New York Auto Show Postponed for First Time Since WWII Over Coronavirus
Organizers of the New York International Auto Show are postponing the 12-day conference until late-August due to the evolving coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. — the first time the annual event has been rescheduled since WWII. According to CNBC, the public show, which was set to begin early next month, is now scheduled for Aug. 28 through Sept. 6, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, which owns and operates the show, announced Tuesday. “We are taking this extraordinary step to help protect our attendees, exhibitors and all participants from the coronavirus,” Mark Schienberg, president of the dealer group, said in a statement. Founded in 1900, the show hasn’t been canceled or otherwise rescheduled since WWII, organizers said. The show is one of the industry’s premier annual events, drawing more than 1 million visitors who come to gawk at the latest designs and some of the world’s fastest and most expensive cars. Read more here.
Hyundai, Aiming to Disrupt Status Quo, Resculpts Elantra
Hyundai isn't ready to give up on small cars, even if some automakers and consumers are. According to Automotive News, the company released images of the seventh-generation Hyundai Elantra compact sedan prior to a formal introduction next week in Los Angeles, underscoring a more aggressive design direction compared with the clean but somewhat bland outgoing model. While the Detroit 3 forfeit the territory, Hyundai is the latest automaker, following Honda, Toyota and Nissan, attempting to spark new interest in a market segment that remains large but shrank another 16 percent in 2019. A key element of the exterior design on the 2021 Elantra is the union of three character lines at a single point on the front doors, creating what Hyundai calls its "polyhedral appearance." On the interior, the focus is on the driver, with side-by-side displays for instrumentation and infotainment. The redesigned Elantra is longer, lower and wider than the outgoing model, Hyundai said, and features the look of a four-door coupe, with a sloping roof at the rear as part of its "Parametric Dynamics" design theme. Read more here.
Infiniti Taps Colleran as New Global Chief
Mike Colleran has been appointed the new global head of the struggling Infiniti premium brand as part of a personnel shuffle at parent company Nissan Motor Co. Colleran, currently deputy chairman of Infiniti’s management committee, will become chairman starting April 1 and be promoted to corporate vice president at Nissan, the company said on Wednesday. According to Automotive News, he will report to Nissan Chief Quality Officer Christian Vandenhende, who had filled in as Infiniti chairman following the departure of previous Infiniti President Christian Meunier in May to become global president of the Jeep brand. Meunier’s resignation came just four months after the departure of his predecessor, Roland Krueger, deepening a leadership crisis at the brand. Colleran joined Nissan in 2011 as vice president of sales in Canada. He previously worked as group vice president for Infiniti Americas, overseeing business in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Read more here.
Auto Shows Delayed, Sales Down, Supply Chain Concern: Coronavirus Takes Toll on Auto Industry
The coronavirus is hitting automakers hard, canceling auto shows and planned product introduction, disrupting supply chains, hammering stocks, and crushing sales in China, the world's largest auto market. On Tuesday, The Detroit News reports that organizers of the New York International Auto Show postponed the April rite to August on deepening concerns of coronavirus in the metro area, just one day after Monday's stock market plunge delivered a beating to auto stocks. Behind it all: automakers are continuing to wrestle with supply chain disruption caused by coronavirus that shut down factories in China. They're also facing the prospect that demand for new vehicles virtually disappeared in China and could be imperiled in the United States depending on the severity of the outbreak here at home. Detroit automakers don't release their quarterly sales until next month, but analysts at Cox Automotive Inc. estimate that U.S. auto sales rose 8% in February, ahead of the firm's 6% increase estimate. In reviewing loan applications from dealers across the U.S. last week, there was a stable new-vehicle market and a 30% jump in used-vehicle sales — typical when tax refunds start arriving, according to Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Cox. Read more here.
U.S. Senators Pressure Japan Over Ex-Nissan Director's Detention
Three U.S. senators pressed Japan’s government to assure a fair trial for an American citizen being held for alleged financial crimes, saying his case highlights issues that could put the countries’ relationship at risk, reports Bloomberg. In a commentary published by Real Clear Politics, Senators Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee criticized the treatment by Japanese authorities of former Nissan Motor Co. director Greg Kelly, who was temporarily jailed in solitary confinement and has been unable to leave the country while awaiting trial. “His predicament is a cautionary tale for Americans thinking about working in Japan, raising serious questions about whether non-Japanese executives can comfortably work in Japan under its legal system,” the three Republicans wrote Tuesday. “If Americans and other non-Japanese executives question their ability to be treated fairly in Japan, then that most important bilateral relationship in the world is at risk.” Read more here.
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