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.
Smail Auto Group in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is supporting causes in its community through several initiatives including the Smail 500 – a friendly competition between its stores to collect nonperishable food items. In 2020, the Smail 500 collected almost 9,000 pounds of food. The group also holds an annual Breast Cancer Awareness campaign, which raised over $35,524 last October for a total of $577,319 donated by the dealership group. Read more about Smail Auto Group's community campaigns here.
Columbia Gorge Toyota and Columbia Gorge Honda in Dalles, Oregon, was named 2020 Business of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce – thanks in large part to its community efforts. The franchises have partnered with the Dalles Beautification Committee to co-host community cleanup events. Dealership employees pitch in with others from the school board or city council to clean up trash, which dealership vehicles collect and dispose of. Here are a few photos from a recent cleanup event.
Penz Automotive team members in Rochester, Minnesota, recently took the Polar Plunge in support of Special Olympics Minnesota. The team raised $2,364 for the program, which will help provide year-round training and services to over 8,100 athletes across the state. Check out a photo from the polar plunge here.
Biden's Transport Chief Not Endorsing Gasoline Vehicle Ban After 2035
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Thursday he was unaware of any support by the Biden administration to ban gas-powered vehicles after 2035 as California aims to do, reports Automotive News. Asked by a lawmaker at a U.S. House hearing if the Biden administration supported California's plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered passenger cars and trucks in 2035, Buttigieg said he had "not heard of anything to that effect at the national or federal level." He did note that automakers like General Motors have set a goal of ending gas-powered passenger vehicle sales by 2035. "I've not heard of that in a mandatory context but that certainly seems to be where the U.S. auto industry is headed." During the 2020 campaign, Biden declined to endorse California's plan. The auto industry plans to invest $250 billion in vehicle electrification by 2023, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents GM and most major automakers in the U.S. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Why Could You Soon Pay More for a Used Car? Blame Computer Chip Shortages.
A dearth of semiconductor chip production is cramping new-vehicle production, limiting the availability of certain models in the coming months, and threatening to raise used-car prices as buyers hunt for alternatives. USA Today reports that the used-car market, in particular, is poised for significant disruption – likely in the form of higher prices. A similar thing happened in 2020 when automakers were forced to temporarily stop the production of most new vehicles due to COVID-19 lockdowns. It’s a troublesome development for consumers who are already dealing with higher price tags for used cars due to rising new-vehicle prices and last year's issues. Wholesale used vehicle prices rose 3.74% in the first 15 days of March compared with average prices for the full month of February, according to Cox Automotive’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index. That index hit an all-time high of 175.5 in mid-March, up 24% from a year earlier and up 8% since the beginning of 2021. Read more here (Source: USA Today).
Ford Idles F-150 Truck Plant Through Sunday Due to Global Chip Shortage
Reuters reports that Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it will idle production of its highly profitable F-150 pickup truck at a plant in Michigan through Sunday due to the global semiconductor chip shortage. Ford and other automakers have stressed they are trying to protect production of its most profitable vehicles, but the loss of even some full-sized pickups shows the shortage has hit Ford where it least wants. Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan, plant will be idled from Friday through Sunday, and resume work on Monday. A spokeswoman declined to say how much volume would be lost. The No. 2 U.S. automaker previously said it would assemble its flagship F-150 truck without certain parts and hold them for a “number of weeks” until they can be completed and shipped. Ford said the latest action is part of its prior forecast that the chip shortage could shave $1 billion to $2.5 billion off its 2021 profits. Read more here (Source: Reuters).
Mercedes to Unveil Flagship Sedan with Tesla-Beating Battery
Mercedes-Benz is about to unveil a new flagship model it expects to boast market-leading battery range, following through on its pledge to compete in the luxury electric-vehicle segment with top technology, reports Automotive News. The April 15 debut of the EQS – the first Mercedes built on dedicated electric-car underpinnings – will mark a milestone for the German brand that has been criticized for taking too long to embrace EVs. Next year, Mercedes will be making eight fully electric cars on three continents, COO Markus Schaefer said in a phone interview. “We boosted flexibility of all factories worldwide so that we can produce hybrids, fully electric cars and combustion vehicles everywhere, depending on customer demand and individual market developments,” Schaefer said. The more than 435 miles of range Mercedes expects the EQS to achieve in lab testing is another indication Germany’s automakers will have something to say about Tesla's early domination of the EV space. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Around the Web
Elon Musk Tweet Violated Federal Labor Law, NLRB Orders it Deleted [Autoblog]
Chinese Car Startup Nio Shuts Factory for 5 Days Due to Global Chip Shortage [CNBC]
Group 1 Expands in Northeast & Qvale's Move in Silicon Valley [Auto Remarketing]
The Pandemic is Creating a 'Postwar Boom' for Luxury Carmakers [Bloomberg]
