Auto Dealers React to President's Decision to Label Imported Autos and Parts a National Security Threat
AIADA has released a statement in response to today’s proclamation by President Trump labeling imported vehicles and parts a threat to national security and issuing a 180-day window for addressing these threats with U.S. trading partners: “The truth stands: imported autos and auto parts are simply not a national security threat," said AIADA President and CEO Cody Lusk. "Using this spurious claim as justification to force our trading partners into new negotiations will only create more uncertainty for America’s entire auto industry, including our country’s 9,600 international nameplate dealers and the 578,000 Americans they employ. If President Trump follows through on his threat to place 25 percent tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, he will be directly responsible for a drastic tax increase on American consumers, which could result in a loss of 2 million vehicle sales and jeopardize up to 700,000 American jobs.” Read the statement here.
CNBC reports that in a proclamation Friday, Trump said he directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to seek agreements to “address the threatened impairment” of national security from auto imports. Trump could choose to move forward with tariffs during the talks. “United States defense and military superiority depend on the competitiveness of our automobile industry and the research and development that industry generates,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “The negotiation process will be led by United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and, if agreements are not reached within 180 days, the President will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken.” The White House had to decide by Saturday whether to slap duties on autos. Read more here.
Watch: Auto Dealer on Trump's Tariffs: I'm Scared Right Now
AIADA board member Steve Gates explained why the threat of new tariffs are impacting his dealerships, telling CNN's Miguel Marquez he fears for his business. “I would love to grow. I would love to add rooftops and people. I’m too scared right now,” he says. Click here to watch his interview with CNN.
Mercedes USA Picks China Chief Speeks to Replace Exler as CEO
Nicholas Speeks who has steered Mercedes-Benz sales in China for more than six years, has been named CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA and head of its North America region, reports Automotive News. Speeks, 60, succeeds Dietmar Exler, who is leaving the company after leading the brand to three straight U.S. luxury sales titles before a decline this year. Exler, 51, announced his departure to the brand’s dealer board Thursday afternoon, has accepted a job outside the auto industry and is expected to remain based in Atlanta, a source said. Speeks previously was president of Mercedes-Benz Japan and has worked for the company in Japan, Dubai, Vietnam and Germany. The management shuffle at Mercedes-Benz USA comes amid a similar change at parent Daimler. Retiring CEO Dieter Zetsche will hand over the controls at Daimler to Ola Källenius after the company's annual general meeting on May 22. Read more here.
Is California Ready to Ban Gas-Powered Cars? Not Yet. But They're Thinking About It.
California without gasoline-burning cars? The idea is starting to be floated, reports USA Today. A top regulator came close Thursday, but ultimately backed away from directly raising the notion of giving the boot to exhaust-belching automobiles, a staple of life in the freeway-happy Golden State for more than a century. Speaking at an air-quality workshop in San Diego, Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, was expected to toss in the idea of killing off gas-powered cars based on her prepared remarks. They called for her to list ways in which the state can get tougher on pollution. “That might mean, for example, tougher requirements for low-carbon fuels, looking at tighter health-protective regulations on California refineries, doubling down on our enforcement efforts on mobile and stationary sources — and might lead to an outright ban on internal-combustion engines,” according to the remarks. Read more here.
Hyundai Says Electric Sports Car Developed with Rimac Will Be 'Game Changer'
The electric sports car that Hyundai is developing with Rimac will be a "game-changer" for the South Korean automaker and will influence the way it creates cars, said Hyundai's head of European design, Thomas Beurkle. Hyundai Motor announced on Tuesday that it was investing 80 million euros ($89 million) to take an undisclosed percentage stake in Croatian electric sportscar developer Rimac. According to Automotive News, two models will result from the investment: a sports car for Hyundai's N performance subbrand and a fuel cell car, likely for Kia. The new sports car will be a benchmark that would "influence the thinking in the engineering teams in the design teams in the marketing teams," Beurkle told Automotive News Europe at a Hyundai UK press event on Wednesday. "You could say it is a marketing instrument on the outside but it's also a game changer on the inside," he said. Read more here.
Webinar: Let Go and Let Google
Join Google's Senior Automotive Retail Strategist, Kelly McNearney, on Tuesday, May 21st at 2:00pm EDT as she demonstrates how to drive more dealership visits using Google machine learning. Kelly will discuss how dealers need to "let go" of traditional marketing and "let Google" use advanced algorithms, machine learning and data to bring their business into the digital age. To register, click here.
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