Barra says GM is ‘selling every truck we can build’

DETROIT -- General Motors CEO Mary Barra said on Monday the automaker is "selling every truck we can build" and expanding North American truck-building capacity, even as U.S. gasoline prices hit record highs.

Barra made her comments during the automaker's annual shareholder meeting.

GM is pursuing a two-track strategy: Investing heavily in electric vehicles for North America, China and other markets, and funding those investments by trying to maximize profits from its North American combustion pickup truck and large SUV lineups.

Barra said GM is planning higher-priced versions of its Silverado large pickup and its large SUV models.

GM and its Detroit rivals Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis rely heavily on sales of large pickups and SUVs for global profits. High U.S. gasoline prices in the past have undermined consumer demand for relatively inefficient models.

Nominal pump prices hit an average of above $5 a gallon for the first time ever last …

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DAILY DRIVE PODCAST: June 13, 2022

Kellen Walker gives you the top headlines. Jeep is ready to go electric in Europe, but not so fast in the U.S. Wholesale used cars got a bit cheaper in the first quarter. EV truck start-up Electric Last Mile files for bankruptcy. Plus, WiTricity CEO Alex Gruzen talks about Siemens’ new $25 million strategic investment in the company to help boost wireless EV charging technology.

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Automakers urge Congress to lift EV tax credit cap

WASHINGTON - General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Chrysler-parent Stellantis and Toyota Motor North America on Monday urged Congress to lift a cap on the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit, citing higher costs to produce zero-emission vehicles, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The CEOs -- GM's Mary Barra, Ford's Jim Farley, Stellantis' Carlos Tavares and Toyota North America CEO Tetsuo Ogawa -- said in the joint letter to congressional leaders that they have pledged to invest more than over $170 billion through 2030 to bolster electric vehicles' development, production and sale.

The $7,500 tax credit phases out after a manufacturer hits 200,000 vehicles sold. Both GM and Tesla Inc. have already hit the cap and are no longer eligible for the consumer tax credits.

"We ask that the per-(automaker) cap be removed, with a sunset date set for a time when the EV market is more mature," the automakers said in the letter.

"Recent economic pressures and s…

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Striking truckers in South Korea could block coal to power plant

Striking South Korean truckers are considering blocking shipments of coal to a power plant if the government rejects their demands for minimum pay guarantees, a senior trade union official said Monday.

The Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union, on strike for a seventh day, is weighing several options to press its demands, including stopping coal to generate electricity and shutting down petrochemical complexes by blocking their shipments in and out.

"We are thinking of a complete blockade," union leader Kim Jae-gwang told Reuters, referring to coal shipments to a power plant in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province that he did not name, which uses trucks for its coal.

"But we hope such a situation doesn't happen."

The impact of a power plant blockade would be limited in terms of national electricity output, even in the high-demand summer, but would mark a significant intensification of the truckers' action.

The government …

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Insights from an ambassador in the automotive industry

In March, when Mary Jo Wheeler-Schueller traveled to the NADA Show in Las Vegas, she took her 21-year-old son Zach, a student at Northwood University.

Invariably, when the pair approached a booth, says Zach, “They’d reach out first to me, to shake my hand and ask me a question. I’d have to stop them and say, ‘Actually, my mom runs the store.’”

Mom Mary Jo is president and co-owner of Wheelers Family Auto Group and its four General Motors dealerships in central Wisconsin. From her perspective, the NADA experience is a sign that although the industry has made progress in its opportunities for and support of women, there’s still work to be done. “It’s changing, but slowly. It’s still a very male-dominated field,” she says.

Wheeler-Schueller is not only a dealer principal, but chairs the General Motors Women’s Dealer Advisory Council and is vice chair of the first all-women’s NADA 20 group. She also is president of both the Chevrolet and Buick marketing asso…

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EV-truck startup Electric Last Mile files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, plans to liquidate

Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc. said it plans to liquidate through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy process, a decision that comes almost one year after the electric-vehicle startup went public and just four months after both its CEO and chairman resigned.

The suburban Detroit company said in a statement late Sunday that its board and interim CEO, Shauna McIntyre, decided to liquidate after a review of Electric Last Mile’s products and plans turned up no better option for stockholders, creditors and other interested parties.

The filing will make Electric Last Mile the first of the EV startups that merged with special purpose acquisition companies to go out of business amid the recent market slump. On May 27, the company had warned it might run out of cash this month. Its shares have fallen 93 percent this year, closing last week at 51 cents.

Founders James Taylor and Jason Luo had planned to import electric delivery vans from China and assemble them at a forme…

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No reason to trust Musk on recession

TO THE EDITOR:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's pessimistic view of a recession coming to the automotive industry can't be taken seriously ("Elon Musk's warning about recession seen as 'canary in the coal mine,' " autonews.com, June 4).

In my humble opinion, Musk simply has a focus problem. Like a kid in a candy store, he jumps from one company division to the next. Today, it's Tesla electric vehicles. Tomorrow, it's SpaceX and launching a bunch of satellites. Then there's the hot and cold issue of buying Twitter. To me, it's a "focus du jour" problem.

Granted, there are chip shortages slowing down the shipment of new automobiles getting to dealer showrooms. But demand for new cars and trucks is skyrocketing.

An email from Musk reportedly told executives Tesla would need to cut about 10 percent of salaried jobs worldwide. Musk later discounted any big staff changes.

But why would Tesla even consider this? It's better to keep employees and cross-train …

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OBITUARY: Richard Niello Sr.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Richard Niello Sr., who once led Niello Co. dealership group, died June 4. He was 99. After taking over his father’s dealership in San Francisco, Niello opened a Volkswagen store in Sacramento in the 1950s with partner Wes Lasher. Niello Co.’s 13 dealerships sell Jaguar, Land Rover, Acura, Audi, BMW, Mini, VW, Volvo and Porsche brands in Sacramento and the surrounding area.

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Jeep ready to go electric in Europe, not as quickly in U.S.

Jeep's off-road contingent can take quiet excursions into the wilderness these days with the brand's plug-in hybrid 4xe models. For limited distances, at least.

The Grand Cherokee 4xe can get up to 25 miles of electric range, while the plug-in Wrangler offers 21. This capability represents a steppingstone to the next phase of electrification for the SUV brand.

But Jeep's electric vision goes much further. Its eyes are set on delivering purely electric jaunts along the 22-mile Rubicon Trail without using an ounce of gasoline while still having considerable range left at the end of the journey.

"Our perspective is you're going to be able to do the Rubicon Trail and have another 100 miles at the end of the Rubicon to go to a charging station," said Jeep CEO Christian Meunier. "That's what we need to be able to do, and I think we can do it with a BEV."

The era of zero-emission capability is coming quickly for Jeep. An all-e…

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Wholesale used-vehicle prices show some easing

For dealers dependent on auctions for cars and trucks, elevated wholesale used-vehicle prices were a pain point throughout 2021.

But there could be some relief in store: Forecasters saw limited price hikes during the 2022 spring selling season. Wholesale prices grew modestly for about eight weeks in a row — a pattern usually exhibited during the spring season as consumers spend their tax refunds on vehicles.

But now that the market is past that window, prices could smooth out even more.

"Dealers are starting to see the wholesale market behave pretty normally, just like we're seeing in retail pricing, so I think down the road, there'll be less pressure on that front," Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke told Automotive News.

Dealers who source inventory from auctions have been taking the brunt of up-to-date market prices, which have gone through an extended bout of inflation, Smoke said.

Wholesa…

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Musk’s pattern: Promise, backtrack

TO THE EDITOR:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk continues to make promises that he can't fulfill and statements that he consistently backtracks from: Cybertruck, where is it? Roadster, where is it? Autonomous driving capability? Now reportedly emails to employees about job cuts and working from home.

Musk is a visionary, but his wealth and ego have allowed him to act as if he can say or do anything he wants without considering the consequences.

FRANK LINZNER, Los Angeles. The writer is retired.

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How tech can boost dealers’ used-vehicle acquisition odds

Finding quality used vehicles continues to be a challenge for auto dealers, from high pricing to low availability.

New tools aim to make it easier for retailers to keep their lots stocked.

Several retail technology companies are boosting their own capabilities to assist dealerships with used-vehicle sourcing, including by giving consumers an outlet to sell their vehicles.

Vehicle listings company CarGurus in January 2021 acquired a 51 percent stake in wholesale trading platform CarOffer, which allows dealers to create standing buy orders and automatically matches them to available inventory. CarGurus last year also introduced its Instant Max Cash Offer feature, through which consumers can sell their vehicles online.

Rival listings sites Cars.com and TrueCar have added tools of their own. Cars.com in March completed its acquisition of the assets of Accu-Trade, a provider of vehicle appraisal and valuation data and logistics technology. Company le…

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