Nominate an Outstanding Dealer for the 2021 Mungenast Award
The David F. Mungenast Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually during AIADA’s Annual Meeting to a member of the international nameplate auto retail industry who embodies an unrivaled commitment to his/her dealership and employees, community, and family. Dave Mungenast was known by family members, employees, and those in the industry and community as their founder, mentor, employer, and friend. Dave Sr. and his wife, Barbara, were both dedicated to giving back to the communities that helped make them successful. AIADA needs your help to select the 2021 winner of the David F. Mungenast Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award. Please consider the requirements and fill out this form to nominate an outstanding member of our industry for this award. Please return the nomination form to AIADA by mail, e-mail, or fax no later than October 31, 2020. The winner will be announced at AIADA’s 51st Annual Meeting & Luncheon this January. Click here for the nomination form.
Lexus Tops Mercedes, BMW as Production Squeeze Hits Luxury Sales
Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus brand outsold luxury rivals Mercedes and BMW in the latest quarter as inventory shortages triggered by the pandemic hampered the German brands, reports Bloomberg. Lexus, which hasn’t won the annual U.S. luxury sales race in a decade, grew 2% on the year to 75,285 vehicles in the third quarter. Deliveries at Daimler AG’s premium line declined 9.4% to 69,631 units, and BMW AG suffered a 16% decline to 69,570. Mercedes is still leading the other two carmakers year-to-date by a wide margin. Lexus has weathered the pandemic better than its German rivals, with the brand’s best-selling RX SUV seeing strong demand in the quarter. Both Mercedes and BMW have been hamstrung by tight inventory as the pandemic idled plants in Europe and the U.S. for weeks. Lexus saw a 31% jump in September alone, led by its RX, NX crossover and ES sedan. That pared declines this year to 13%. “BMW used sales have been very strong – I think it’s eating the new car demand because of the inventory shortage,” said Marc Cohen, vice president at Priority 1 Automotive Group in Maryland, which operates two BMW stores. Read more here (Source: Bloomberg).
Daimler Signals Less Emphasis on Future Compact Vehicles
Mercedes-Benz signaled it will eventually reduce the number of compact models it offers in the next-generation range as part of a new strategy to focus the brand on larger, higher margin cars. Automotive News reports that cars such as the A- and B-Class had helped rejuvenate the brand but would not be the main priority for devoting resources in future, said Ola Kallenius, CEO of Mercedes parent Daimler. “Maybe we went at a bit too far to cover each and every space into each and every segment. Compact particularly comes to mind,” Kallenius told analysts during on Tuesday during an online strategy presentation. "This is not where the main thrust should go, we should not become a competitor of the volume makers," Kallenius said. Mercedes sells eight compact models. Besides the A-Class hatchback and sedan and the B-Class minivan, the range includes the coupe-styled CLA, and GLA and GLB crossovers. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Tesla Alleges Act of Employee Sabotage in Calif. Plant
Tesla Inc. is warning workers at its auto plant in Fremont, Calif., that an employee allegedly “maliciously sabotaged” part of a factory last month and was fired after an internal investigation, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News. The EV manufacturer responded to the incident rapidly, and operations at the facility were disrupted for only a short period, according to an e-mail sent Monday by Al Prescott, Tesla’s vice president of legal and acting general counsel. “Two weeks ago, our IT and InfoSec teams determined that an employee had maliciously sabotaged a part of the factory,” Prescott wrote. “Their quick actions prevented further damage and production was running smoothly again a few hours later.” More than 10,000 people work at Tesla’s auto plant in Fremont, where the company makes the S, X, 3 and Y models. It was not immediately clear if Tesla handled the incident internally or reached out to law-enforcement agencies for assistance. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Ford Prepares to Start Building 2021 F-150 as Buyers Place Orders, Sight Unseen
Ford Motor Co. is now in its final days of building the 2020 Ford F-150, as the second of two factories that makes the bestselling pickups in North America prepares to shut down for the transition to the all-new 2021 version of the truck. The Detroit Free Press reports that company officials flew from Detroit to Kansas City on Tuesday to celebrate the moment, as autoworkers end production and then spend two weeks retooling the massive manufacturing operation that will produce the first F-150 redesign since 2015. "Customers are extending their leases and waiting for the new F-150," said Mohamad "Catfish" Baidoun of Dearborn Heights, a Ford salesman at Taylor Ford in Taylor, on Tuesday. "People believe in the history of the truck so much, they're ordering it without seeing it, touching it or sitting in it," he said. Read more here (Source: Detroit Free Press).
Webinar Tomorrow: October Update on COVID-19's Impact on U.S. Auto Sales
Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough returns to AutoTalk for an update tomorrow, Thursday, October 8, at 2 p.m. EDT.
Topics to be reviewed include:
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Economic forecast and impact going into the fourth quarter
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Consumer sentiment and buying behaviors
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Stock market, interest rates, and employment
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An outlook for vehicle sales
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Current view of new and used retail sales and prices
Around the Web
Volkswagen Donates SUV to SUNY Canton's Automotive Technology Program [InformNY.com]
Can You Stop a Car with Your Hand? [NY Times]
Tesla Model Y Roof Allegedly Falls Off Brand New Car [Electrek]
