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Despite a drop in new-vehicle sales, Lithia Motors Inc.'s second-quarter net income increased.

The growing dealership group profited with higher used-vehicle sales and double-digit percentage gains in gross profit per new vehicle sold, finance and insurance revenue and climbing average vehicle selling prices on new and used vehicles.

Net income jumped 11 percent to $337.6 million, as revenue increased 20 percent to $7.2 billion, a second-quarter record, the Medford, Ore., retailer said on Wednesday.

"The second quarter results demonstrate the diversity and strength across our business lines as we have delivered the highest quarterly revenues in our history," Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer said in a statement.

Even as Lithia has expanded its dealership network through a brisk acquisition pace, new-vehicles sales fell 8.5 percent to 68,752. Used-vehicle sales, however, rose 15 percent to 81,026.

Lithia, the nation's second-largest new-vehicle retail…

U.S. semiconductor manufacturer SkyWater Technology Inc. on Wednesday said it plans to invest $1.8 billion for a chip research and production facility in Indiana, in partnership with the state and Purdue University.

The announcement comes a day after the U.S. Senate voted to move ahead with a slimmed-down version of a legislation, known as the CHIPS Act, to give billions of dollars in subsidies and tax credits for the semiconductor industry.

"This endeavor to bolster our chip fabrication facilities will rely on funding from the CHIPS Act," said SkyWater CEO Thomas Sonderman. The Bloomington, Minn.-based company supplies automakers and other industries.

"Federal investment will enable SkyWater to more quickly expand our efforts to address the need for strategic reshoring of semiconductor manufacturing."

SkyWater expects the ground breaking for the new facilities to happen in 2023, according to its spokesperson, but the timing would depend on whethe…

The U.S. Postal Service said Wednesday it plans to buy at least 25,000 electric delivery vehicles -- more than twice its prior estimate -- as it works to replace an aging fleet.

USPS told Reuters it is proposing to purchase at least 25,000 EVs out of its initial order of 50,000 next-generation delivery vehicles from Oshkosh Defense. That's up from USPS' prior plan to buy at least 10,019 EVs, or about 20 percent of the first order. USPS also plans to buy more than 34,500 commercial off-the-shelf delivery vehicles over two years.

The company plans to buy up to 20,000 left-hand drive Commercial Off-the-Shelf vehicles, "including as many BEVs as are commercially available and consistent with our delivery profile" and up to 14,500 gas-powered right-hand drive vehicles.

In total, USPS says at least 40 percent of the 84,500 vehicles it will buy will be EVs.

USPS said in March it planned an initial $2.98 billion order. Last month, the company told Reute…

Brooklyn Mitsubishi and Brooklyn Volkswagen have agreed to pay more than $800,000 in combined penalties and restitution and admit violations to end a case brought by a New York consumer agency.

The June 28 settlement also saw the city temporarily suspend two Brooklyn Mitsubishi licenses from July 3 to 9.

Brooklyn Mitsubishi and its used-vehicle business were tied to the bulk of the 13 administrative law counts alleged by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, including more than 7,000 instances of deceptive trade practices encompassed within one count.

The accused parties, which included the dealerships' parent companies and management, must collectively pay a $500,000 penalty and $304,900 worth of restitution to consumers. The city said it will keep any unspent restitution money as a civil penalty.

"We are helping deliver more than $300,000 back into the pockets of New York City consumers who were ripped off by Brooklyn …

A jury found Tesla Inc. just 1 percent responsible for the death of a teenager who crashed a Model S into a wall at high speed, concluding that the 18-year-old and his father were 99 percent to blame for the 2018 accident.

The verdict Tuesday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., follows the first trial the electric car-maker faced over a fatal accident involving one its electric cars.

The family of Barrett Riley sought to prove the company played a role in his death when service technicians removed a speed-limiting feature from the Model S that they had previously installed at the request of his mother.

Riley and his friend sitting in the passenger seat, also 18, were killed when he lost control of the vehicle at 116 miles per hour and crashed into a concrete wall of a Fort Lauderdale house in 2018.

A claim that a defect in the car’s battery caused it to explode in flames at the crash scene was dismissed before the trial started.

Tes…

Growing Canadian retailer Foundation Automotive Corp. has entered a new state and added a new brand, Nissan, to its portfolio with its latest acquisition of dealerships.

Foundation Automotive bought Jones Buick-GMC, Jones Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Jones Nissan in Savannah, Tenn., and Jones Chevrolet Humboldt in Humboldt, Tenn., from Jones Motor Co. on Friday, according to Andy Gill, CEO of Gill Automotive Group, a sell-side firm in St. Augustine, Fla., who represented the sellers in the deal.

Foundation is retaining the dealership names.

Savannah is east of Memphis and just north of the Mississippi and Alabama borders. Humboldt is northwest of Savannah.

Jones Motor Co., owned by brothers Clark Jones and Charlie Jones as well as Chad Jones, Clark's son, still owns Jones Ford in Savannah, which was not included in the sale to Foundation, Gill said.

Foundation said Chad Jones "will continue to work with Foundat…

Ally Financial's auto finance income fell by 50 percent in the second quarter to $600 million — but that's not necessarily a bad thing, according to the company.

Under the Current Expected Credit Losses accounting standard, Ally must record the expense of setting aside money as a hedge against losses on all the new financing business it did during the quarter, the company said Tuesday. Ally attributed its auto income decline to this consideration and "higher non-interest expenses."

Ally wrote $13.3 billion in auto loans and leases during the quarter, a 2.3 percent increase from a year earlier and the highest quarterly origination value since 2006. It didn't lower its standards to achieve this growth; the average Ally auto borrower had a credit score of 685, compared with 652 a year earlier.

"Our scale and ability to adapt to changing conditions allowed Ally to generate the strongest quarter of retail auto originations in 16 years wh…

Volkswagen Group of America CEO Scott Keogh will leave the brand and take over as the first CEO of the German automaker's nascent Scout electric vehicle brand, the automaker said Tuesday.

Pablo Di Si, 52, who has headed VW's South American region, becomes CEO of Volkswagen Group of America and CEO of Volkswagen North American Region.

Keogh, 53, has been CEO of VW of America since November 2018, following his tenure as president of Audi of America. When he was appointed, he was the first American to lead the brand's U.S. operations in 25 years.

"Scott Keogh and Pablo Di Si both have played key roles in turning around the businesses in their respective regions, North America and South America," Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess said in a written statement. "In their future positions, they will be pivotal in helping the Group seize the historic market opportunities in the U.S., taking our growth strategy in the region to the next level."

Keogh will …

Jeep was one of the first international auto brands to enter China, widely recognized by consumers and understood by its owners to have huge potential. And yet, Jeep is shutting down its only plant in the world's largest market.

The announcement this week that Stellantis plans to terminate its local joint venture with state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group was the culmination of a seemingly can't-miss wager gone awry. And it begs some unsettling questions about what the future holds for foreign manufacturers in China.

The government set out 40 years ago or so to develop the nation's auto industry by pairing local companies with experienced international players. Among the earliest was former Jeep owner American Motors. These proverbial training wheels are not only no longer needed, but out of step with President Xi Jinping's desire for China to become more self-reliant. The golden age of brisk growth and abundant profits for these various joint ventures appears…

A quarter of American consumers will likely go fully electric for their next vehicle purchase, according to a AAA survey.

It's a substantial finding, said Greg Brannon, director of automotive engineering at AAA. He said it will pave the way for a smoother EV transition for those who follow.

Gasoline prices are a key factor in spurring that transition, with 77 percent of respondents listing a strong desire to save on fuel costs as the most important factor for purchasing an EV. But consumers should be aware of all cost factors with their next purchase, Brannon said.

"Gas prices are always a moving target," he said. "It's funny, Americans tend to have a pretty short memory when it comes to these things. When gas prices are low, large SUVs tend to fly off the lot. But we can't look at it in the short term. It's important to balance how higher vehicle prices and higher fuel prices are going to result in increased interest in EVs."

Other problems such …

Mercedes-Benz of San Diego, the target of a strike by union technicians for the past month, last week fired 20 striking employees.

Management at the luxury dealership owned by Penske Automotive Group Inc. has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board stating that the former employees "unlawfully condoned and encouraged blatant picket line misconduct."

"Safety and security of our employees and customers is our top priority. Out of concern for the future safety of our staff and customers and after an investigation, we have informed those union members who engaged in serious misconduct that we have terminated their employment," Mercedes-Benz of San Diego said in a statement to Automotive News.Pedro Gomez, a shop steward at International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 1484 and technician at the dealership, said the union will also file a complaint with the labor board. Gomez said the dealership wrongfully terminated the …