News

As Volkswagen begins U.S. production of the ID4 compact crossover, two experienced, high-profile executives who helped guide the rollout of the brand's electric vehicle transition on the continent have departed the automaker for high-tech startups.

Matt Renna, 36, previously VW Group of America's vice president for e-mobility — and a 2020 Automotive News Rising Star — became head of hardware for autonomous delivery vehicle company Nuro in March, according to his profile on LinkedIn. Renna's departure was followed by that of Dustin Krause, 37, who had been director of e-mobility with VW Group of America, who in May became senior director for automotive partnerships with battery recycling startup Redwood Materials, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Both Renna and Krause previously worked at Tesla and helped launch the Model 3 before joining VW of America in 2018 as the German brand prepared for the March 2021 U.S. launch of the ID4.

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Bruton Smith, a pioneer-turned-titan in both auto retailing and motorsports, leveraged small roles selling cars and promoting dirt-track races as a youth to create two moneymaking business giants.

Smith, founder of Sonic Automotive Inc., NASCAR Hall of Famer, racetrack owner and philanthropist, died Wednesday, June 22, at 95.

Smith launched Sonic, of Charlotte, N.C., as a public company in November 1997 with 20 dealerships. It is the seventh-largest U.S. auto retailer today, with 111 dealerships after completing the mega acquisition of RFJ Auto Partners Holdings Inc. in 2021. Sonic also owns and operates the EchoPark standalone brand of used-vehicle-only stores.

Smith, a giant in racing circles who helped turn stock car racing into a multibillion-dollar business, also started Speedway Motorsports Inc., the first motorsports company to go public in 1995. (It went private in 2019.) In 1992, he became the first track owner to erect and shine lights on the …

Chinese electric vehicle startups Li Auto Inc. and Hozon New Energy Automobile Co. emerged as the first customers of a new long-range battery that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. unveiled Thursday and plans to start mass producing in 2023.

The “Qilin” battery has a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) on one charge, energy density of up to 255 watt-hour per kilogram, and is safer and more durable than existing cells, according to CATL, as the world’s biggest maker of EV batteries is known. It is also 13 percent more powerful than one planned by Tesla Inc., a major customer of CATL.

The battery -- named after a Chinese mythical creature -- has the longest range offered by any mainstream manufacturer yet. It comes as CATL faces greater pressure to innovate and maintain its dominance, with rivals at home and abroad -- from BYD Co. and China Aviation Lithium Battery Co. to LG Energy Solution Ltd. and Panasonic Holdings Corp. -- developing their own p…

CarLotz shutters half of its brick-and-mortar locations. Japanese supplier Marelli enters a court-led reorganization. Gen Z is more frustrated with the car-buying process than older generations. Plus, Josh Baer talks about why digital retailing in the F&I office is on the “precipice of evolution.”

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General Motors said it made an undisclosed investment in UVeye, an Israeli-based automated vehicle inspection technology developer, through its GM Ventures unit.

As part of the collaboration, announced Wednesday, GM will have access to UVeye's technology, such as an underbody scanner that can detect frame damage; a system that checks tire quality and issues such as sidewall damage; and a 360-degree detection system that checks sheet metal and other external body issues.

"We're excited to have GM as a partner. They share the same vision regarding the customer and consumer experience at the dealerships," UVeye CEO Amir Hever said. "GM has the largest dealer network, with over 4,000 dealerships, which is the largest and most significant for us as UVeye."

GM has made the technology available to purchase for its dealership network to upgrade vehicle inspection systems in service lanes. Use of the technology will not be mandatory, said Dave Marsh, GM's technic…

Porsche Penske Motorsport team's much-anticipated hybrid LMDh prototype has a name: the Porsche 963.

The new car was unveiled at Goodwood House in England on Friday, and follows the Porsche and Team Penske collaboration that began in May 2021.

Based on the LMDh regulatory LMP2-category chassis, the 963 sports a 4.6-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine. The engine and overall design borrow from Porsche's winning models of the past, Porsche said. Such DNA can be seen in features such as the strip lighting in the rear of the vehicle and the white, red and black color palette.

"Our new Porsche 963 should continue the legacy of legendary models such as the 917, 935, 956, 962 and the 919," Thomas Laudenbach, vice president of motorsport for Porsche, said in a release. "I'm positive that we'll be well positioned when it comes to technology and we've also created the relevant team structures to set us up for wins."

The 963 will debut in Daytona Beach, Fla., in Jan…

McLaren, a steadfast holdout in the stampede among Lamborghini, Bentley, Aston Martin, Ferrari and other ultraluxury and exotic brands to market high-performance utility vehicles, may be reversing course.

That's the conclusion of a report from British magazine Autocar. The publication, without attributing the information to any sources, says the British automaker plans to launch an SUV in the second half of the decade.

The company has often signaled it has no plans to offer an SUV. Things might be changing since Michael Leiters, a key utility vehicle advocate for other brands, was named CEO in April, Autocar said.

Leiters, a German engineer who becomes McLaren CEO on Friday, July 1, was instrumental in the creation of Porsche's first crossover, the Cayenne, and Ferrari's first utility, the forthcoming Purosangue. He has given no indication publicly he plans to do the same at McLaren.

The closest thing to an SUV that McLaren has fielded is McLaren …

Used-vehicle retail giant CarMax Inc. said it again sold fewer used vehicles in its fiscal first quarter as a result of inflation, vehicle affordability issues and waning consumer confidence.

The company retailed a total of 240,950 used vehicles in the quarter ending May 31, down 11 percent from the same time last year. Comparable store used-vehicle sales also fell 12.7 percent.

Still, CarMax saw its revenue leap 21 percent to $9.3 billion in the first quarter. It also brought in more profit per vehicle — $2,339 per each sold, an increase of $134.

CarMax said it opened one new store in Edison, N.J., in the first quarter, its first in the New York metro market. That's part of the company's larger plan to open 10 new locations in fiscal 2023.

Net earnings for the quarter tumbled to $252.3 million, down roughly 42 percent from $436.8 million in the year-earlier period.

"While the used-vehicle market environment was challenging in the first qua…

Younger car buyers were less likely to recommend the dealership experience and had more frustrations with the car-buying process than older consumers, according to a survey by CDK Global Inc.

The study, released Thursday, surveyed 1,100 recent car buyers in December and analyzed their preferences and frustrations with the car-buying process by various age groups.

The study classified members of Gen Z as car buyers from the ages of 18 to 25, millennials as 25 to 40, Gen X as 40 to 55 and baby boomers as those 56 and over.

CDK said 81 percent of Gen Z members said their biggest priority when purchasing a car was taking their time and exploring all of their options, compared with only 73 percent of millennials, 60 percent of Gen Xers and only 45 percent of baby boomers. The survey also said members of Gen Z had more difficulty purchasing a vehicle online than older generations.

Brendan Dougherty, CDK's director of product marketing, attributed this t…

Honda's 11th-generation Accord is scheduled to be revealed near the end of the year as a 2024 model with styling that remains sporty. The midsize sedan has been spotted undergoing road tests, and certain exterior changes appear to align it more closely with the 11th-generation Civic that debuted for the 2022 model year.

The compact Civic heralded a new styling direction for Honda that's more driver-centric and minimalist, including cleaner lines, a longer hood and a revised upright grille. The Civic and Accord remain core models for Honda even as cars increasingly lose favor amid Americans' growing preference for utility vehicles.

U.S. sales of the Accord rose 1.6 percent to 202,676 last year, making it the No. 4 seller among all cars. Deliveries slumped 26 percent to 69,893 this year through May as Honda prioritizes newer models such as the latest Civic and more profitable light trucks.

The next Accord appears to keep its fastb…

A new horsepower war is brewing among automakers, and this time the number of cylinders is not a factor. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England last week, Polestar, aiming directly at Porsche, fired the latest shot with a sleek, 884-hp four-door GT — the Polestar 5.

When it arrives in 2024, the dual-motor, 800-volt battery-powered sport sedan will be a direct competitor to the Porsche Taycan, the aging Tesla Model S and Lucid, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles.

"Polestar 5 is a company-defining project. Its progressive design and advanced engineering set the tone for Polestar's future," Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said. "We have great talent on board enabling us to create truly iconic EVs."

A camouflaged Polestar 5 was driven up Goodwood Hill twice daily during the festival, the first time the nearly complete car has been shown in public.

While no performance figures were given, the Polestar 5 promises …

Marelli, the supplier owned by KKR & Co., will enter court-led rehabilitation after failing to complete an alternative dispute resolution process in Japan that lets a company under financial strain continue to operate while renegotiating its debt with creditors.

Hiroshi Watanabe, a spokesman for Saitama, Japan-based Marelli, confirmed the outcome after a creditors meeting Friday.

As part of the turnaround plan, Marelli is seeking the cancellation of about 450 billion yen ($3.3 billion) in debt, out of total obligations of about 1.13 trillion yen, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

The new court-supervised phase, effectively an extension of the ADR process that simplifies the steps needed to reach resolution, is expected to take about a month.

A Marelli spokesman said the entire reorganization process would be handled in Japanese courts, so no Chapter 11 filing would be anticipated in the U.S. About 24 percent of the company's busi…