News

With the surge in connectivity taking place on our roads, LexisNexis Risk Solutions contracted with a research firm to survey over 2,000 U.S. connected car owners to gauge their expectations towards their connected services programs. The results of the survey offer a map of opportunities for OEMs to further engage with their customers, create new and used vehicle brand loyalists, and realize the return on investment for their connected vehicle technology. Low activation rates of connected services free trials are related to lack of awareness and opportunity to enroll, rather than lack of interest.

66% of the respondents were not aware of connected services before purchasing/leasing their new or used connected car. Over half (57%) were not offered a connected services free trial at the dealership when purchasing/leasing their new or used connected car. Eight out of ten (81%) consumers who were offered a connected services free trial accepted it, and nearly half of them…

With the surge in connectivity taking place on our roads, LexisNexis Risk Solutions contracted with a research firm to survey over 2,000 U.S. connected car owners to gauge their expectations towards their connected services programs. The results of the survey offer a map of opportunities for OEMs to further engage with their customers, create new and used vehicle brand loyalists, and realize the return on investment for their connected vehicle technology. Low activation rates of connected services free trials are related to lack of awareness and opportunity to enroll, rather than lack of interest. 66% of the respondents were not aware of connected services before purchasing/leasing their new or used connected car. Over half (57%) were not offered a connected services free trial at the dealership when purchasing/leasing their new or used connected car. Eight out of ten (81%) consumers who were offered a connected services free trial accepted it, and nearly half of them (45%)…

Hyundai Motor Co. is making key executive shifts, including the appointment of Randy Parker as CEO of Hyundai Motor America.

The changes follow the expansion of responsibilities for Jose Muñoz, who is global COO of Hyundai Motor Co. as well as CEO of Hyundai Motor North America.

Parker will be responsible for leading Hyundai's commercial automotive operations in the U.S. and will report directly to Muñoz, the automaker said in a statement on Thursday.

He is one of the first African Americans to be named CEO of an automaker in a regional market. He's also the second Black CEO named in the U.S. auto industry this month. On July 12, Lordstown Motors Corp. named Edward Hightower as its new CEO -- the first Black CEO of a U.S. automaker in more than 100 years.

In his current role as senior vice president of national sales for Hyundai Motor America, which he assumed in 2021, Parker has had oversight of all aspects of sales and distribution.

Bob K…

Sonic Automotive Inc. reported lower net income but higher revenue for the second quarter as new- and used-vehicle volume at its franchised dealerships and its EchoPark used-only stores dropped.

Sonic's net income tumbled 17 percent to $94.8 million, while revenue increased 9 percent to $3.65 billion, an all-time record, the Charlotte, N.C., retailer said Thursday.

Sonic also announced it was backing off certain goals for the EchoPark standalone used-vehicle unit and ending a strategic review of the business, with no action taken.

"Despite persistent industrywide headwinds that contributed to lower new vehicle sales volume as a result of ongoing supply chain disruptions and inventory constraints, we continued to see strong new vehicle pricing and consumer demand during the second quarter," Sonic CEO David Smith said in a statement.

Smith also said Sonic has "made significant progress" on the integration of RFJ Auto Partners Holdings, a 33-store de…

DETROIT -- Automotive electronic supplier Visteon Corp.'s net income and revenue soared in the second quarter amid new product launches and cost recoveries from the semiconductor shortage.

The company, based in suburban Detroit, said in its second-quarter earnings report Thursday that net income surged 318 percent to $24 million, up from an $11 million loss in the second quarter last year. Net sales for the automotive supplier rose 42 percent to $848 million, excluding currency fluctuations.

The increases came after Visteon launched 11 new products during the second quarter, including a 12-inch digital cluster for the Ford Express and Ranger.

The company said it generated $3.1 billion of new business in the first half of 2022, down from $3.2 billion in the first half of 2021. Over half of the new business programs came from EV variants, Visteon said.

"We launched 11 new products in the quarter and 27 in the first half [of the year], across multip…

Great Wall Motor Co., China’s largest domestic light-truck maker, appointed Mu Feng as new general manager following the resignation of long-time general manager Wang Fengying.

Mu, 47, will be responsible for the overall management of the company, Great Wall said this week.

After joining Great Wall in 2007, Mu has long been in charge of R&D at the company, though his responsibilities were later expanded to include product strategy and vehicle assembly. 

Wang has served as Great Wall’s general manager for nearly 20 years. She resigned from the role on July 24, but will continue to remain engaged in the company’s strategic management, Great Wall noted. 

At Chinese companies, the role of a general manager is similar to that of chief executive officer. 

Great Wall was established in 1984 in the north China city of Baoding as a light-duty truck manufacturer controlled by the Baoding city government. 

It was restruc…

China’s new-vehicle market is rebounding strongly for the second straight month in July behind eased government anti-pandemic measures and a tax break on gasoline-powered cars, the China Automobile Dealers Association said. 

Retail sales of passenger vehicles including sedans, crossovers, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles industrywide will rally 18 percent from a year earlier to 1.77 million in July, the trade group predicts. 

The forecast is based on a survey it conducted earlier this month, with around 80 percent of carmakers expecting to see double-digit sales growth in July, CADA said. 

Demand for electrified passenger vehicles including full electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles remains strong, with retail sales expected to surge 103 percent to around 450,000 in July, the trade group added. 

In June, retail sales of sedans, crossovers, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles rebounded 23 percent to top 1.94 million. Deliveries of ele…

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Energy Department said Wednesday it had closed a $102.1 million loan to Syrah Technologies LLC SYR.AX for the expansion of a Louisiana facility that produces graphite-based active anode material -- a key component for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

This is first loan from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program finalized since 2011, and the first ATVM loan exclusively for an automotive supply chain manufacturing project.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that, in part, will provide billions of dollars to boost domestic semiconductor production — an action long-awaited by the auto industry as it continues to navigate a global shortage of microchips.

The bipartisan bill — known as the CHIPS and Science Act or "CHIPS-plus" — provides about $52 billion in government subsidies for U.S. semiconductor research, design and production, including $2 billion for "legacy chips" used by automakers and parts suppliers.

It also includes a 25 percent tax credit for investments in semiconductor manufacturing through 2026 and invests billions of dollars in science and technology innovation to strengthen economic growth, job creation and national security.

The legislation, approved 64-33 with a bipartisan vote, now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass as early as this week.

The bill is a trimmed-…

Dealership giant Group 1 Automotive Inc. reported Wednesday that revenue and net income rose in the second quarter in part on higher new-vehicle profitability and gains from acquisitions.

The Houston-based dealership group said net income rose 2.6 percent to $195.9 million and revenue rose 14 percent to a record $4.15 billion. Net income from continuing operations for the quarter ended June 30 increased 5.6 percent to $199.3 million. That figure includes Group 1's U.S. and U.K. operations but not its Brazilian unit, which was reported as discontinued operations. The company had previously said it would divest its operations in Brazil, and the sale of those dealerships closed in early July.

Group 1 reported its highest-ever revenue and gross profit and attributed its financial performance to the strength of its U.S. business, citing a 34 percent growth in parts and service revenue and a roughly 20 percent increase in finance and insurance revenue. The acquisitio…

Ally Financial remains bullish about both auto loan demand and the company's ability to raise the interest rates offered to car buyers despite high inflation and the prospect of more Fed rate increases.

"The story remains consistent," CEO Jeffrey Brown said on an earnings call July 19.

Vehicle demand was strong and supply challenged, Brown said. Consumers earning more than $50,000, the demographic representing the majority of Ally's portfolio, showed strong demand, Chief Financial Officer Jennifer LaClair said on the call. Ally still projected 4 million to 5 million consumers were poised on the sidelines to replace shoppers who dropped out of the market, Brown said.

Brown and LaClair's assessment came a week before the Federal Open Market Committee on July 27 raised the federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage points to a target of 2.25 to 2.5 percent. The Federal Reserve rate has a ripple effect upon consumer interest rates and spending.

In the se…

NXP Semiconductors, the second-biggest supplier of chips to the automotive industry, gave a strong forecast for the current quarter driven by demand for components used in light vehicles.

Third-quarter revenue will be $3.35 billion to $3.5 billion, NXP said Monday in a statement. That compares with an average analyst estimate of $3.32 billion. Gross margin, or the percentage of sales remaining after deducting the cost of production, will be as high as 58.3 percent. Analysts has projected a margin of 57.6 percent.

NXP is completely sold out through the end of 2022, CEO Kurt Sievers told Bloomberg on Tuesday. The company is “very cautious” with regards to high inflation, COVID-19 lockdowns in China, the war in Ukraine and a possible energy crisis, he said. 

“It’s a bit of a schizophrenic situation,” Sievers said. “I am still in my seat, fighting customer shortages; while, of course from a macro perspective, you would assume the world is going under.…