Trade News

Speaker 1 [00:00:00] The All Ears podcast is sponsored by Eli. It's time to take your dealership from zero to 100 from dedicated underwriter, an account, executive teams to comprehensive training courses. Ally has the resources needed to take your business to the next level. Contact your local account executive today. 

Speaker 2 [00:00:30] Hi, everyone, this is Steve Schmidt without a mode of news. Welcome to the All Ears podcast sponsored by Ali and produced by the Automotive News Content Studio. In each episode, we delve into topics important to executives working in automotive retailing and gain insight and perspective from some of the allies best thought leaders who also share their recommendations on how dealers and others can navigate transformational change underway. Our objective is to provide actionable insights that you can use immediately in running your business and offer perspectives to help inform your business decisions. In this episode, we're talk…

Mercedes-Benz USA, the U.S. unit of German carmaker Daimler AG, told employees in an October e-mail seen by Reuters that proof of vaccination against COVID-19 would become a condition of employment beginning Jan. 4.

The automaker said it implemented the move in anticipation of a separate U.S. government vaccine mandate that would apply to businesses with at least 100 employees, affecting some 80 million workers nationwide.

Less than half of the company's workers at U.S. import processing centers are vaccinated and many refuse to get a shot, according to a source familiar with the matter.

REUTERS REPORT: From Boeing to Mercedes, a U.S. worker rebellion swells over vaccine mandates

Mercedes USA in a statement said it had given employees 90-day notice to fulfill the requirement, adding that two thirds of its U.S. employees -- not including factory workers in Alabama -- have provided proof of vaccination to date.

"We expect that the vast majori…

If you run a dealership, your teams can spend ample time transferring data between systems, sometimes entering the same data multiple times. In general, dealership management systems (DMS) are designed as a point of origin, meaning they are primarily constructed to push data out and not take data in. They were designed this way for a good reason. Protecting access to the DMS secures the sensitive financial information stored within. However, this architecture also means that dealership employees may spend significant amounts of time entering the same data into more than one system. From the time a vehicle is acquired until it is sold and booked, multiple employees log in and out of the customer relationship management (CRM) system, inventory tool, and DMS, often for overlapping purposes. A manual data entry process adds time to the sales process and increases error risks each step of the way. A single mistake, such as transposed VIN digits incorrectly entered into a DM…

Solid Power CEO Doug Campbell discusses the 'superior' benefits of solid-state batteries and the startup's deepening ties with Ford, BMW and SK Innovation.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, challenged a United Nations official’s claim that just a small percentage of his wealth could help solve world hunger.

Musk was responding to comments by David Beasley, director of the UN’s World Food Programme, who repeated a call last week following an earlier tweet this month asking billionaires like Musk to “step up now, on a one-time basis.”

Beasley specifically called for action from Musk and Amazon.com Inc. co-founder Jeff Bezos, the two men atop the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Just $6 billion could keep 42 million people from dying, Beasley said.

If the World Food Programme, using transparent and open accounting, “can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it,” Musk wrote in a Twitter post.

Tesla last week joined the handful of companies valued at more than $1 trillion.

The $6 billion amount would be ju…

STOCKHOLM -- Volvo Cars gained 200,000 new shareholders even before trading of the automaker's shares started on Friday in Sweden.

When asked how he felt about having that many new bosses, CEO Hakan Samuelsson said: "The more the merrier."

He said the the 94-year-old's company's entry onto the Nasdaq Stockholm marks the start of Volvo's next phase, which will include transforming into an electric-only brand by 2030 and providing the "best customer relations in the business" through an emphasis on direct-to-consumer online sales.

"And now we have the money for it," Samuelsson joked minutes before ringing the opening bell for the opening of trading. At that moment, Volvo rejoined the exchange for the first time since 1999. That was the year it left Volvo Group and became part of Ford Motor. The U.S. automaker sold Volvo to its current owner, Zhejiang Geely Holding, in 2010.

During an interview after the ceremony Samuelsson said that the next phase …

Shaquille O'Neal has shown up late a few times recently on TNT's "NBA Tip-Off" show, creating off-the-cuff moments of goofiness that have spread online.

CarMax, a presenting partner of the pregame program, has found itself in the middle of it.

This month, fellow host Charles Barkley joked that TNT had fired O'Neal as he gestured toward the empty seat, and the ribbing continued when O'Neal finally made it to the set.

And that wasn't the first time. The Hall of Fame center slipped in late during a May broadcast and was immediately roasted by the other hosts, with Barkley saying O'Neal was too big to try to sneak in.

Each time, the CarMax logo was front and center on the studio desk. The segments have lived on through clips posted on social networks and embedded in articles across the Web, giving CarMax a branding boost that goes beyond the TV exposure.

That's one of the perks of being connected to a program known for its shenanigans, and yet…

TOKYO — Toyota is banking on bulletproof batteries to help sell its new bZ4X electric crossover.

Japan's largest carmaker is pitching safety, performance and peace of mind as key traits of the next-generation power packs that will underpin its first serious foray into the world of electric vehicles.

The gambit capitalizes on Toyota Motor Corp.'s sterling reputation for reliability. And the messaging could be a key differentiator for Toyota's upcoming EVs in a rapidly expanding field of rivals, as competitors such as General Motors and Hyundai Motor Group struggle with massive recalls of potentially defective and dangerous batteries.

In unveiling specifications for its new bZ4X midsize crossover last week, Toyota said safety and real-world range were the top priorities for the futuristically styled EV, which kicks off a blitz of seven new battery-driven vehicles to be released under its new bZ subbrand by 2025.

The bZ4X's 71.4-kilowatt-hour lithi…