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Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric automaker is not facing demand problems despite economic headwinds, and the company expects to sell every vehicle it can produce in the current quarter from its factories in California, Texas, Germany and China.

"There's been a lot of questions about demand in recent weeks," Musk said on the third-quarter earnings call Wednesday. "I can't emphasize enough we have excellent demand for Q4 and we expect to sell every car that we make for as far into the future as we can see."

Tesla said it expects to grow production by 50 percent annually for the foreseeable future, but deliveries might fall below that number as the company faces transportation challenges as it grows beyond a million units a year.

The automaker is ramping production at its new factories in Austin, Texas and Berlin, Germany. Its original factory in Fremont, Calif. is running at a record pace and its Shanghai factory has undergone a recent expansion.

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SHANGHAI -- Automakers in China delivered a record number of cars to dealers in the first nine months of the year even as retail demand slowed, setting up the market for a slowdown in 2023, a leading Chinese brokerage said on Wednesday.

Automakers delivered 1 million vehicles to dealers in China over the first nine months of this year, record volume for the world's largest auto market, analysts at China Merchants Bank International said.

In September, deliveries to dealers rose by 33 percent, while retail sales climbed only 9 percent, meaning that inventories on dealer lots jumped, a trend that could create an overhang that will weigh on sales next year, they said.

The China Association of Automobile Manufactures reports overall vehicle sales.

CMBI analysts used insurance registration data to track retail sales separate from wholesale deliveries to dealers.

The diverging trend in deliveries to dealers and retail sales "makes us very concern…

LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. has completed the sale of its Stellantis dealership in New York, , and said it has entered into agreements to sell its Kia dealerships in Port Charlotte and Cape Coral, Fla., to Morgan Auto Group of Tampa, Fla.

Tasca Automotive Group, of Cranston, R.I., on Tuesday bought LMP's White Plains Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in White Plains, N.Y., Carl Tasca Jr., one of the group's owners, confirmed to Automotive News. Tasca said he owns the group with three of his cousins.

The store was renamed Tasca Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of White Plains. White Plains is north of New York City and near the Connecticut border.

LMP, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., auto retailer with seven other franchised dealerships, revealed in July that it had a deal in place to sell the Stellantis store and had hired BoA Securities to help it explore strategic options.

In February, LMP said it was exploring strategic alternatives for its …

Tesla Inc reported lower than expected third quarter revenue, as the electric carmaker led by Elon Musk delivered fewer vehicles than expected.

Tesla shares slumped as much as 7 percent after the results.

Musk is expected to speak with analysts on a conference all and address questions about whether Tesla, the world's most valuable automaker, will stick to its target of boosting deliveries by 50 percent this year. Some have questioned whether demand is softening.

Tesla achieved record quarterly deliveries largely thanks to its rampup in China. But the most prominent proponent of EVs has seen its shares tumble about 50 percent from record highs last November as investors were spooked by a cooling global economy and Musk's bid to buy social media company Twitter.

Early this month, Tesla said it delivered 35 percent more vehicles in the July-September period from the previous quarter, but the number fell shy of vehicle production and analysts' estima…

Ally Financial CFO Jennifer LaClair stepped down Tuesday after nearly five years on the job, the company said in a government filing.

Ally Corporate Treasurer Bradley Brown, 56, will serve as interim chief financial officer. CEO Jeffrey Brown (no relation) said the company has a "strong bench" to help him during the search for a permanent replacement.

"Jenn has been instrumental in our company's evolution over the past five years," Jeffrey Brown told an earnings call Wednesday.

Brown called LaClair "excited to pursue her next chapter of opportunities," something "hard to do while serving as a CFO." He said they agreed she should leave now "and in advance of an even more fluid macro environment."

LaClair will remain with the company as a senior operating advisor, and could do so until March 3, 2023, according to the agreement shared in the government filing Tuesday.

LaClair, 51, had led PNC Financial Services Group's business bank before joi…

General Motors is considering adding an electric midsized pickup truck to its lineup of Hummer vehicles, leaning into demand for lower-emissions cars, according to people familiar with the matter.

A smaller, electric Hummer is still a design concept in GM's California studio, but has a good chance of going into production and is seen as a priority project, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. GM already builds the large electric Hummer pickup and will begin building a full-size SUV early next year.

Hummer is emerging as a key piece of GM's electric-vehicle strategy. The company has said it's spending $35 billion to build 30 EVs by 2025. It's breaking into the market by appealing to high-end customers with pricey EVs from Hummer and Cadillac and offering lower-priced models to fleet buyers, allowing the automaker to build sales volume and manufacturing scale.

GM believes the Hummer brand has great recognition and …

Audi of America President Daniel Weissland talks about the possibility of an EV plant in the U.S. and the 2023 Q4 E-tron. BMW makes a $1.7 billion U.S. investment in EV production. The U.S. awards $2.8 billion for EV battery and grid projects. And Hyundai pressures the U.S. to ease EV tax credit rules.

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Hyundai and Kia expect to take a combined $2 billion earnings hit in the third quarter. Intel drastically lowers Mobileye’s IPO valuation. Polestar 3 gets a lift from Volvo’s U.S. factory. Plus, a conversation with HERE Technologies' Philip Hubertus about the challenges automakers face when implementing EU-mandated intelligent speed assistance technology.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“Daily Drive” is available on the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Spotify

"Daily Drive" is available on Spotify. Click here to…

Honda's sixth-generation CR-V offers a simplified lineup featuring two well-appointed hybrid variants equipped with a new fourth-generation gasoline-electric powertrain. For the first time, front-wheel drive is offered on a CR-V hybrid variant, called the Sport, which slots in right above the base model, the gas-only CR-V EX.

Honda expects half of all CR-V buyers to opt for a hybrid model.

The new hybrid system features a refined 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine paired with two larger, more powerful electric motors mounted side-by-side instead of in-line with the engine crankshaft.

The engine combines high-pressure direct injection with multistage injection for cleaner combustion — a first of its kind for Honda's 2.0-liter engine in North America. It can be decoupled from the hybrid powertrain and will only operate as needed depending on the battery's charge level.

The new arrangement adds responsiveness f…

A plane crashed into a Buick-GMC dealership in southeast Ohio early Tuesday, police said.

The 1974 Beechcraft King Air E90 crashed into Pioneer Buick-GMC's parking lot in Marietta, Ohio, around 7:15 a.m. local time, a press release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.

The pilot and a second occupant were killed in the crash. No injuries were reported on the ground.

There was significant damage to multiple vehicles and the dealership building.

Rod Taylor, general manager of Pioneer Buick-GMC, said the plane had come from Columbus, Ohio, and was flying to nearby Parkersburg, W.Va.

He said 12 to 15 vehicles had been lost in the crash, mainly due to burning fuel. The dealership building was "scorched," but Taylor said it was nothing that couldn't be cleaned off.

"Fortunately, the fire trucks got here fast enough, and there wasn't any real damage to the building," Taylor told Automotive News. "Nothing that a power washer or some paint…