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Automakers have cut more than 2 million vehicles from their production plans this year because of microchip shortages, even as the industry testifies to the supply crisis slowly subsiding.

According to the newest estimate from AutoForecast Solutions, manufacturers eliminated 56,199 vehicles from their factory schedules this week because of a lack of semiconductors, pushing the year-to-date global production loss estimate to about 2.04 million. 

AutoForecast Solutions expects that figure to climb by 400,000 vehicles by the year’s end. However, even a year-end total of 2.4 million would represent a major improvement over 2022 and 2021. Last year, factories had to cut 4.39 million vehicles from their plans, while 2021 saw 10.56 million vehicles eliminated because of the chip shortage.

Asian assembly plants outside of China suffered a majority of this week’s cuts, with 35,008 vehicles axed there. Automakers in North America trimmed 21,191 vehicles from…

Troy Duhon and his bustling Premier Automotive Group, along with partners, acquired three new dealerships and expanded into a new state in second- and third-quarter transactions, Premier Automotive CMO Gia Katzenmeyer confirmed to Automotive News.

Duhon, with partners Vincent Castro and Jorge Clue, on June 5 purchased the former Hyundai of Moreno Valley, east of Los Angeles.

Castro and Clue each have an undisclosed ownership stake in the renamed Premier Hyundai of Moreno Valley, while Clue is general manager, Katzenmeyer said in an email.

"Castro has been with Premier Automotive since its inception in 1995," Katzenmeyer said. "He's the partner in numerous dealerships under the Premier umbrella."

Texas store

The New Orleans group also bolstered its Texas presence on Aug. 3 when Duhon, with partners Randon Blacklock and Rick Martinez, purchased the former Littlefield Chevrolet-Buick-GMC, northwest of Lubbock.

Blacklock and Martinez h…

Auto industry elite, performance enthusiasts, and collectors donning pastel linen suits, floral jumpers, fascinators and fedoras gathered on California's central coast for Monterey Car Week to admire both old and new sheet metal exhibitions.

Amid bellowing V-8 engines and eye-watering wafts of tailpipe exhaust, one thing is clear: Americans' love for gasoline-powered autos is alive and well among the wealthy.

But despite the rich history and performance on display, electric vehicles shared an equally bright spotlight at this year's celebration — from exotic hypercars to spaceship-shaped cruisers to boxy kid haulers — taking the storied event into the ultimate collision of past and future.

Lotus EVIJA: The customized Lotus carries a 93 kilowatt-hour battery with an output of 2,011 hp and can go from 0 to 100 mph in under 3 seconds.

Automobili Pininfarina PURA Vision: The design concept shows tri-opening pillarless do…

Paige Hodder has joined Automotive News as a reporter covering auto retail, with a focus on finance and insurance. 

Hodder, 22, covered general automotive industry topics as an intern for Automotive News. Before that, she interned as a general assignment reporter for the Mackinac Island Town Crier in Michigan. 

Hodder is an alumna of the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts. While there, she was editor in chief of The Michigan Daily college newspaper.

General Motors President Mark Reuss and Hyundai Motor Co. President Jose Muñoz will be keynote speakers at the Automotive News Congress in Detroit on Sept. 12.

The event's theme is "Investing in Innovation," with a focus on navigating the future of electrification, infrastructure and sustainability across the auto industry.

Panelists include ZF North America President Martin Fischer, Fox Motor President Diane Maher and Assembly Ventures cofounder Jessica Robinson.

Automotive News will display the latest game-changing innovations from PACE Award finalists and post pilot pre-commercialized innovations from PACEpilot finalists. Automotive News also will introduce this year's class of Rising Stars.

The Congress takes place on the eve of the North American International Detroit Auto Show, which runs Sept. 13-24.

Register by scanning the QR code here or by visiting autonews.com.

According to a dealer-focused webinar poll cited by AutoSuccess, 36 percent of respondents said they're just getting started with their Safeguards Rule compliance plans, and only 25 percent were close to done.

If you're not yet compliant, you're not alone. That said, the Federal Trade Commission can enforce steep fines of up to $100,000 per violation now that the June 9 deadline has passed; it's critical to put in place your compliance plan now.

Here's why auto dealers should care, and what steps to take to get compliant.

The revised FTC Safeguards Rule put an emphasis on data protection and robust security measures.

To comply, dealerships must strengthen access controls and implement multifactor authentication on accounts with access to customer financial data.

A key part of the Safeguards Rule requirements is a data security program with identity and access management support.

Since nearly …

FRIEDBERG, Germany — Robotics specialist ABB said orders for its inkjet PixelPaint robot are likely to bring it to market soon.

ABB first revealed the painting technology in 2020, saying it would cut production energy costs, speed up paint application and allow for easier vehicle personalization.

"We are very, very close," Joerg Reger, managing director of ABB Robotics' automotive business, told Automotive News Europe during a visit to the tooling supplier's R&D facility here. "We have a preassignment with one customer, and we are in final negotiations with two to three others."

Both volume and premium automakers have expressed interest, Reger said.

The system allows volume automakers to offer contrasting roof colors without having to run a vehicle through the paint shop a second time.

Eliminating overspray also cuts the need to mask the body before painting the roof, which saves time.

Reg…

UAW members at the Detroit 3 have authorized a strike if talks break down. Ultium Cells offers to increase worker’s pay at its Ohio plant. Plus, banners are helping a dealership recognize its technicians for their work.

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Nissan North America is suing a terminated Gallup, N.M., dealership for its continued unauthorized use of the manufacturer's trademarks, service marks and signage.

The trademark infringement, breach of contract and unfair trade practices suit alleges Ed Corley Nissan refused to provide access to the premises to remove signs, and the ex-dealership "purchased used Nissan vehicles and advertised them for sale" at the same location.

The franchise termination took effect in May 2022. However, a Google search showed that Ed Corley Nissan still has LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook pages. In addition, Corley Nissan LLC is still listed as an active corporation on the New Mexico Department of State website.

The suit seeks an injunction and damages, as well as $763,375 Nissan said the store owes for 25 vehicles it bought in 2021 and another $152,994 it said the ex-dealership owes for parts, tools and services.

According to the complaint, Ed Corley Nissan a…

UAW members at the Detroit 3 agreed to let the union call a strike if contract talks break down with a Sept. 14 deadline looming.

About 97 percent of workers who voted cast their ballot in favor of authorizing a strike, the UAW said Friday. The vote is a routine part of contract negotiations and does not necessarily mean a strike will occur.

"The only way we're ever going to have a better quality of life for ourselves and our families is if we fight for it," UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday morning on a Facebook livestream. "Employers don't give higher wages or better benefits out of the kindness of their hearts. They give it because the union bargains and we make them, and that's exactly what 97 percent of you said you're ready to do."

Fain and other union leaders have been preparing workers for a potential strike since negotiations with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis began last month. Fain said the Sept. 14 expiration of the companies' curren…

The Chrysler 300 was considered the businessman's muscle car when it arrived in 1955 with a blend of style and rear-wheel-drive performance flowing from the early Hemi V-8 engine.

Chrysler went back to that formula nearly 50 years later with a reimagined descendant that became a pop culture icon and rejuvenated the company's image. The automaker sought to create a cool but affordable car that was "unabashedly Am- erican," recalled Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles, who was design director for the 300 that debuted in 2004.

The 300's run comes to an end in December, when production concludes so Ontario's Brampton Assembly Plant can be retooled for electric vehicles. A relic of the DaimlerChrysler era, the 300 was the lead vehicle on the LX platform that also underpinned the Dodge Charger and the short-lived Dodge Magnum.

A well-kept 2005 model, Gilles said, still looks good on the road after all these years. He said the nostalgia factor of the design …

Two Canadian auto retailers expanded their U.S. portfolios, while two large Midwest retailers expanded in their home states with transactions that closed in the first three quarters of the year.

Here's a look at the deals involving import, luxury and domestic brands and stores in Michigan, Ohio, Texas and New York.

Two transactions involved auto retailers ranked on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups.

Fox Motors grew its Michigan footprint with the Monday purchase of a Kia dealership.

Fox Motors of Grand Rapids, Mich., said it bought Kia of Grand Rapids North from Liechty Auto Group. The dealership was renamed Fox Kia North.

It marks the second Kia dealership for Fox Motors. In a statement, Fox Motors CEO Daniel DeVos said the group's existing Kia store, also in Grand Rapids, was one of the group's first dealerships.

"The Kia brand has enjoyed significant growth in the U.S. market and our acquisition of Kia North…