Automakers Notch Sales Bounce a Year After Covid-19 Onset

First Up 04/02/21

Dealers Do Good Friday 

It’s no secret that dealers are the backbone of their communities. AIADA is recognizing some of the good work dealers are doing through our #DealersDoGood campaign. If you know of a dealer doing good, let us know here, or tag us on Facebook or Twitter with the #DealersDoGood hashtag.

The Germain Automotive Partnership in Ohio recently put their carpentry and painting skills to work and built two playhouses for local children in the community. The dealership group is dedicated to partnering with its community and the people who live there, supporting organizations like Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, The James, as well as Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Check out a few pictures from the playhouse construction here, and find out more about Germain Automotive Partnership’s community involvement efforts here

Findlay Automotive Group in Las Vegas, Nevada, recently presented the Children’s Heart Foundation with $6,400 in honor of American Heart Health month in February and to support those children with heart conditions. Findlay’s gift will be used to help children attend Children’s Heart Foundation’s annual summer camp, Camp Mend-a Heart. It is a cost-free, medically supervised camp for children ages 7-17 who were born with or develop a heart condition and are receiving medical treatment in Nevada. Read more here (Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal). 

Automakers Notch Sales Bounce a Year After Covid-19 Onset 

Bloomberg reports that automakers posted higher sales in the first quarter as General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp., and others benefited from strong demand for new cars and trucks in comparison with a year earlier, when the spread of Covid-19 shut showrooms. U.S. auto sales surged by more than 8% in the quarter, according to analysts’ estimates. The gain reflects buying as vaccination rates increase and more people return to their pre-pandemic routines. Increased confidence in the economy and worry about lower supplies of cars due to computer chip shortages also helped boost deliveries. Major carmakers either met or beat handily a consensus forecasts of analysts, most of whom projected quarterly gains due to the disastrous performance in the first quarter of last year. Read more here (Source: Bloomberg). 

Honda to Resume Normal North American Production April 5 

Honda Motor Co said on Thursday it will resume normal production on April 5 at its automobile, engine and transmission plants in North America, reports Reuters. Production cuts impacted all of its U.S., Mexican, and Canadian auto plants. The automaker’s production cuts began on March 22 stemming from COVID-19, congestion at various ports, the microchip shortage and severe winter weather. Read more here (Source: Reuters). 

Biden Aides to Host Meeting on Supply Chain Issues

Two top White House aides will host a meeting on the resiliency of the U.S. supply chain amid a broader policy review on the issue, an official said on Thursday. Automotive News reports that White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the meeting would be hosted by President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and a top economic aide, Brian Deese. The meeting will be held on April 12 and include chipmakers and automakers, a source familiar with the matter said. There is a growing shortage of semiconductor chips that has slowed auto production around the world. The shortage stems from a confluence of factors, including factory shutdowns, booming demand for laptops and tablets, and sanctions against Chinese tech companies. "The semiconductor chip shortage affecting industries around the globe is an immediate concern of the president," said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter. Read more here (Source: Automotive News). 

Auto Industry at Ground Zero of Biden's $2T Infrastructure Program

President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan is a “once-in-a-generation investment,” he said, that, if approved, would be the country’s largest infrastructure program since World War II, reports The Detroit Bureau. The measure faces a tough battle in Congress but could build widespread popular support for the broad range of projects it would fund. Much of what was proposed on Wednesday would benefit automakers and auto buyers, among other things providing billions to promote the shift to electrified vehicles. But the Biden administration will have to convince a highly polarized Congress to enact the legislation needed to put the American Jobs Plan on the books. Proposing a grand infrastructure plan has become something of a rite of passage for new presidents, whatever their party. But it’s been decades since anything that truly can be called “bold” has gone past the proposal stage. Read more here (Source: The Detroit Bureau). 

Around the Web

Mitsubishi Selling Heritage Vehicles, Including Rare Lancer Evos [MotorAuthority]

Prodrive to Build $1.4M Street-Legal Raid Supercar [Autoblog

AIADA Members Can Improve Tech Through New Dell Partnership [Auto Remarketing]

Stellantis Plans to Triple Electrified Vehicle Sales in 2021 [Automotive News]

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