Trade News

DETROIT -- General Motors' "Factory Zero" in Detroit is on the front line of a battle for the U.S. electric vehicle market between ageing, unionized factories, and new, non-union plants run by young electric vehicle companies.

President Joe Biden's administration wants to give the older part of the American auto industry a boost.

Biden's scheduled visit Wednesday to Factory Zero will put a spotlight on his administration's proposals to bring billions in federal aid to help older auto factories and the Midwestern communities that depend on them, as part of his "Build Back Better" spending bill.

The Biden administration and fellow Democrats in Congress have proposed nearly $50 billion in tax breaks, incentives for government agencies to buy EVs, loans for retooling factories and aid to automotive plant communities.

That doesn't count billions in new subsidies to spur sales of EVs, such as a 30 percent tax credit for commercial EVs.

A proposal…

Two Illinois dealerships changed hands last month, while a Wyoming Chevrolet dealership was sold this month to a regional dealership group.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic and import brands.

New franchised dealership owners have purchased a Ford dealership in Galesburg, Ill., northwest of Peoria.

Dan Kuna and Tony Lozich on Oct. 29 bought Yemm Ford from owners Rick Yemm and Mark Kleine, said Hal Feder of Murphy Business and Financial Corp. in Williamsburg, Va. Feder represented the buyers in the transaction, while Don Brown of Midwest Brokerage in St. Louis was broker for the seller.

The dealership was renamed Ford of Galesburg.

Yemm told The Register-Mail newspaper that his partner was "moving toward retirement" and he wanted to sell the dealership to focus on his Chevrolet-Buick-GMC and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram stores in Galesburg.

Feder said Kuna has 20 years of experience in t…

The Ford and Hyundai brands each account for two of the nine finalists for the 2022 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards.

Electric vehicle startups Lucid and Rivian also are in the running and would become first-time winners.

The winners, based on votes by a panel of 50 journalists, will be announced in early January. After three days spent driving the 23 eligible vehicles, jurors settled on nine finalists: two sedans and a hatchback; three pickups with quite different missions; and three crossovers, two of which are from the Hyundai group. One finalist in each of the three categories is an EV.

Car of the Year finalists are the Honda Civic, Lucid Air and Volkswagen Golf Mk VIII (Golf R/Golf GTI).

Truck of the Year finalists are the Ford Maverick, Hyundai Santa Cruz and Rivian R1T.

Utility Vehicle of the Year finalists are the Ford Bronco, Genesis GV70 and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

"These nine vehicles rep…

Hyundai's Seven concept previews elements the brand may bring to a three-row electric crossover in 2024, with a loungelike interior, ultrafast charging and targeted range of over 300 miles.

Hyundai showed the concept Wednesday at the Los Angeles Auto Show, stressing the design flexibility made possible by its dedicated E-GMP electric vehicle architecture.

"Seven has an aerodynamically pure silhouette instinctively divergent from a typical SUV," Hyundai said in a press release. "The low, leading edge of the hood, a single, streamlined roofline and elongated wheelbase communicate a clear break from traditional SUVs powered by internal combustion."

The future-forward design extends to the interior.

"The flat floor allows Hyundai Motor to explore an alternative to the traditional row-based seat arrangements, creating a more fluid interior layout," the company said. "The Pillarless Coach Doors offer a grand entrance to reveal…

I recently was in Orlando for a gathering of fixed ops folks from around the country. The discussions ranged from staffing woes to parts shortages to mobile service possibilities. The fixed ops directors and service managers in attendance shared their expertise and best practices on these topics and others.

But it was an outsider who gave the best lesson on customer service and, in a way, customer retention. Louree Jefferson had spent the meetings' two days in the back of the banquet room quietly restocking the soft drinks and sweets required to fuel the all-day discussions. As the meeting was coming to a close, the banquet room captain shared with the group that Jefferson has been named the hotel chain's Employee of the Year three times and also has won a slew of state and national hospitality awards.

Jefferson, who memorized the first name of each person in the room, gave a sandwich bag to each of us filled with a penny, a marble, an eraser, a rubber band, st…

LOS ANGELES — Perhaps the most intriguing — and California-appropriate — element of the Fisker Ocean is the giant touch screen that rotates into "Hollywood mode."

The Ocean has a 17.1-inch vertically oriented screen to handle numerous functions. But when the crossover is in park — especially for killing time during a charge — a click of a button rotates the screen to a horizontal position so passengers can watch a movie or show and maximize the screen space.

"So that's a unique idea, a unique thing that we put into the car," CEO Henrik Fisker said in a briefing with reporters in advance of the Los Angeles Auto Show, where the vehicle was officially unveiled and many details were revealed.

The company staged a "secret" pre-reveal at the pier at Manhattan Beach, the L.A. suburb where Fisker is based. Henrik Fisker, a famed designer for BMW and Aston Martin, said he first sketched the new company's logo at the beach there, inspired by the sun setting on th…

Police in Windsor, Ont., said they have made an arrest in connection with the Nov. 4 explosion at the Stellantis minivan plant there.

It was a blast police called "an intentional act."

At about 9:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, police descended on an area about a mile north of the plant for what they said was “in relation to an active investigation.”

At about noon, police said “an adult male has been arrested in relation to the explosion at a business located in the 2100 block of Chrysler Centre Drive.” That business is the Windsor Assembly Plant.

Police told Automotive News Canada on Wednesday it had no further comment, but that it was preparing a more thorough statement that goes beyond the information tweeted.

Several local media outlets reported the Windsor Police Service's explosive disposal unit was on scene.

Stellantis issued a brief statement: "We want to thank the Windsor Police Department and the entire task force…

BEIJING -- For foreign automakers, selling in China -- the world's biggest car market and front-runner by far in the adoption of electric vehicles -- can yield great rewards. But the regulatory headaches can also be really painful.

A lack of transparency, insufficient lead time for new rules as well as unequal "access to policy and standards drafting processes" were key complaints about Chinese auto regulation listed in a European Union Chamber of Commerce report.

Though the survey-based report published in September did not cite specific examples, auto industry sources say it highlights bubbling frustration with China's regulatory process as well as growing pains as automakers adapt to the country's expanding regulatory clout - particularly in EVs.

In the past, cars that met EU and U.S. auto standards did not have too much difficulty satisfying Chinese regulatory bodies which had based their own regulations on Western equivalents.

But China is n…

Lithia Motors Inc. has bolstered its Florida presence with the purchase of two Audi dealerships.

Lithia this month bought Audi Fort Lauderdale and Audi Coral Springs from Qvale Auto Group, a Lithia spokeswoman said. The two luxury stores will add an expected $275 million to Lithia's annual revenue, the retailer said Tuesday.

"We were excited when the Presidio team approached us about acquiring our first Audi franchises in Florida because we have had such great success with the brand in our other markets," Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer said in a statement. "This expands our footprint and offerings to consumers in the greater Florida markets."

With the acquisition, Lithia said it has 12 dealerships in Florida. It also has nine Audi stores, including two dealerships in Canada.

Terms weren't disclosed, but Lithia said it paid for the dealerships using existing balance sheet funding. The store names will remain.

So far in 2021, Lithia said it has acq…