Tesla said it will largely abandon its long-controversial retail model of factory-owned stores, turning instead to an equally radical model for selling vehicles — online sales only.
The Model 3, when first shown off by CEO Elon Musk in March 2016, was promised to be a $35,000 car -- before incentives -- to appeal to the mass market. But Tesla had never managed to sell the car at that price.
Despite an uptick in serious auto loan delinquencies, the 30-day delinquency rate is improving, according to Experian.
Any new rules on EV tax credits should restrict companies that close plants and move them offshore from receiving the benefit, Rep. Debbie Dingell said.
As Carl Liebert, a digital pro, becomes AutoNation's CEO next month, a digital F&I component could be front and center.
F&I product and training company Zurich North America is acquiring an app developer after piloting the technology to help sell service contracts in dealership service departments.
Dealers featured this week include Dave Everett, owner of Everett Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in Hickory, N.C.; and Land Rover San Diego.
Sonic Automotive Inc. is the second public auto retailer to cut jobs and announce a restructuring program amid concerns 2019 will be a tough year for auto retailers.
Hundreds of hand-raisers failed to meet Mike Jackson's impossibly high standards for his hand-picked successor as AutoNation's CEO. He finally found what he wanted -- in an executive without auto experience
Many of the public auto retailers say the buy-sell environment is heating up in 2019 and they are fielding calls from sellers. They are being careful in their buying strategy and also are divesting stores that are underperformers.
Promises of increased data sharing and software integration signify a potential renaissance in vendor collaboration that could reduce headaches for dealers and help save them money.
Dealers need to market open positions in the same way they do cars on their lot to find top salespeople and service techs, and lure top talent from other fields. The survival of their industry depends on it.
Volvo-affiliated EV startup Polestar is proposing a low-cost U.S. dealer network with small and modest stores, no F&I offices, zero inventory and outsourced service.
In an annual reliability scorecard, Subaru narrowly topped last year's winner, Genesis, and Tesla's Model 3 failed to win a "recommended" rating as the brand tumbled.
One of the largest U.S. auto dealers just had a rough quarter selling BMWs, and a top executive said Tesla played a major role.
Seventeen people interviewed for this report described months of effort to get Tesla to refund their deposits.
Sonic Automotive, preparing for a tough year ahead, said interest rate hikes in 2019 could erode profits.
Sonic Automotive, preparing for a tough year ahead, said interest rate hikes in 2019 could erode profits.
An email stated that employees will be able to lease a Model 3 within the next two weeks, Electrek reported.
Zotye, the Chinese automaker planning to begin retail operations in the United States in late 2020, has hired two top marketing executives, including former Toyota-Mazda-Nissan exec Jan Thompson.
They're looking at an industry that's being transformed by consolidation, technology and increasing capital demands — and deciding to get out.
Dealers featured this week include Dale Zude, president of Courtesy Car City, a Nissan-Kia-Mitsubishi dealership in Moline, Ill.; and Doug Kool, dealer principal of Kool Toyota in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Some dealers say they'll no longer chase automakers' targets in a shrinking market. And one is working to help dealers fight back against the reviled incentives.
All the back-and-forth walking from DeLuca Toyota's service bays to the parts department was inefficient and counterproductive for time-sensitive repair orders. So now the parts come to the work.
It looked like Toyota and Nissan had drawn Honda into a compact-crossover inventive battle. A key question now is how long Nissan can keep up the pace in a softer market.
Toyota is giving its dealers another source of profits with a line of factory-developed accessories for its pickups and SUVs.
Pushing back on seemingly arbitrary "sales effectiveness" targets is the kind of case that NADA can support — and does with some success.
New-vehicle dealerships are losing as much as $266 billion a year in service revenue — $15.9 million for the average dealership — because they are falling short on keeping customers, a study estimates.
Virginia dealership group fights service technician shortage by training and hiring nonviolent jail inmates
Brick-and-mortar retailers attracted two-thirds of consumer dollars spent in 2017 on automotive specialty equipment, a report says. New-vehicle dealerships captured about one-seventh of that market.
Two decades after it opened in 1938, Jaffarian's Service in Haverhill, Mass., sold Hudson and Rambler vehicles and built what the store's owners called the largest Dunlop Tire dealership in the Northeast.
Dealers who want to increase their fixed ops business should reach out to those who drive their vehicles the most: ride-hailing drivers.
As Buick reshuffles its U.S. lineup, the brand expects GM China to play a bigger role.
Subaru of America has launched its national ad campaign for the redesigned 2019 Forester and much like the vehicle itself, the commercials have a familiar look and feel.
A double-digit percentage rise in used-vehicle sales and higher finance-and-insurance income helped give Lithia Motors, the country's fourth-largest dealership group, a boost in fourth quarter revenue and adjusted earnings. But net income dropped on a comparison with the year-earlier quarter that included a large one-time tax benefit.
A double-digit percentage jump in used-vehicle sales and higher finance-and-insurance income helped give Lithia Motors, the country's fourth-largest dealership group, a boost in both revenue and adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter of 2018. But net income dropped on a comparison to a year-earlier quarter that included a large one-time tax benefit.
Dealerships should document the penalties for violating store policies. If an employee can plead ignorance to the consequences of breaking a rule at a dealership, there's something missing from the compliance standards.
The New York Fed is keeping a close eye on a recent uptick in auto loan originations to borrowers with subprime credit and an increase in delinquencies among younger buyers.
