Trade News

The average amount of negative equity customers bring to vehicle transactions dropped at Lithia Motors Inc. during the pandemic, largely because of stimulus checks and stronger used-vehicle values.

Before the pandemic, the average down payment on a Lithia vehicle was $1,800, CEO Bryan DeBoer said during an investor presentation last week. Today, the average down payment has risen 39 percent to $2,500.

The average negative equity rolled into a new-vehicle purchase at Lithia dropped to just more than $4,000, down from $5,000.

Stronger trades and stimulus checks "have put more money into the pockets of consumers and allowed them to have a little more savings to be able to apply for a little bit lower loan to value, which allows them to get better interest rates," DeBoer said.

After reaching record highs in May 2020, negative equity levels on new-vehicle sales have dropped during the coronavirus outbreak. Higher used-car values are benefiting vehicle …

LONDON -- British electric van and bus startup Arrival said on Wednesday that it will build a new plant in North Carolina and much of its production will go to fulfilling an order from package delivery company UPS for up to 10,000 vehicles.

Arrival's "microfactory" in Charlotte will be the startup's second U.S. plant and is due to launch production in the third quarter of 2022. Last October, Arrival announced plans for a plant in South Carolina.

Arrival plans a series of small plants -- which it dubs "microfactories" -- that will take up far less space and require lower investments than conventional vehicle factories. The plants will not include expensive paint shops or welding equipment, which also require a lot of space. The company also has a plant in England.

Arrival will invest around $41.2 million in the Charlotte plant, which will be able to assemble up to 10,000 electric delivery vans annually and create more than 250 jobs.

The van and bus…

WASHINGTON -- Honda Motor Co said late Tuesday supply chain issues will force a halt to production at a majority of U.S. and Canadian auto plants for a week.

The Japanese automaker added the issue will result in some production cuts next week at all U.S. and Canadian plants, citing "the impact from COVID-19, congestion at various ports, the microchip shortage and severe winter weather over the past several weeks."

"In some way, all of our auto plants in the U.S. and Canada will be impacted," Honda said.

Some U.S. and Canadian plants are expected to have smaller production cuts next week, but a spokesman for Honda added "the timing and length of production adjustments could change."

The company declined to specify the volume of vehicles impacted but said "purchasing and production teams are working to limit the impact of this situation."

The company added when production is suspended Honda workers "will continue to have the opportunity to w…

A British startup aiming to open the country's first high-volume lithium ion battery plant in the fourth quarter of 2023 has appointed two industry veterans as advisers.

Britishvolt on Wednesday said Joe Bakaj, Ford's former European vice president of product development, and Nick Spencer, a former BMW and Jaguar Land Rover executive, have joined the company's advisory board.

Bakaj, a 2011 Automotive News All-Star, spent more than 30 years with Ford. As vice president of global powertrain a decade ago, Bakaj oversaw the engineering teams that created many of the engines in Ford's trendsetting EcoBoost engine lineup, including the award-winning 1.0-liter, three-cylinder turbo. He was also responsible for the Focus Electric and hybrid versions of the Fusion sedan and C-Max. He finished his career with the automaker leading product development in Europe, where perhaps his signature vehicle was the Ford Focus RS high-performance compact. Since retiring from Ford in…

WASHINGTON -- Detroit police said Tuesday they do not believe Tesla's driver-assistance system Autopilot was in use during a crash last week of a Tesla that became wedged underneath a tractor-trailer and left a passenger in critical condition.

On Monday, NHTSA said it was aware of the "violent crash" in Detroit on March 11 and a Special Crash Investigation team would investigate.

Detroit Police Assistant Chief David LeValley said Tuesday at a press briefing "that all indications" are that the Tesla was not in Autopilot mode at the time, citing statements made by the driver and video evidence showing some evasive maneuvers before the crash.

The passenger is still hospitalized while the driver, who was previously hospitalized, is being charged with reckless driving, LeValley said, adding that speed was a significant factor in the crash.

NHTSA has previously launched at least 14 special crash investigation teams following Tesla crashes that were susp…

Without a dealership network to act as an early warning system to catch software glitches and manufacturing issues, Rivian will task its Guides with monitoring vehicle quality once deliveries begin in June, in addition to building personal relationships with clients.

In a Twitter posting over the weekend, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe posted a video that details how the electric truck startup plans to interact with its customers. Each will be assigned a Guide, a single point of contact they can call or e-mail directly with questions and concerns and provide feedback. In an announcement on its website, the company promises, "You won't be transferred away to another department or made to talk to a bot."

The Guides — who will "sit just steps from our assembly line" at Rivian's plant in Normal, Ill. — will be assigned to customers for the duration of their ownership.

Speaking directly to customers who preordered an R1T pickup or R1S SUV in the …

Prime Automotive Group confirmed Monday it is selling five dealerships in the Northeast, including two Toyota stores that have been sold to Group 1 Automotive Inc.

Prime has been under contract to sell a Subaru, a Chevrolet and three Toyota stores, Automotive News previously reported. The sales process, overseen by Haig Partners, began last summer and is separate from legal action surrounding Prime's parent company, GPB Capital Holdings.

Last month, a federal judge in New York ordered that an independent monitor be appointed to oversee GPB, which has been accused of securities and other fraud by the U.S. and several state governments.

Group 1 CEO Earl Hesterberg said last month the nation's fourth-largest dealership group planned to be more "aggressive in growing externally" this year. The company last bought stores in late 2019, when it purchased two in New Mexico. The company has the financial capability to add $1 billion or more in annual revenue thr…

Canadian electric-vehicle maker ElectraMeccanica will build its three-wheeled, single-seat commuter car for the U.S. market at a factory in Mesa, Ariz. The company will also build an engineering technical center in the city near Phoenix.

When fully operational, the new plant is expected to be capable of producing up to 20,000 Solo vehicles per year and create up to 500 new jobs, ElectraMeccanica said. 

The technical center will house multiple labs to support research facilities as well as vehicle chassis, battery pack and power electronics testing workshops. 

“Arizona has fast become the electric vehicle center of America thanks to our robust and growing workforce, vibrant innovation ecosystem, and ideal business environment,” Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said in a statement.

ElectraMeccanica, headquartered in Vancouver, didn’t say how much the facilities will cost to build, when they open or whether it received financial …

LOS ANGELES — The Kia Stinger will receive more than just a mild styling update under a midcycle freshening for 2022. The Korean automaker's answer to near-premium rivals also is getting more power, especially on the entry model, which will now crack the 300-hp barrier when it goes on sale in the spring.

That's a significant 45-hp upgrade for the base sports hatchback, which was already a bargain compared with the German brands that Kia considers rivals. Unlike corporate sibling Hyundai, Kia does not have a luxury brand. The Stinger, however, shares a rear-drive platform with the Genesis G70 sedan.

"The Stinger confidently shows Kia's ability to build a sport sedan that can compete — and beat — the best the world has to offer," said Sean Yoon, CEO of Kia Motors North America, said in a statement Tuesday. "It is definitive proof of our proud and evolving engineering prowess."

Kia has dropped the slow-selling Cadenza and K900, which leaned toward big-sed…

The UAW says it will take unspecified action against Ford Motor Co. unless the automaker reverses a decision to build an upcoming vehicle in Mexico that it had previously committed to assembling in Ohio.

Gerald Kariem, head of the UAW-Ford department, accused Ford of "corporate greed" in a letter to workers at the Ohio Assembly Plant, saying the company is reneging on a promise made to give the plant a new product before its latest labor agreement with the UAW expires in 2023.

Ford did not deny that its plans changed but said it would continue to invest in the Ohio plant.

"Unfortunately, Ford Motor Co. has decided it will not honor its promise to add a new product to OHAP and, instead, it intends to build the next-generation vehicle in Mexico," Kariem wrote in the letter, which was first reported by a Cleveland news station Monday. "Ford management expects us to just hang our heads and accept the decision. But let me be clear, we are making a different c…