News

Fixing the minor damage to a Rivian pickup involved in a fender-bender last winter cost $42,000 — nearly half the price of the truck.

"I expected it to be expensive," the truck's owner, Chris Apfelstadt, told The New York Times for a story last month, "but it was still a shocking number."

The case is an extreme example of car repairs that have become exponentially costlier as automakers pack their vehicles with more electronics and parts that are more difficult to replace.

Apfelstadt's repair, which was done at one of only three Ohio businesses certified to fix Rivians, involved replacing a panel that spans much of the R1T's length and necessitated removing the windshield and headliner. The insurance carrier of the driver who rear-ended the truck initially offered only $1,600 because the damage had been deemed minor.

The report cited figures from Mitchell, which collects insurance claim data, saying the average cost of re…

Automotive News has turned its rigorously documented dealership buy-sell reporting into a package of stories and data sets that can't be found anywhere else. And our online, interactive buy-sell database has been redesigned to give subscribers clearer, more detailed information.

We examine the 2022 U.S. dealership buy-sell market and how it compared with 2021, arguably the biggest year for dealership acquisitions in history.

We also take a look at buy-sell activity in 2023 and where the market goes from here.

Sign up for our Done Deals newsletter for a monthly look at the buy-sell market at autonews.com/donedealsemail.

At the NADA Show in Dallas this year, Damian Mills attended a presentation by the National Urban League on a new automotive technician training program it was launching with the car dealer association. Mills immediately decided to take part.

"Once I saw what the program was and the intentions, my team got behind it 100 percent," said Mills, CEO of Mills Automotive Group, which has 29 dealerships in six states.

The pioneering program in Louisiana brings together two organizations — the National Urban League and the National Automobile Dealers Association — and their diverse resources to help alleviate a The hope is to establish a nationwide network of auto technician training apprenticeships.

"We hope the industry can take pilot programs and partnerships like this, use our model and take this across the country," said Will Green, CEO of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association.

The National Urban League is an ideal…

The deals are back in America's new-car showrooms.

Automaker spending on new-vehicle incentives rose sharply in July compared with the year-earlier month, driven by electric vehicle offers, luxury car lease deals and growing inventory across the industry, according to estimates by Motor Intelligence and J.D. Power.

Incentives averaged $2,151 per vehicle last month compared with $1,174 in July 2022, according to Motor Intelligence, with EV startup Lucid Motors leading the way with $12,907 on the Air sedan. J.D. Power estimated July incentives at $1,830 per vehicle compared with $908 in the year-earlier month.

"The reason automakers are spending again is that retail inventory is growing," said Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power. "Last year it was under 800,000 retail units but this year is over 1.2 million. Production issues are quickly receding into the background, and as production goes up, inventory on the ground will incr…

Mercedes-Benz is marching into the EV era.

In the U.S., the luxury automaker expects battery-powered vehicles to account for of new-car sales by 2026 and 70 percent by the beginning of the next decade.

But first, Mercedes must prepare its retail network to service those next-generation vehicles. To do that, the brand is investing in technician training.

CCC Intelligent Solutions' 2022 Crash Course report said there will be 100,000 technician job openings over the next decade.

Mercedes has partnered with job training program Job Corps to help build the talent pipeline for its dealers.

The automaker will develop the curriculum, train Job Corps instructors, provide technical support and donate materials, tools and equipment. The training of 16- to 24-year-olds will take place at Job Corps centers in Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Utah to start.

Ralf Paul, Mercedes-Benz USA director of custome…

Eight months ago, Justin Dodd was living at a Salvation Army in Louisiana with his two daughters. Today, he is an apprentice automotive service technician at Banner Chevrolet in New Orleans and has a new home of his own.

Dodd, 41, became homeless after resigning from his previous job managing contracted sanitation crews at food processing plants. He left, he said, because he and his daughters, ages 8 and 13, had grown tired of moving to a new city every time one contract ended and a new one started.

Looking for new opportunities, he heard about the apprentice training program from two Urban League of Louisiana representatives. He was initially told no slots were open, but he persisted, and a spot opened up.

Dodd had more work experience than some others in the program, and he leveraged it to advise his classmates.

"It gave me a chance to stand out as a leader," he said. "A lot of these guys were lost and confused. I knew where they were coming f…

CarGurus unexpectedly delayed reporting its second-quarter earnings on Thursday, sending the vehicle listing company's stock plunging after it issued a statement that offered few details behind the decision.

Shares of CarGurus slipped 16 percent to close at $18.09 on Friday.

CarGurus, of Cambridge, Mass., had been scheduled to release financial details and hold its quarterly earnings call Thursday after the markets closed. Not long before, it issued a brief statement about the delay.

"CarGurus has not completed its customary quarterly closing and review procedures for the three months ended June 30, 2023," the statement read. "CarGurus will announce the date of the rescheduled earnings release and conference call in a subsequent press release."

A spokesperson told Automotive News on Friday that CarGurus would not comment beyond the issued statement.

Public companies, depending on their size, typically have 40 to 45 days to file earnings d…

The UAW is seeking a four-year, eight-month contract with the Detroit 3 that would expire on May 1, 2028 — International Workers' Day — according to people familiar with the union’s thinking.

The symbolic date, also known as May Day, celebrates the achievement of the international labor movement and would shift contract negotiations to the industry’s robust spring selling season. It would also change the dynamic of any potential strikes in northern states, taking away the risk of workers freezing on picket lines in cold weather.

A UAW spokesman declined comment.

The proposed pact also includes more than 40 percent raises for hourly workers, including 20 percent raises upon ratification followed by 5 percent raises each September for four years, according to the sources who requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

The union is also seeking a reduced workweek, cost-of-living adjustments, pensions, expanded retiree benefits and a jobs bank-…

Vishnu Sundaram is leaving his job as Stellantis' senior vice president of cockpit and connected services at the end of August, the automaker confirmed Friday.

Sundaram, a key figure in the automaker's quest to develop the cockpit of the future, is leaving "to pursue his own entrepreneurial passion," a Stellantis spokesman said.

He said at a company software event in December 2021 that Stellantis' SmartCockpit platform aims to "transform your vehicle into a personalized living space. It is a more natural way to interact with your vehicle based on a combination of several sensors — touch, voice, glance, gesture."

Sundaram's LinkedIn profile describes his role as advancing Stellantis to be an industry leader in the connected cabin experience. He wrote of using artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, immersive gaming and cloud services to offer content and services in vehicles.

He joined Stellantis in August 2021 from Harman I…

The UAW wants to get 40 percent wage gains and a four-day work week from Detroit 3 automakers. Experts raise doubts about NHTSA’s fuel economy proposal. Plus, Dealer Safeguard Solutions CEO Doug Fusco talks about how things have been going with the updated Safeguards Rule about two months after it took effect.

How do I subscribe?

Can't wait to hear the next episode of "Daily Drive"? Subscribe through a podcast app to receive episodes days in advance. If you don't have a podcast app already, here are some options. 

iPhone / iPad

Android

Spotify

Canada's Magna International Inc. on Friday raised its full-year profit and sales outlook after it generated second-quarter net income of $339 million compared with a loss of $156 million during the same quarter last year.

Revenue during the quarter grew 17 percent to $11 billion.

The world's fourth-largest auto supplier said there was strong demand for auto parts as supply chain constraints eased. Demand for parts has remained strong from automakers as they boost production to cater to consumers looking to snap up pickups, crossovers and SUVs.

Labor concerns, however, have remained a worry for the North American auto industry as the UAW and Canada's Unifor unions both negotiate new contracts with the Detroit 3 automakers. Suppliers also are navigating higher costs of raw materials and other inflationary headwinds.

Magna expects 2023 revenue between $41.90 billion and $43.50 billion, compared with its previous forecast of $40.20 billion to $41.8…