Trump Gives Mexico a 'One-Year Warning' or He Will Tax Cars and Close Border
President Trump on Thursday said he was giving Mexico a "one-year warning" to stop the flows of migration and drugs into the U.S., or he would slap tariffs on cars made there and close the southern border, reports Fox News. “We’re going to give them a one-year warning and if the drugs don’t stop or largely stop, we’re going to put tariffs on Mexico and products, in particular cars,” he told reporters at the White House. “And if that doesn’t stop the drugs, we close the border.” The warning is a step back from the threat he issued last week when he threatened to close the border this week unless Mexico stopped “all illegal immigration” into the U.S. "I don’t think we’ll ever have to close the border because the penalty of tariffs on cars coming into the United States from Mexico at 25 percent will be massive," the president added. Read more here.
Toyota's Lentz Regarding Tariffs: "I'm Confident They'll Make the Right Decision"
There is no question the Trump administration’s auto tariff threats have been looming over consumers and the auto industry for months. In March, reports CBT News, Toyota Motor North America’s CEO Jim Lentz reported that as long as the administration takes production, employment, and sales into account, he is “confident” it will make the right decision. Overall, Lentz is among many auto experts, manufacturers, dealers, and consumers who oppose tariffs and think they could do great harm to the U.S. Lentz stated that he ultimately believes “rational decisions will be made” in the end. Many members of the American International Automobile Dealers Association plan on protesting against the tariffs in Washington, D.C. on April 9th. Click here to register. Read more here.
Fiat Chrysler Settles 2016 Suit Over Claims of Phony Auto Sales
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' U.S. unit settled an antitrust lawsuit claiming the company pushed dealers to submit fraudulent sales numbers to prop up its share price. The allegations spurred a federal investigation into whether the figures filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission misled shareholders about the carmaker’s financial situation. Those probes are ongoing, FCA said. The settlement terms are confidential. Automotive News reports that the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Chicago in January 2016, alleged racketeering, violations of antitrust laws and breach of contract. FCA initially won dismissal of the racketeering claim in October 2016, then again in July after an amended complaint was filed. The remaining case was headed to trial this year. “FCA US is pleased we could reach an amicable resolution to this matter," the company said in an emailed statement. Read more here.
Carmakers Sell More to Rental Fleets as Retail Slips
Automakers have been selling more vehicles to rental fleets in recent months to prop up volume. Deliveries to rental-car companies and other non-retail buyers accounted for more than a third of total sales last month for Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., according to data from researcher Cox Automotive. The Detroit News reports that deliveries to rental companies alone in March and in the first quarter were the highest in two years, Cox said. Rental-car sales tend to have lower profit margins and can erode used-vehicle prices once those models hit the resale market. Automakers sold 550,000 vehicles to rental-car companies in the first quarter. That’s the most since the first quarter of 2016 and up 6 percent so far this year, Rahim said. The increase comes on top of a 7 percent gain in 2018 to 2.7 million. Read more here.
Toyota to Give Royalty-Free Access to Hybrid-Vehicle Patents
Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp will offer free access to its hybrid-vehicle patents through 2030, it said this week, seeking to expand use of the lower-emission technology even as the global industry shifts toward fully electric cars. According to Reuters, the pledge by one of the world’s biggest automakers to share its closely guarded patents, the second time it has opened up a technology, is aimed at driving industry uptake of hybrids and fending off the challenge of all-battery electric vehicles(EVs). Toyota said it would grant licenses on nearly 24,000 patents on technologies used in its Prius, the world’s first mass-produced “green” car, and offer to supply competitors with components including motors, power converters and batteries used in its lower-emissions vehicles. “We want to look beyond producing finished vehicles,” Toyota Executive Vice President Shigeki Terashi told reporters. “We want to contribute to an increase in take up (of electric cars) by offering not just our technology but our existing parts and systems to other vehicle makers.” Read more here.
Smart Technology Sets the Pace for Accelerating Sales
Your service drive is rife with profitable opportunities to sell customers cars, as long as you know how to find them and communicate them in the right way. AIADA’s April AutoTalk features Kendall Billman, AutoAlert Senior VP. Listen on Tuesday, April 16th at 2:00 p.m. EDT as Kendall discusses:
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Service drive sales and Smart Technology helps you predict, and even drive customer behavior
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Use the service drive to re-engage customers and convert new prospects
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Leverage geo-framing technology to deliver targeted ads at the right time
Around the Web
Volvo is Hot-Rodding Its Most Practical Car with Hybrid Power [Gear Patrol]
10 New Cars Most Often Given Up Within a Year of Ownership [Motor1.com]
10 Years Later, a Look at the Auto Industry's Near-Death Experience [Autoblog]
25 Fun Sports Cars That Are Surprisingly Cheap [Road and Track]
