Toyota: Export U.S. Best Practices to China
For Toyota in China, the new mantra is learn from America to catch up with America, reports Automotive News. Toyota Motor Corp. is now benchmarking its own U.S. success story in an effort to repeat the winning formula in the world's biggest auto market. Toyota's goal is for its China business to someday surpass its U.S. business as the automaker's volume leader, said Dong Changzheng, executive vice president of Toyota's China operation. Toyota's focus comes as the China market increasingly tops the sales charts for other Japanese automakers. As early as 2017, Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. sold more vehicles in China than in the U.S., where both companies have toiled for decades. Nissan also sells more in China, and Honda is now on the cusp of doing so. Dong said Toyota China is studying Toyota Motor North America's best practices to quickly catch up, including the unit's reliance on localized product development and better dealer operations. Read more here.
U.S. Expands Probe Into Air Bag Failures to 12.3M Vehicles
U.S. auto safety regulators have expanded an investigation into malfunctioning air bag controls to include 12.3 million vehicles because the bags may not inflate in a crash, reports The Detroit News. The problem could be responsible for as many as eight deaths. Vehicles made by Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Fiat Chrysler from the 2010 through 2019 model years are included in the probe, which was revealed Tuesday in documents posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It involves air bag control units made by ZF-TRW that were installed in the vehicles. The control units can fail in a crash, possibly because of unwanted electrical signals produced by the crash itself that can disable an air bag control circuit housed in the passenger compartment, according to NHTSA documents. The electrical signals can damage the control circuit, the documents say. On April 19, NHTSA upgraded the probe from a preliminary evaluation to an engineering analysis, which is a step closer toward seeking recalls. Read more here.
Driving? The Kids Are So Over It
If teenagers are any guide, Americans’ love affair with the automobile may no longer be something car makers can bank on. The Wall Street Journal reports that the percentage of teens with a driver’s license has tumbled in the last few decades and more young people are delaying purchasing their first car—if buying one at all, say analysts, generational experts, and car industry executives. About a quarter of 16-year-olds had a driver’s license in 2017, a sharp decline from nearly half in 1983, according to an analysis of licensing data by transportation researcher Michael Sivak. Whereas a driver’s license once was a symbol of freedom, teenagers are reaching their driving age at a time when most have access to ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft to shuttle them around town. When they reach their 20s, more are moving to big cities with mass transit, where owning a car is neither necessary nor practical. And of those who do buy a car, many more than in older generations opt for a used one, according to J.D. Power. Read more here.
Weakening Sales Worry Automakers Gathered for NY Auto Show
U.S. auto sales suffered a severe chill over the winter. Demand was widely expected to slip slightly after posting an unexpected increase in 2019, but the market has been surprisingly weak and many of the industry officials gathered for this week’s media preview at the New York International Auto Show fear the situation could get worse, reports The Detroit Bureau. In particular, there was a clear sense of concern that President Donald Trump could be “pulling the pin out of the grenade,” as Bob Carter, head of U.S. sales for Toyota put it, escalating the various trade wars to the point that it could send American car sales into a tailspin. The harsh weather that swept through much of the country in January and February clearly took some of the blame for the way demand tumbled during the first quarter. But even a climactic reprieve in March did little to improve the situation, and sales for the first three months of the year were off by 4 percent. Only four brands finished the quarter in the black – and even then, only on the retail side. Read more here.
March CPO Vehicle Sales in Record Form
It was quite a March in the certified pre-owned vehicle market, reports Auto Remarketing. Citing information from Autodata, KAR Auction Services chief economist Tom Kontos said in his latest monthly report that certified sales last month “were the highest ever,” beating March 2018 figures by 2.7 percent. What’s more, there was a 25.7 percent month-over-month hike in CPO sales for March; adjusted for the four fewer selling days in February, sales were up 11.7 percent, according to latest Kontos Kommentary. There were 2.70 million CPO sales last year, among the 11.88 million used cars sold by franchised dealers, according to Edmunds. “Certified pre-owned vehicles represent a small percentage of franchise used sales, but the opportunity to offer CPO vehicles to buyers priced out of the new-vehicle market will be important to dealers as well as automakers,” Edmunds said in its Used Vehicle Outlook report. Read more here.
Beltway Talk Podcast: A Conversation with Honda's State Relations Manager, Ember Brillhart
Ember Brillhart, Honda North America’s Manager of State Relations, joins the Beltway Talk podcast to discuss her work on state legislative issues, a typical day in the office, why she loves working for Honda, and what she enjoys doing in her free time. She describes dealers as “partners in the business,” when working on state-level issues that impact the auto industry. Listen in and subscribe to future Beltway Talk podcasts by clicking here.
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