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Demand for high-performance, high-sticker electric vehicles is white hot in the U.S.

Consider this: BMW's flagship i7 electric sedan won't arrive at U.S. stores until mid-November. But advance orders for the nearly $120,000 vehicle already account for more than half of next year's U.S. allocations, BMW of North America sales boss Shaun Bugbee told Automotive News.

Meanwhile, demand for BMW electric models already on the market — the i4 compact sedan and iX midsize crossover — helped lift the brand's third-quarter sales by 3.2 percent over the prior year. BMW has sold 6,900 EVs in the U.S. this year, including more than 4,300 in the third quarter.

Bugbee said BMW dealers have pre-sold the i4 M50 into the second quarter of next year.

"We see very strong demand for EVs," Bugbee said. "Our gate is really our limitation on volume right now in terms of supply."

BMW is betting on a fleet of battery-powered vehicles…

Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc.’s executive chair resigned following what the company said were death threats and baseless allegations against certain directors, accelerating a planned transition of the troubled electric-vehicle startup’s leadership.

Two additional board members stepped down this week along with Executive Chair Susan Swenson, the company said Thursday in a securities filing. Adam He was appointed to serve as interim non-executive chair.

The startup has been rocked by a fight over control, which veered into the morbid last month when Faraday reported that criticism of current management has escalated to include “threats of physical violence and even death threats.”

That contributed to a shakeup under which Swenson was to have left once the company received certain funding as part of a wider overhaul giving more control to a group of dissident shareholders who own about 36 percent of the company.

But Faraday said the thre…

Volvo Car Corp.’s China sales spiked 53 percent to 14,845 in September, extending a rebound that began in June.

The latest sales volume was composed of 13,788 gasoline vehicles, 832 plug-in hybrids and 225 full electric vehicles, according to data the Swedish brand released this week.

In the first nine months, Volvo delivered 117,744 vehicles in China, a drop of 11 percent from a year earlier. 

The tally consists of 109,493 gasoline vehicles, 6,306 plug-in hybrids and 1,945 EVs. 

Globally, sales at Volvo rose 4.5 percent to 49,536 last month, with year-to-date volume slipping 19 percent to 428,987. 

Other global automakers haven’t disclosed sales for September because of China's National Day holiday, which runs from October 1 to October 7.

Michael Kistemaker left American Honda Motor Co. nearly two months ago as assistant vice president of sales for Honda.

A Honda spokesperson confirmed Kistemaker's departure but did not provide information on who will replace him as the brand tries to build back lost momentum.

Kistemaker is now vice president of OEM relations and strategy for Ken Garff Automotive Group, a family-owned dealership group based in Salt Lake City that operates stores in eight states, including three Honda dealerships.

A Garff spokesperson confirmed that Kistemaker joined the group in August.

Kistemaker, in an emailed statement, said he will help Garff, with 60 plus stores and 22 brands, navigate the auto industry's transition over the next decade, including changing sales models and the rollout of EVs.

“I had a great, 22-year career with Honda and I have always had a relationship with Brett Hopkins, CEO of Ken Garff Automotive Group," Kistemaker told Automot…

WASHINGTON -- GM Financial, the captive finance unit of General Motors, agreed to pay over $3.5 million to resolve allegations it violated a U.S. federal law that provides certain benefits and protections to eligible service members, the Justice Department said.

GM Financial was accused of violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by illegally repossessing 71 service members' vehicles and by improperly denying or mishandling over 1,000 vehicle lease termination requests, the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

GM Financial did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors, and provides financing for vehicle sales and leases. In 2021, GM Financial had revenue exceeding $13 billion.

In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Dallas, the department alleged that since 2015 GM Financial had improperly denied servicemembers' lease termination requests, charged servicemembers imprope…

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. has raised the starting price of its entry-level F-150 Lightning Pro trim for the second time in less than two months as it struggles with rising material costs and supply chain issues.

A spokesman on Wednesday confirmed the Pro trim on the electric vehicle now starts at $53,769, including a $1,795 shipping fee. That's up from the $48,769 price, including shipping, that Ford announced in August as part of across-the-board hikes for all 2023 model year trims.

The spokesman said the Pro trim was the only model to see an additional increase for now, citing "ongoing supply chain constraints and rising material costs." He said Ford would continue to monitor pricing.

The cheapest Lightning now costs more than $10,000 over what was advertised at the truck's reveal about a year and a half ago.

Ford at the time said it was able to price the Lightning so aggressively because of scale and by sharing some common parts with its existin…

DETROIT — General Motors' human resources chief is retiring and being replaced by an executive from the automaker's Cruise autonomous driving subsidiary.

Arden Hoffman, 51, a former HR executive at Google and Dropbox hired by Cruise in 2019, will become GM's chief people officer on Jan. 1, the company said Wednesday. She will succeed Kim Brycz, who has been with GM for nearly 40 years and has been its head of HR since 2018.

Brycz's departure is not related to backlash over efforts to resume having salaried employees work from company offices more frequently, a spokesman said.

"When Kim shared her plans to retire several months ago, I reflected on the significant contributions she has made to GM over the years," CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "She has built a world-class HR organization that has been instrumental to our ongoing transformation. Arden's deep background leading the HR function for fast-growing global tech companies makes her the right l…

Our Next Energy (ONE) plans a new battery plant in Michigan. More EV sales are heating up the battle over road weight limits. Tesla is dropping ultrasonic sensors from its vehicles. Plus, Assembly Ventures co-founder Chris Thomas talks about how his company is approaching green technology investments amid economic uncertainty.

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Auto loan interest rates soared to their highest levels since 2019 while the average monthly payment for new vehicles passed $700 in the third quarter, according to Edmunds.

Additionally, more than 14 percent of car buyers now have a record-high monthly payment over $1,000.

Edmunds said the average annual percentage rate on financed new vehicles for the third quarter was 5.7 percent — up from 4.3 percent at the same time last year and up from last quarter's 5 percent.

"Since inventory has been so low due to the microchip shortage, there hasn't been a lot of need for incentives," Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of insights, told Automotive News.

The industry is dealing with other supply chain issues, she said, noting Ford Motor Co.'s badging shortage last week.

With prices on the rise, the average amount financed for new vehicles also climbed, to $41,347 — up from $38,315 in third-quarter 2021 and up from second-quarter 2022's…

Two Connecticut consumers have sued a DARCARS Lexus dealership in the state alleging it charged more for vehicles than advertised and improperly added commissions to the bill.

Arkadiusz Gaska and Katarzyna Gaska in September sought federal class-action status for themselves and potentially more than 1,000 consumers from Connecticut and 34 other states whom DARCARS Lexus of Greenwich allegedly treated unfairly. The case was originally filed in the Connecticut Superior Court system Aug. 17 and moved to federal court Sept. 23.

Using their own demands for $2,764.23 in actual damages and $10,000 in punitive damages as a baseline, the plaintiffs have extrapolated the lawsuit could mean about $3 million in actual damages and $5 million in punitive damages classwide.

Contacted for comment on the allegations, DARCARS Automotive Group issued the following statement Tuesday:

"Our many satisfied customers — including thousands of re…

Twelve Indiana auto dealership groups this summer agreed to collectively pay about $13.5 million to settle allegations they charged illegal document fees to an estimated 169,375 consumers.

The deal reached in Benosky v. Butler Motors, the consolidated case for 14 class-action lawsuits against Indiana dealerships, comes after the Indiana Supreme Court in March refused the dealerships' request to dismiss the case. The Indiana Court of Appeals in November 2021 had agreed with Marion County Superior Court Judge Heather Welch that the consumers' lawsuit could proceed.

The settling defendants—Butler Motors Inc.; D-Patrick Inc.; Dorsett Auto Sales Inc.; Ed Martin 236 Inc.; Terry Lee Companies Inc.; Bill Estes Automotive Holdings Inc.; Twin City Dodge Inc.; Andy Mohr Automotive Group Inc.; Circle Buick-GMC Inc.; Beck Automotive Group Inc., Lockhart Automotive Group Inc. and Rohr Indy Motors Inc.—admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement. They said they …