, but industry experts warn the trend won't stick around when inventory levels normalize enough to make the job of selling vehicles harder and less lucrative.

2021 was a fruitful year for U.S. dealership employees, as their average earnings pushed past the $100,000 mark for the first time. The jump was led by increases for employees involved in vehicle sales, where high demand resulted in pricing power and a seller's market for dealerships. NADA said average weekly earnings at dealerships participating in its annual Dealership Workforce Study increased 27 percent in 2021. With these gains, average dealership turnover fell to 34 percent — the lowest turnover rate ever recorded in the 11 years NADA has conducted the study — from 46 percent in 2020.

But those improvements have been mainly driven by the ease of selling in the low-inventory market of t…

About four years ago, leaders at CMA's Valley dealerships in Staunton, Va., started asking employees about their personal and professional goals in an effort to get to know them better.

This simple but sincere effort is a central part of Carter Myers Automotive's mentorship program, known as "ImproveU," a voluntary, six-month initiative available to any of the roughly 200 employees at the five Valley rooftops.

The stores, which retail Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen and other brands, sold 2,927 new and 2,675 used vehicles in 2021.

The program was established to curb turnover and boost morale, but it's evolved into an endeavor that has changed the lives of its participants — both at work and at home.

"Before we started the program, we were constantly looking to hire people," said Scott Simons, president of CMA's Valley dealerships.

Now, employee retention has improved, and there's even a waitlist of people who want to work at the stores, he said…

General Motors donated a Chevrolet Bolt to serve as the official diplomatic vehicle of Ukraine's U.S. embassy.

Omar Vargas, GM's head of global public policy, delivered the electric vehicle to Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., in Washington last week. GM also provided a Level 2 charger.

"Today, our Embassy in Washington D.C. is proud to become the first Ukrainian diplomatic institution overseas that has a fully electric Chevrolet Bolt EV in its fleet, thanks to the generous donation of General Motors," Markarova said in a statement provided by GM.

The Bolt is GM's latest gift to the government of Ukraine since the country was invaded by Russia. The automaker sent 50 Chevy Tahoes to the Ministry of Infrastructure and gave $250,000 to the International Rescue Committee for humanitarian aid in the region. It also matched donations made by U.S. employees toward the war effort and provided support to Welcome.US, a refugee assistance organi…