Trade News

Growing Ed Morse Automotive Group, in two December acquisitions, has entered a new state and bolstered its presence in another.

The Delray Beach, Fla., group on Dec. 6 bought Sellers-Sexton Ford-Lincoln-Mazda in Saint Robert, Mo., from Larry Sexton. He was represented by CliftonLarsonAllen in the transaction.

Ed Morse Automotive CEO Teddy Morse told Automotive News that the transaction did not include the Lincoln or Mazda brands. The store was renamed Ed Morse Ford.

In May, Ed Morse Automotive entered Missouri with the purchase of four dealerships including a store in Saint Robert, which is southwest of St. Louis along Interstate 44.

"Our Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store in Saint Robert, Mo., was about three quarters of a mile off the highway," Morse said. "Every time we would drive to it, we would pass this other dealership called Sellers-Sexton Ford. It was a good-looking dealership, right on the road. Every time we went by it, I just found my hea…

When Genesis' second-generation G80 was launched for the 2021 model year, the interior was enhanced and it gained more refinement. Yet the popular Sport model was missing on the midsize sedan.

The Sport model has been revived for 2022 and now every V-6-powered G80 will be either a Sport or a Sport Prestige. The changes include aggressive styling cues — unique diffuser, 19- or 20-inch alloy wheels, red or black brake calipers, and a three-spoke steering wheel — and some mechanical tweaks.

One notable change: available rear-wheel steering, a first on a Genesis, to optimize driving stability. The sport sedan's rear wheels can now turn up to 2 degrees in the opposite direction of the front wheels at low speeds and the same amount in phases at higher speed. Its turning circle has also been cut by nearly 2 feet, to 36.2 feet.

The entry-level G80 Sport is a mechanical clone of the 2021 G80 3.5T AWD, with the same four-piston monoblock fron…

Though at least one Kentucky service center sustained roof damage, franchised dealerships on the whole appear to have been spared during the devastating tornado event Friday night, based on trade association reports.

A storm system Dec. 10 spawned a "long track tornado" in northeast Arkansas which continued on through Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to the National Weather Service's initial analysis. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said all four states and Illinois had experienced damage in the event, which produced other tornadoes besides the historic long-track disaster. That tornado ran for more than 200 miles in Kentucky alone.

"I know we had several close calls," Kentucky Automobile Dealers Association Controller Melissa Peach said Monday. But she said she hadn't heard of any damaged facilities. "Hopefully that will stay the same," she said.

Toyota did confirm one of its dealerships in the state of Kentucky had been impacted: To…

BERLIN -- BMW will build the X5 midsize luxury utility vehicle -- currently produced in the United States -- in China, a company spokesperson said on Monday.

"To satisfy the strong worldwide demand for the BMW X5, we are expanding our global production capacity of the popular Sports Activity Vehicle. We will be adding localized production of the BMW X5 in China, for the Chinese market," the spokesperson said, without providing a start date.

X5 output in China is slated to begin in the second quarter next year at the BMW Brilliance joint venture, according to a U.S. supplier source.

The X5 sold in China has so far been produced at BMW's plant in Spartanburg, S.C. China output will not affect production volumes at the South Carolina plant, the statement said.

The statement followed a report earlier on Monday by Handelsblatt that BMW was planning to begin production of the X5 in China starting in 2022.

BMW sold just under 700,000 vehicles in C…

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has put forward “a number of solutions” for resolving its complaint over a proposed U.S. tax incentive on electric vehicles made only by unionized American workers.

Canada has slammed the tax credit as a violation of the North American trade pact between the Canada, U.S. and Mexico, saying it amounts to unraveling five decades of integration in the auto sector.

Trudeau, speaking Monday in Ottawa, said one option is to align electric-vehicle incentives in Canada and the U.S. “to make sure that there’s no slippage or no unfair advantages on one side or the other.” He added that conversations on how to solve the dispute are ongoing between the two sides right now.

On Friday, Canada sent a letter to U.S. Senate leaders threatening to levy targeted tariffs on U.S. goods and take other retaliatory measures under the USMCA trade deal if its concerns aren’t addressed.

The proposed tax incentive is a part of the …

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Monday released a strategy for building a nationwide network of charging stations for electric vehicles.

Vice President Kamala Harris outlined the administration's efforts for EV charging infrastructure at an event at the Brandywine Maintenance Facility in Maryland alongside National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

"The auto industry is clearly moving toward electric. We need to make the shift faster and make sure it is driven by the United States," Harris said in remarks. "That means manufacturing millions of electric cars, trucks and buses right here in our country. That means outfitting thousands of EV ... repair garages, just like this one, and it means installing a national network of EV chargers."

The roughly $1 trillion infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last month includes $7.5 billion to help build 500,000 EV charging stations across the U.S. and $65 billio…

Detroit commuters may have noticed the lack of a familiar big white bubble along I-75 at Mack Avenue on Monday morning.

The Lexus Velodrome, an indoor cycle-racing track and entertainment venue, collapsed after high winds caused power outages throughout metro Detroit.

The collapse likely happened early Monday morning following a power outage and failure of a backup generator needed to keep the dome inflated, said Dale Hughes, executive director of the Detroit Fitness Foundation, which is the nonprofit operator of the velodrome.

"The windstorm caused an electrical problem, which caused our backup generator not to kick on, so that's why it deflated," Hughes said. "We've got a few tears in it."

The extent of the damage is not yet known. Hughes said maintenance crews will be assessing the damage over the next couple days.

There was nobody inside the dome when it collapsed, Hughes said, and the interior was not damaged.

"My guess is we'l…