Automotiv News

GM looks to Japan’s TDK to make U.S. batteries with China tech.

About 40 percent of Toyota's U.S. retailers have gotten involved with flag football as part of the automaker's new NFL sponsorship.

Profit-sharing, COLA, retirement security, affordable health care and the elimination of tiers appear to be the UAW's focus points for bargaining with VW.

When California announced a coming ban on watering ornamental turf, Del Grande Dealer Group made a plan to save water, save money and upgrade its Silicon Valley landscaping with native plants

The final decision largely disregarded pleas from automakers for lower tariffs on graphite and critical minerals used in EV battery production because they are still dependent on Chinese supplies.

Maximilian Missoni will oversee the design of the automaker's upper-midsize and luxury class models.

Even though they make up a minimal amount of market share, almost half of NACTOY's list consists of EVs.

We close the week with reaction to the announcement that General Motors and Hyundai Motor Co. are exploring cooperating across a range of technologies and vehicles. Though the two automakers offered few details and no time frames for any tie-ups, their Sept. 12 joint announcement covered a swath of areas for potential cooperation, from passenger cars and commercial vehicles to new engines, battery raw materials, electrification and hydrogen technology. Benefits could include cutting costs and achieving scale, analysts say.

Also uncertain is the future of Stellantis' Belvidere plant. The UAW's new contract with Stellantis last fall looked like a big win for Belvidere, Ill. But the cloud that appeared to have been lifted settled again over the idled assembly plant —and the town — when Stellantis in August said it was delaying its proposed reopening. The automaker insists it remains committed to following through on the deal and is disputing accusations that a postponement would break the bargaining agreement. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

Meanwhile, after recent doldrums, venture capital investment in transportation technology is perking up, and the Toyota stop-sale of the Grand Highlander and Lexus TX is now expected to end in late October after Toyota determined that modifying the side-curtain airbags will bring the vehicles back into compliance.

And finally, be sure to check out our spy art of what will likely be the most powerful Corvette yet.

That's it for today. Have a great weekend.

GM and Hyundai provided little detail when they announced a partnership to explore areas in which they can work together, and such collaborations can take years to produce results.

Executives at some of the world's biggest suppliers are rethinking how they manage risk as they deal with increased uncertainty on electrification.

A quick look at the top automotive stories of the week as determined by reader interest.

A costly and disruptive stop-sale to Toyota's large three-row crossovers is expected to end in late October after Toyota determined that modified side-curtain airbags will bring the vehicles back into compliance.

Holand Automotive Group has acquired Ferrari of Rancho Mirage, adding a second California dealership to its growing U.S. footprint. 

The UAW is threatening to strike Stellantis if it doesn't recommit to a $4 billion plan that would reopen Belvidere Assembly and add three new facilities nearby.

Chevrolet engineers have been spotted at the Nürburgring track with what could be the most powerful Corvette yet: the rumored Zora.

U.S. electric vehicle registrations surged 18 percent in July as Tesla's numbers improved with the ramp-up of the Cybertruck pickup and Honda's new Prologue crossover broke 3,000, the most recent data shows.

Ford will likely use the Indian plant, a source of low-cost production, to export to key markets, and possibly China, where it and other global automakers are losing ground to domestic rivals.

Ford is the first automaker to participate in a Southern California Edison program that pays customers $1 per kilowatt-hour in reduced usage during periods of peak demand.

Investments in the mobility sector are perking up after a rough multi-year stretch, according to the latest data from financial insights firm Pitchbook. Deal vaues reached $6.7 billion in the second quarter in the segment.

Volvo has deep-sixed a vehicle subscription program available in more than 40 U.S. states.

Care by Volvo, launched in 2017, bundled vehicle use, road hazard coverage, maintenance and other services into a monthly payment.

Volvo on Sept. 12 told Automotive News it had suspended the program "for the foreseeable future."

"This allows for concentrated focus on our core customer offers and the coming introduction of new products, [and an] increase in operational efficiencies," spokesperson Russell Datz said.

Datz declined to disclose the number of subscribers and said those enrolled in the program can finish their term, after which they would be eligible for a $1,000 credit toward a new Volvo purchase or $500 toward a lease.

Volvo also is getting out of the subscription business in Europe, the automaker told Automotive News Europe.

Driving conquest

Volvo pitched the subscription program as a tool to draw younger buyers into the luxury brand with a lower price point. More than 80 percent of subscription customers were new to the brand, the automaker said previously.

"This program was designed to help us capture a new audience and introduce them to the safety, sustainability and technology benefits of driving a new Volvo car," Volvo Car USA's then-CEO, Anders Gustafsson, said in 2023. "The flexibility and all-inclusive offer conquests customers from other brands, but our vehicles are helping keep them with us."

Subscriptions also were touted as an additional channel for dealers to move inventory. Like traditional new-vehicle leases and sales, dealers received a portion of subscription revenue.

Volvo retailer Matthew Haiken said subscriptions accounted for 10 percent of annual sales at his two New Jersey stores.

"The short-term flexible lease was a tool for me to get consumers to try out a Volvo who would not have even considered driving one," said Haiken, owner of Prestige Collection. "Once they drove and experienced it, they fell in love with the car and the brand."

The subscription program, which ended Aug. 1, also was a pipeline of higher-margin, lower-mileage certified vehicles for dealers.

Haiken said he would buy the vehicles at the end of the term. "It was a great alternative to selling late-model rentals," he said.

Program evolution

Even as automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Ford abandoned subscription programs and pilots, Volvo persevered and even found financial success with its initiative. Care by Volvo was profitable in the U.S. by 2020.

But it had a rocky start. Care by Volvo ran into a buzzsaw of criticism early on from some dealers who argued that Volvo was violating state franchise laws meant to prohibit manufacturers from competing with them.

A six-month investigation by California's Department of Motor Vehicles that concluded this year sided with dealers. It found that Volvo failed to properly notify them about related changes to the franchise agreement and provided preferential treatment in allocating subscription vehicles to certain stores. The DMV also concluded that Volvo provided inadequate lease disclosures to subscription customers.

In response, Volvo rebooted the program in 2019, shortening the time it took to approve subscribers and expanding the range of eligible models. It also allowed retailers to offer vehicles in stock to subscription customers. Originally, customers had to order their vehicles.

A later update let subscribers swap vehicles or terminate the subscription without penalty after five months.

"It became clear to us that we needed to provide more differentiation between our current subscription and a lease," Peter Wexler, who headed Care by Volvo U.S. at the time, told Automotive News after the revamp. "The most natural way to do that was to introduce more flexible terms."

Pet project

Care by Volvo was a key initiative under former CEO Hakan Samuelsson, who timed the program's launch to coincide with the debut of the automaker's first compact SUV, the XC40.

"His vision was clear," Volvo marketing expert Thomas Andersson told Automotive News Europe in 2017 when asked about Samuelsson's vision. "You enjoy the vehicle. We will take care of the rest."

Andersson referred to it as "a revolution for the commercial part of the business."

But when Samuelsson stepped down as Volvo Cars CEO in 2022, the program lost its strongest backer.