New AIADA Chairman Starts Tenure, Talks 2020 Goals
There is a new chairman at the American International Automobile Dealers Association, reports Auto Remarketing. At AIADA’s 50th Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Monday in Las Vegas during NADA Show 2020, Washington state dealer Jason Courter officially stepped into this role for the association. Courter is the chief executive of Honda Auto Center of Bellevue and Honda of Kirkland. He has been an AIADA board member since 2012. “It is my mission to make sure that in 2020, AIADA channels some of the spirit and vision of its original founders from 1970,” Courter said during the luncheon, according to remarks in a news release from AIADA. “We will fight to protect affordability for our customers,” he said. “We will work to involve new dealers in our efforts, and we will strive to ensure that there isn't a single international nameplate dealer in the United States of America who hasn't shaken his or her congressional representative's hand in 2020.” Read more here.
Sonic 'Back to Growth Mode'
Sonic Automotive Inc., the nation's fifth-largest new-vehicle retailer, aims to double its annual revenue by the end of the decade, reports Automotive News. Sonic collected revenue of $10.45 billion in 2019, a company record and the first time it surpassed $10 billion in annual revenue since its 1997 inception as a public company. And Sonic now is eyeing $20 billion in annual revenue by the end of 2029, company executives said last week as the retailer released higher fourth-quarter earnings. "We just really wanted to put a stake in the ground and let everybody know that we are back to a growth mode," Sonic CEO David Smith told Automotive News. After going public in fall 1997 with 20 stores, Sonic quickly grew. Its peak dealership count came in 2004 when it operated 159 stores and posted annual revenue of nearly $7.4 billion. But it shed stores, and acquisitions were largely halted before, during and after the financial crisis. "Now we're at the point where we paid down a lot of debt, and we're in a position where we can grow," Smith said. "And we're just really excited about that." Read more here.
Nissan Cuts Ex-CEO Saikawa's Exit Package
Nissan Motor Co.’s board sharply cut the exit package of ousted Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa, who presided over a pronounced decline in the car maker’s earnings, reports The Wall Street Journal. The company’s human-resources staff initially calculated that Mr. Saikawa was due around $15 million as a lump sum upon his departure from the company, but the board decided to pay him about $3 million, say sources familiar with the issue. The board also canceled a system that had allowed departing executives to remain with the company in a consulting role. As a result, the 66-year-old Mr. Saikawa severed his connection completely with Nissan as of Feb. 18 for the first time since 1977, when he joined the company out of college. Mr. Saikawa, long a lieutenant of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, was the company’s chief executive in November 2018, when Mr. Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo and charged with financial misconduct. Mr. Ghosn says he is innocent. In the following quarters, sales and profit at the car maker plunged as a turnaround plan failed to deliver results. Read more here.
Rivian Seeks Direct Sales Beyond Colorado
A battle over automakers' ability to sell electric vehicles directly to consumers is brewing in Colorado — and the EV startup that is backing that effort has its sights set on direct sales in many more states. According to Automotive News, that startup, Rivian, is lobbying to open up Colorado's dealer franchise law as it prepares to start production of electric pickups and SUVs this year. Lawmakers in that state could vote as soon as this week on a controversial bill that would allow any automaker — including those with existing franchised dealerships — to sell their EVs directly to customers. An amendment added to the bill Friday, Feb. 21, designed to prevent traditional automakers from opening up next door to their franchised dealers did little to quell retailers' concerns about what they say are the potential risks should the bill become law. "We're not enamored with the amendment," said Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. "You can't put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig." Colorado dealers were expected to lobby some state senators in what Jackson described as an effort to swing a few more votes against the bill, which is backed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and Rivian. Read more here.
Audi Pauses Electric-Car Production as Tesla Zooms Ahead
Audi halted output of its E-Tron SUV to resolve production issues including battery-supply bottlenecks as it prepares to flank the model with a sportier variant, underscoring the struggles traditional automakers face to boost electric cars and challenge Tesla Inc., reports Bloomberg. Manufacturing at Audi’s factory in Brussels stopped on Thursday and the plant will remain idle until Tuesday, a company spokeswoman said Monday by phone. Audi sold about 26,400 E-Tron cars last year, she said, declining to comment on estimated deliveries this year. Audi, Volkswagen AG’s largest profit contributor, had to delay the E-Tron’s market launch after its unveiling in September 2018. Audi recalled its first all-electric model last year over potential fire risk. It plans to add the E-Tron Sportback version – which features a more coupe-like declining roofline – later this year as well as a performance sedan dubbed the E-Tron GT. Former BMW AG executive Markus Duesmann will take over as chief executive at Audi in April to accelerate restructuring efforts and try to restore the brand’s technological edge. Read more here.
10 Takeaways From U.S. Auto Sales: A Decade in Review
December 2019 auto sales came in relatively strong and ahead of many forecasts – a fitting end to a decade that delivered mostly good news for the auto industry. Honestly, though, in the past decade, the only direction possible was up. In 2010, the auto industry was in shambles. The economy had tanked, loans were all but impossible to find, and the auto industry was still limping around in a post-bankruptcy haze. U.S. auto sales finished up in 2010 at 11.5 million, but that was after bouncing off the bottom in 2009. Read more here.
Around the Web
Spied: 2021 VW Tiguan R Shows Off Its Lines in New Photos [Autoblog]
These Prototype Cars Were Futurist, But Never Made It Into Production [USA Today]
Simpler Names Coming for Vehicle Safety Features [Detroit Free Press]
Review: The Kia Telluride is the Best 3-Row SUV on Sale [CNBC]
