News

SHANGHAI – China’s major annual auto show, initially slated for late April in Beijing, has been rescheduled to begin in late September because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Guangzhou auto show, another leading industry event, is still scheduled for November. 

Cluster virus infections are still popping up sporadically in China, so how will these major events be organized?

The Chinese government's handling of its two most important annual political meetings in Beijing this week may offer some clues. 

The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the Chinese government, kicked off its annual session Thursday. The National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, will open its annual meeting Friday. 

Some 5,200 delegates, including 111 from the central province of Hubei -- the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak -- arrived in Beijing in the past few days for the two meetings, according to officia…

Geely Automobile Holdings has launched direct vehicle sales through an upstart third-party digital channel.

The largest domestic Chinese car manufacturer this week began selling a compact crossover on Souche, an ecommerce website focusing on new and used vehicles.

The vehicle, the Geely-badged Binyue, is offered at a fixed price of 97,800 yuan ($13,770) on the website. 

The move is part of a partnership signed with Souche.com to allow Geely to tap the website’s customer data and digital sales channels to enable direct sales, the automaker said.

Under the deal, customers place orders online for Geely vehicles, and deliveries take place offsite at a home or office. 

Geely expects the deal to boost sales by complementing its franchised dealerships, company vice president Feng Qingfeng said in a statement. 

The company’s sales in the first four months contracted 34 percent to 311,495, though volume rose 2 percent in …

The coronavirus outbreak has inspired SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, General Motors’ light-vehicle joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp., to find a practical new use for its two-seat electric cars. 

The EVs, rendered driverless, have been used to tow trailers since March 5 to ship parts and components for workshops at two assembly plants in the southwest China city of Liuzhou.

The company said this week 75 such vehicles have been deployed on 16 routes at both assembly plants it operates in Liuzhou. 

By providing contact-free logistics, the self-driving EVs can ward off the risk of virus transmission and cut labor costs by more than 50 percent, the company said.

Operating around the clock, the fleet has expanded SAIC-GM-Wuling’s logistics capacity and improved delivery services, it added.

SAIC-GM-Wuling markets entry-level cars under the Baojun brand and minibuses under the Wuling marque. 

The EVs deployed for the driverless…

DETROIT -- Michigan auto dealerships can resume in-person sales Tuesday, May 26, by appointment only, according to the latest executive order signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, which also now allows gatherings of 10 or fewer people.

The change continues a trend of states relaxing policies on auto dealerships in a national push to reopen key factions of the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the initial wave of coronavirus-related closures, Michigan adopted some of the strictest measures to slow the outbreak. Several other states that initially required showrooms to be closed have already rolled back policies that prevent consumers from physically entering showrooms. New Jersey announced Tuesday that it would resume in-person sales at dealerships by appointment only.

"As businesses continue to reopen, it's crucial that they adopt strict safety measures to protect their employees, customers and their families," Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executiv…

Listen as executives from Carvana, Cox Automotive and PwC discuss the uncertainty over inventory and the digital path forward as the economy slowly reopens.

Speakers:Jason Stein, Publisher, Automotive NewsErnie Garcia, Chairman & CEO, CarvanaSandy Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer, Cox AutomotiveDoug Ekizian, Managing Director, PwC Consumer Finance Group

This conversation was originally broadcast on May 21, 2020 at 11am EDT as part of our Congress Conversations series. The series runs through June 4. Register to watch future Congress Conversations live at http://autonews.com/congress.

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

Waymo's CEO opens up about the company netting $3 billion in funding amid the pandemic, resuming self-driving vehicle testing on public roads in Phoenix. He also weighs in on the renewed desire for personal mobility; autonomous deliveries; emerging ''smarter'' from the crisis and more.

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

“Daily Drive” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe to "Daily Drive"

Android

“D…

A group of state attorneys general, led by California's Xavier Becerra, urged automakers Wednesday to curb "unlawful and predatory" practices regarding the timely return of off-lease vehicles to franchised dealerships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter distributed Wednesday — which includes signatures from attorneys general in Connecticut, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and Puerto Rico — Becerra directly responded to media reports that consumers are having trouble returning off-lease vehicles.

USA Today reported on April 16 that some dealerships were refusing to accept vehicles with expired lease contracts unless consumers purchased a vehicle in exchange. Some consumers were reportedly told that a lease extension would be their only option.

The states are pressing automakers' finance arms and dealerships to adopt and maintain strict controls to ensure consumers ca…

Dow Inc. containment ponds were flooded early Wednesday after two dams failed in Midland, Mich. Flood levels were reported at historic highs in the area.

Dow's flood preparedness plan has been activated, the company said in a statement. Dow is a key supplier to the auto industry for various chemicals and plastics. It also manufactures adhesive bondings for vehicles and makes safety-enhanced airbag coatings.

It was too early to determine whether Dow's problems could lead to production disruptions for its automotive customers, who already were in crisis mode as they restarted some North American production amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"The material from the pond commingling with the flood waters does not create any threat to residents or environmental damage," Dow said in an updated statement Wednesday. "There has been no reported product releases."

After days of heavy rainfall led to the dam failures, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of eme…

General Motors is "almost there" on developing an electric vehicle battery that will last one million miles, a top executive said on Tuesday.

The automaker also is working on next-generation batteries even more advanced than the new Ultium battery that it unveiled in March, according to GM Executive Vice President Doug Parks, who was speaking at an online investor conference.

He did not specify a timeline for introduction of the million-mile battery, but said "multiple teams" at GM are working on such advances as zero-cobalt electrodes, solid state electrolytes and ultra-fast charging.

Current EV batteries typically last 100,000 to 200,000 miles.

Reuters reported n early May that Tesla , in partnership with Chinese battery maker CATL, plans to introduce its own million-mile battery later this year or early next.

CATL provides battery cells to other vehicle manufacturers, and has supply agreements in China with GM and its local partner SAIC …

Effective negotiation requires charisma, confidence, knowledge and, many experts believe, eye contact. For dealerships pivoting to remote F&I product sales during COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders, the inability to sit down with customers to talk about product sales is a hindrance to profitability.

Face-to-face interaction, whether in person or over video, are more compelling, and experts say it can really make a difference.

Jamie Payne, general manager of Planet Hyundai in Golden, Colo., said the F&I process doesn't work as well over the phone, particularly when trying to sell to people.

"There's a lot of other distractions when you don't have anyone looking you in the eye," Payne said. "If I was trying to buy a car at home on the phone, there's probably not a lot of listening to the finance department that I would have time for."

For Payne, there's a level of respect generated by eye contact that focuses the …

Dealerships that identify as having established digital retailing processes reported higher finance and insurance profits in April than those that didn't, according to a study by the National Automobile Dealers Association and digital retailing provider Roadster. Respondents also reported selling more vehicles with fewer employees, an indication that digitizing more of the car-buying experience is alleviating some of the burden on salespeople.

The study, conducted May 6 to 8, asked 236 franchised and independent dealerships to compare April sales results with those in February, before coronavirus-related closures.

F&I profits rose 58 percent on new vehicles in April for respondents with digital retailing processes. Dealerships that didn't offer digital retailing saw a smaller increase in F&I, up about 35 percent.

Dealerships also reported selling an average of 18 vehicles per salesperson in April, compared with a 13 vehic…