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WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill that would prevent automakers from eliminating AM broadcast radio in new vehicles isn't necessary, an industry trade group representing automakers is expected to tell a House panel Tuesday.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation's Scott Schmidt, vice president of safety policy, will argue that while the group's members are "committed to ensuring drivers have access to free, public alerts and safety warnings through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System," the way consumers receive information is constantly evolving, according to his written testimony.

Emergency alerts under FEMA's system are sent out across multiple platforms, including AM, FM and satellite radio as well as cellular networks.

"The intent is not for the public to rely on a sole source to receive the alerts but to create a 'net' of sources in which the public can receive them. In other words, the more the better,"…

An inventory efficiency index developed by Cloud Theory ranked Kia the most efficient mover of vehicle inventory in the U.S.

The index's May results show Kia reclaiming the top spot over Toyota. Before Toyota's triumph in April, Kia had been the consistent industry leader in inventory efficiency for more than a year, according to Rick Wainschel, Cloud Theory vice president for data science and analytics.

Cloud Theory, of Grand Rapids, Mich., is a software company that aims to provide comprehensive, updated efficiency data to help manufacturers make decisions about marketing and inventory distribution.

The company's "inventory efficiency index" assigns scores to vehicle makes based on active inventory and sales data in comparison with competitors. A score below 100 indicates supply is outstripping demand, while a score above 100 suggests the vehicle is selling more efficiently than average.

Toyota slid 7.3 points last month, to a score of 149.6, w…

Genesis' top-selling GV70 is joining its battery-powered counterpart, the Electrified GV70, on the luxury brand's modest roster of U.S.-assembled vehicles. It will be Genesis' second U.S.-built model.

The compact crossover will be produced at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing in Montgomery, Ala., which also builds the Hyundai Elantra compact sedan, the gasoline and hybrid versions of the Santa Fe, the Tucson compact crossover and Santa Cruz compact pickup.

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama CEO Ernie Kim said in a statement that since the Electrified GV70 went into production in February, the team has kept the Genesis customer's "highest expectations in mind" and that they are "ready to launch the broader GV70 lineup with the same commitment to safety and quality."

The gasoline-powered GV70 started production in late May. All Alabama-built GV70s will be distributed to U.S. dealers. There are no plans to export.

The factory, which has an annual product…

Ferrari has no plans to purchase other sports car makers, the company's CEO Benedetto Vigna said on Monday.

"I don't think it makes sense for us to buy other supercar makers," Vigna said during a conference organized by Bloomberg, replying to a question about possible M&A operations by the Italian company.

"Ferrari is a high luxury (company) with technology playing an important role," he added, reiterating that its strategy relied more on partnerships and stressing the importance for luxury companies to maintain their "DNA".

Vigna said Ferrari would finish building a new assembly facility, its so called 'e-building', in its Maranello hometown in June next year.

"It will be ready exactly two years after our capital market day, when the site construction was started," he said.

The CEO said Ferrari would not only be making fully-electric cars on the new assembly-line.

"We want to retain great flexibility," he said.

The automotive industry has undergone significant disruption in recent years. Advancements in electric mobility, autonomous solutions, automotive retail and vehicle connectivity have propelled the sector forward and left enterprises and consumers alike excited for what comes next.

Despite all of this growth, the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in challenges, specifically surrounding supply chains. The semiconductor shortage and other geopolitical factors have resulted in supply and demand issues across all functions, which has led many companies in the industry to focus on building a future-proof supply chain that is both flexible and resilient.

To ensure preparedness for potential future crises, many auto manufacturers have begun digitizing their supply chains and prioritizing risk management as a part of their strategy. But this cultural and technological shift toward resiliency — with an added focus on sustainability — cannot happen overnight, an…

A gaggle of May sales reports from different regions and companies affirm that the slump in demand for new vehicles that at least some industry executives feared has not happened – so far. In China, BYD boosted sales by 14 percent in May compared to April, according to preliminary figures from the China Passenger Car Association. That growth was ahead of the 2.4 percent month over month improvement reported for Tesla in the world’s largest vehicle market. Even so, investors gave Tesla shares a lift this morning. In the U.S., Ford said its vehicle sales in May rose 10.7 percent. Sales of the F-Series pickup truck line surged by nearly 43 percent. Volvo Cars said its May sales rose by 31 percent. Hyundai and Toyota last week reported strong U.S. sales, as reported by Automotive News. Preliminary sales figures for May show that U.S. car and light truck sales achieved a 15.05 million annualized sales pace, according to Wards Intelligence. That’s we…

Our Next Energy CEO Mujeeb Ijaz talks about the company’s first product deliveries, its growth plans, and the changing landscape for powering EVs. GM makes a couple of billion-dollar investments. And Toyota announces a new hydrogen car.

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Modify your service strategy to find success in the face of industry shortages. Use the guide, Service Solutions for Inventory Challenges, to implement five specific strategies to overcome industry obstacles and supply chain challenges:Find potential acquisition opportunities by reviewing past service recordsSend trade-in reminders to customers with repair-prone vehiclesBring your sales team into the service loop to seek out in-demand vehiclesMake offers to customers who decline expensive service recommendations Ensure marketing, sales, service, and operations are all in sync to accomplish acquisition goals

You know the old saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

This week, my feeling is more like: The more things get back to normal, the weirder some other things get.

The big-picture view of the heart of the industry — making and selling cars and light trucks — is definitely continuing to get back toward normal after the pandemic.

The supply of vehicles in the U.S. is still tight, but inventories are up almost 50 percent from a year ago, as Michael Martinez and David Phillips report, helping May sales jump by an estimated 21 percent among the companies that report monthly U.S. results. (Volvo said it plans to put its numbers out early in the coming week.)

Consumer demand remains strong in the face of higher interest rates and economic uncertainty — the latter of which was lessened a bit as Congress passed a debt-ceiling increase that averted a global financial catastrophe. Shoppers were encouraged by s…

The head of product at the eVTOL startup breaks down the FAA certification process, discusses the company’s partnerships with Delta Air Lines and Uber, and explains how Toyota, a key investor, has imprinted its culture onto Joby’s plans to scale.

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Housed in an old hangar at the historic Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport in Detroit is the Sigma-6, a sleek $5 million eVTOL aircraft that represents the future of aviation.

But the electric vertical take-off and landing machine is running out of runway.

Airspace Experience Technologies, the startup behind the aircraft, has burned through nearly all of its cash, founder Jon Rimanelli said. And it seems there's little appetite from investors or economic development officials to continue backing the project — at least in Michigan.

Rimanelli said he has been looking around at sites outside of the state to potentially move his startup, and he even considered trying to sell it. Last month, he visited Wichita, Kan., where he said economic development officials rolled out the red carpet for him. He said he's not received the same treatment in Michigan.

"How are we going to survive if we can't raise money in this town?" Rimanelli said. "I'm open to sell…

Fiat has all but faded away in the U.S., but it has a new North American leader whom parent company Stellantis has charged with "providing cool mobility solutions for all."

Fiat could use that cool factor when it reenters the U.S. electric vehicle race in 2024 with the 500e, a model that analysts say can open a pathway to success for a brand that has struggled with lackluster sales in the country for years.

The stage is set for Aamir Ahmed, a former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles marketer appointed to head Fiat's North American operations last month. Ahmed left FCA in 2017 to work for Harman International and Amazon. Ahmed succeeds Larry Dominique, who had been leading Fiat in addition to his role as senior vice president for Alfa Romeo in North America.

There's a tough job ahead.

Although the brand has been a major player globally, it hasn't been able to find its footing in the U.S. market, where it sells only the 500X. F…