Trade News

As the Thanksgiving weekend winds down, it's time for another late-year tradition: The unveiling of the 2021 Automotive News All-Stars.

Breaking from tradition, however, is this year's selection by our staff of the Industry Leader of the Year: Lithia Motors CEO Bryan DeBoer — a retailer.

Yes, the headlines this year were dominated by the global semiconductor shortage, which rippled through virtually every corner of the industry and constricted inventory levels to record lows. The challenges presented by COVID-19 were compounded by this new crisis.

At the same time, however, the U.S. automotive landscape was being reshaped by dealership consolidation. There was a flurry of buy-sell activity as many retailers cashed in on high dealership values.

Leading the acquisition boom was DeBoer. Usually, our top award has gone to executives at automotive manufacturers. But the…

Waymo's director of safety research and best practices dives into the company's efforts to simulate how its virtual driver would have performed in real-life crash scenarios culled from its metro Phoenix operating area. He also details his previous work on driver-assist systems at Volvo.

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TOKYO — When Toshihiro Mibe became CEO of Honda Motor Co. in April, Japan's No. 2 carmaker was already navigating the tough challenge of revamping its auto business.

But Mibe dialed it up a notch. Just weeks after assuming office, he embarked on a radical makeover that envisions phasing out the company's famed internal combustion engines by 2040 on the road to transforming Honda into a carbon-neutral power and mobility provider.

The veteran engineer and former R&D boss, who was Honda's liaison with partner General Motors over the years, is also more open-minded about teaming with other companies to acquire the know-how Honda lacks in order to succeed in an era buffeted by change.

Speaking through an interpreter, Mibe, 60, sat with Asia Editor Hans Greimel to discuss Honda's all-in-on-EVs play, his thoughts about capital alliances, the automaker's plan to shift to solid-state batteries and his vision for a new Honda in the age of new mobility. Here a…

The recent partnership between German supplier ZF Friedrichshafen and Microsoft underscores how the relationship among tech companies, suppliers and automakers is changing in the era of advanced-technology vehicles.

Most major suppliers no longer see themselves as simply providers of the hardware and physical components automakers put in their vehicles. Many now see an opportunity to partner with major tech companies on advancements in software — and even to launch new businesses independent of the specific needs of their automaker customers.

That signals a new power structure for the auto industry — with tech giants occupying a third seat at the table where previously only automakers and suppliers sat.

But it also signals that uniting with tech firms can serve as a competitive advantage to set one supplier apart from another.

Henning Ludes, a senior associate at Berylls Strategy Advisors, said the traditional lines between automakers and suppli…

Germain Toyota of Naples had figured out how to conduct vehicle sales digitally in early 2020. But the achievement raised a new challenge for the Florida dealership: Traditional word tracks were no longer relevant.

So the dealership empowered staff to approach sales organically, discarding a rigid process in favor of having a conversation with the customer and addressing the question or shopping step on the consumer's mind at the time.

"We just roll with them," General Manager Brian Kramer said.

As a result, finance-and-insurance sales have increased, boosting per-vehicle profitability, Kramer said. After initial reluctance, sales employees now prefer the revamped approach.

Under the old scripted system, a customer asking what a trade was worth might have been required to test drive a vehicle first, Kramer said. Or an employee would be required to fill out paperwork before a customer could visit the F&I office.

But that system went ha…

More than three-quarters of dealers said they plan to buy one or more dealerships in the next year — a sign that the hot buy-sell market is likely to continue into 2022, with next year's transaction totals likely to exceed 2021's record pace, according to a survey by Kerrigan Advisors.

The third annual Kerrigan Dealer Survey of more than 825 dealers from June to October also found that just 3 percent of dealers plan to sell one or more stores in the next 12 months and 20 percent expect to remain the same size.

Despite concerns about electric vehicles and Tesla's growing market share, dealership profits and cash flow are high, boosting confidence in the future of retailing, Erin Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors, a sell-side firm in Irvine, Calif., told Automotive News.

"The dealers are making more money than they have — frankly many have shared with us [it's more] than they ever imagined they would in a single year," Kerrigan said. "And …

Volvo Cars' goal to sell 800,000 vehicles globally by 2020 was derailed by the pandemic and then by the industrywide semiconductor shortage in 2021. Despite those setbacks, CEO Hakan Samuelsson believes that topping Volvo's sales record, set in 2019, is "within reach" this year — even though the Swedish automaker took a big hit to production in the third quarter.

In an interview with Automotive News Europe Managing Editor Douglas A. Bolduc, Samuelsson, 70, also outlined the lingering effects of the pandemic on Volvo's business and shared how the newly listed automaker will consistently achieve a profit margin of 8 to 10 percent.

Here are edited excerpts.

Q: What is your outlook for the rest of 2021 and 2022?

A: That is a difficult question because of the semiconductor shortage. We had good momentum, then coronavirus outbreaks in the Far East closed down some of our component suppliers, including those providing semiconductors. As a result, we lo…

TOKYO — In a world where lithium ion power packs are the norm and buzz is building around solid-state batteries, old nickel-metal hydride batteries seem like yesterday's news.

After all, Toyota has been using the chemistry since the 1997 launch of the Prius hybrid.

But engineers at Toyota have found a way to squeeze more juice out of the old tried-and-true battery technology, and it is giving Toyota's latest hybrids a new life in the electric vehicle age.

Toyota calls its innovation the bipolar nickel-metal hydride battery. A new structural design delivers not only a more powerful battery, but one that is much more compact — essentially doubling its power density while using the same basic chemistry.

Toyota deployed the new battery this year in the redesigned compact Prius C hybrid. Each cell delivers 1.5 times the output of the old setup, and the structure allows for 1.4 times as many cells in the same space.

"If we use the same space, we…

SHANGHAI -- Chinese tech group Baidu Inc. and self-driving startup Pony.ai have won approval to launch paid driverless robotaxi services that will see the companies deploy not more than 100 vehicles in an area in China's capital Beijing.

The state-backed Beijing Daily newspaper reported on the approvals on Thursday, citing a ceremony held by the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, where the 60 square kilometre-large area (23 square miles) is located.

Baidu said in a statement the approval will herald its Apollo Go service's first commercial deployment on open roads.

Customers will be able to hail one of the daily service's 67 cars at more than 600 pick-up and drop-off points in both commercial and residential areas, it said. It will charge fares similar to the level of premium ride-hailing services in China, a Baidu spokesperson added.

Pony.ai, backed by Toyota Motor Corp., also confirmed that it had received the approval for its…

Cadillac has begun taking orders in China for the Lyriq, its first full electric crossover.

Customers, beginning Nov. 17, can initially place orders for the rear-wheel drive, long-range version of the Lyriq at a price of 439,700 yuan ($68,811), GM China’s unit said. 

The vehicle is produced at SAIC-GM, GM’s passenger vehicle joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. 

The Lyriq can drive for more than 650 kilometers on a full charge or 96 km on a 10-minute charge.

China deliveries are slated to start in mid-2022. 

An all-wheel-drive variant of the Lyriq will be introduced at a later time.

While launching Lyriq orders, GM’s luxury brand is set to open its first six Cadillac IQ Spaces in five Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Guangzhou. 

The sites allow car shoppers to view, select and order the Lyriq and Cadillac’s future electric products, GM China said. 

In the first three quarters, Cadillac’s Ch…