#DealersDoGood Friday
In the midst of a challenging time for our industry, AIADA remains focused on how dealers are helping the communities in which they operate. Each Friday, we highlight a few in FirstUp. Check out this week’s examples of dealerships who are going above and beyond to give back.
McGeorge Toyota in Richmond, Virginia, has given back to the community in several ways since the beginning of COVID-19. The dealership donated more than $20,000 to FeedMore, which amounted to more than 80,000 meals to help combat hunger in the local community. Additionally, McGeorge Toyota has donated more than 800 meals to health care workers and first responders in the Richmond region. Read more here (Henrico Citizen).
Kenny Ross Subaru in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has donated almost $24,000 to Norwin Meals on Wheels. The organization was forced to shut down in the spring due to the pandemic, but money from Kenny Ross Subaru has helped the organization stay afloat. The donation of close to $24,000 from Kenny Ross Subaru will be used to help subsidize the cost of the meals, said Clint Page, vice president of Norwin Meals on Wheels, which delivers meals at a price of $5 to about 65 residents in the area. Read more here (TribLive.com).
Donaldsons Subaru in Sayville, New York, as part of Subaru’s national “Share the Love” event this month, donated nearly $33,000 to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue. Over the last four years, Long Island Community Hospital has received over $146,000 as one of Donaldsons’ “Share the Love” hometown charities. Read more here (Greater Sayville).
Diehl Auto in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio announced it is a premier sponsor of the Allegheny Aquatic Alliance. Every year the organization works to protect local waterways. They have removed 520,654 pounds of waste and over 5,826 tires from the Connoquenessing Creek. Read more here (Twitter).
If you know of a dealership is doing something great, we want to hear about it. Click here to tell us, or join us on Twitter by tagging @AIADA_News and using the #DealersDoGood hashtag.
Toyota, Mazda Boost Investment in New Ala. Plant by $830M
Toyota and Mazda said Thursday they will pour another $830 million into their joint manufacturing plant under construction in Huntsville, Ala., to boost production efficiency at what had been a $1.6 billion plant slated to start making new crossovers next year, reports Automotive News. The added investment, which the automakers said would be used to "incorporate more cutting-edge manufacturing technologies into its production lines and provide enhanced training" to its 4,000 planned workers, boosts the total investment to $2.33 billion. It also represents a roughly 50 percent increase in its planned costs less than a year before it is due to start producing new compact crossovers for both Mazda and Toyota. Construction of the plant, which was announced in 2018, was slightly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but Toyota says that most work has been completed on its roof, walls, floor, ductwork and fire protection. Read more now.
Daimler to Settle U.S. Emissions Charges for $2.2 Billion
The German automaker Daimler said Thursday that it had agreed to pay $2.2 billion to settle accusations that Mercedes-Benz cars and vans sold in the United States were programmed to cheat on emissions tests, reports The New York Times. The sum, which covers federal fines and a class-action suit brought by owners of Mercedes vehicles, is a substantial financial hit to the company as it deals with plunging sales because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also humbling for a company that has been a symbol of German luxury automaking. The penalty is only a fraction of the more than $20 billion that Volkswagen paid in the United States to settle criminal charges and civil suits by owners and state governments after it was caught using software to dupe regulators. The Volkswagen settlement involved about 600,000 diesel passenger cars, while the Daimler settlement covers about 250,000 passenger cars and vans. Daimler may have received more lenient treatment because it cooperated with the authorities after questions were raised about its emissions systems. Read more here.
Publicly Traded Retailers Cut Staff, Costs Amid COVID-19
The big, publicly traded auto retailers want to make permanent a significant part of the job cuts and other expense reductions they made as an emergency response to coronavirus-related shutdowns, reports WardsAuto. “We see less salespeople necessary to drive the business. The same thing on the fixed side,” says Roger Penske, chairman and CEO of Penske Automotive Group of Bloomfield Hills, MI. “We’re seeing better utilization of our people,” he says in a recent conference call to announce second-quarter results. Starting in late March, Penske Automotive furloughed about 15,000 employees, or 57% of its work force. The company has recalled employees as business improved, but about 14% of its employees remain furloughed. Meanwhile, the company is questioning how many more positions it really needs. Like other retailers, Penske Automotive says technology helps reduce jobs and cut costs on a more permanent basis. Earl Hesterberg, president and CEO of Group 1 Automotive of Houston, says his company can operate with fewer people, even when volumes return to pre-COVID levels. Read more here.
Dealership Count Stable, But Outlook Points to Potential Dip
Automotive News reports that the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the number of dealerships in the United States remains to be seen. That's according to Urban Science's mid-year review of its Franchise Activity Report, which tracks the number of dealerships in the country. Total dealership count has dipped only slightly this year to 18,161 at July 1, 2020, the latest study shows, compared to 18,195 dealerships at the end of 2019, and 18,251 on July 1, 2019. Total franchises slid to 32,031 as of July 1, 2020, compared to 32,185 at the end of 2019, and 32,296 at July 1, 2019. "Right now the brick-and-mortar stores are pretty much stable," said Mitch Phillips, Urban Science's global data director. However, the number of dealerships tends to be a lagging indicator after a significant drop in new-vehicle sales, he added. U.S. sales of new cars and light trucks skidded 33 percent to 2.97 million in the second quarter, as Americans hunkered down and many showrooms were shuttered by state government orders. In the first six months, U.S. deliveries dropped 24 percent to 6.48 million. Read more here.
Around the Web
Auto Dealership Values Rise as Red-Hot Used Car Market Continues to Heat Up [CNBC]
Michigan Plans to Redesign a Stretch of Road for Self-Driving Cars [CNN Business]
Hyundai Punches Things Up with the Launch of 2021 Elantra N Line [The Detroit Bureau]
