Dealers Do Good Friday
AIADA is highlighting the good dealers are doing in communities across the country through the Dealers Do Good campaign. Take a look at the examples below for a sampling of the great things dealers are up to in the communities where they operate. If you know of a dealership we should highlight, let us know here, tag us on Twitter or Facebook, or join us with the #DealersDoGood hashtag.
Preston Hyundai in Hurlock, Maryland, gives away a specially stuffed frog with every vehicle purchase. The color varies by month and represents the dealership’s charitable focus on that particular month. For the last three decades, the Frog has been an integral part of the Preston Automotive Group family, representing it on the dealership’s logo, in commercials, and around the community. Charities and causes supported by the dealership thus far include March of Dimes, breast cancer awareness, Save the Bay, veterans’ associations, the American Heart Association, childhood cancer awareness, and more. Read more here.
The Causeway Family of Dealerships in Manahawkin, New Jersey, has helped a variety of community causes over the last year, including donating vehicles through its “CauseWheels” campaign to local nonprofits. In February, the dealerships made their latest donation in the form of a truck for Calvary Baptist Church in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The vehicle will be used by the church to collect large weekly food donations for the food pantry it runs, which currently feeds between 70 and 100 families each week. Read about the donation in the latest Causeway Gazette.
The Price Simms Family Dealerships have supported their local communities and organizations throughout the Bay Area, including the Boys and Girls Clubs, Chambers of Commerce, hospitals, Rotary Clubs, and more. Recently, Toyota of Marin raised over $70,000 for the Marin County Special Education Program. Over the last 16 years, Toyota Marin has donated a new vehicle to Marin Special Education for a benefit car raffle that has generated almost $750,000 to-date. Watch the video from this year’s raffle here.
Chip Shortages May Last Into Late 2021, Renesas Says
Renesas Electronics Corp.’s top executive warned that a global shortage of auto semiconductors may persist into the second half, joining other industry leaders in bracing for a chip crunch to snarl production of cars and gadgets well past the summer, reports Automotive News. Industry giants from Continental to Innolux Corp. have in recent weeks warned of longer-than-anticipated deficits thanks to unprecedented COVID-era demand for everything from cars to game consoles and smartphones. Renesas is running its most critical plants at full capacity to try and meet demand but there was no way of telling when the market might balance out, CEO Hidetoshi Shibata told Bloomberg News. “Supply will remain tight through the first half of the year,” Shibata said this week. “And the way things look now, the situation will continue into the second half. But it’s anyone’s guess.” Chipmakers like Renesas and its partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are at the forefront of a global effort to plug a shortfall in supply of chips, the building blocks of a plethora of consumer products. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Honda of America Plans to Sell 2 Fully-Electric SUVs in 2024
Honda has plans to sell two all-electric SUVs in the U.S. for the 2024 model year, and it soon will offer hybrid gas-electric versions of its top-selling models, reports The Detroit News. The announcements Thursday come as the automaker acknowledges it has work to do to comply with emissions-reduction targets that will be coming from the Biden administration, and a California ban on sales of new internal-combustion vehicles by 2035. Honda of America sales chief Dave Gardner told reporters one of the electric SUVs will be from the Honda brand, while the other will be an Acura. Honda will offer more details later this year, he said. Honda has plans to sell two all-electric SUVs in the U.S. for the 2024 model year, and it soon will offer hybrid gas-electric versions of its top-selling models. Underpinnings of the new vehicles will come from a partnership with General Motors, while the tops would be made by Honda, he said. Read more here (Source: The Detroit News).
Renault to Sell Its Stake in Daimler to Reduce Debt
French carmaker Renault said on Thursday it would sell all of its 1.54% stake in Germany’s Daimler in order to speed up de-leveraging of its automotive business, according to Reuters. Renault said in a statement that it would sell its 16.45 million Daimler shares through a placement to qualified investors via an accelerated bookbuilding process. Based on Daimler’s closing share price of 72.09 euros per share on Thursday, Renault’s stake would be worth a little more than 1.18 billion euros ($1.41 billion). “The industrial partnership between the Renault Group and Daimler remains unchanged and is not impacted by this financial transaction,” Renault said. The French carmaker, with its Japanese partner Nissan, had exchanged stakes with Daimler in 2010 to strengthen their industrial partnerships. Read more here (Source: Reuters).
LG to Invest $4.5B in U.S. Battery Production Through 2025
LG Energy Solution said Thursday it plans to invest more than $4.5 billion in its U.S. battery production business through 2025 and add 4,000 jobs as it considers building at least two new U.S. plants, a company executive told reporters. According to Automotive News, the South Korean supplier, a unit of LG Chem, said the investment will result in an additional 70 gigawatt-hours of U.S. battery production capacity. The company declined to say where in the United States it is considering a new battery manufacturing plant. Denise Gray, president of LG Energy Solution's Michigan unit, said the investment, which would indirectly create another 6,000 jobs during construction, was being made to respond to the growing electric vehicle market. "We are eager to expand our production capacity so that it can meet the needs of the numerous global automakers across the U.S. and Europe," Gray said. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Webinar: Kerrigan Advisors' Outlook on 2021's Buy/Sell Market and Franchise Valuations
Erin Kerrigan of Kerrigan Advisors will join AIADA's AutoTalk on March 16 at 2:00 p.m. EDT to review the following in detail:
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Highlights from Kerrigan Advisors’ 2020 Full Year Blue Sky Report®
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Key drivers of the white-hot buy/sell market, including what is bringing both buyers and sellers to market
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Regions that are in the highest demand are achieving higher than average multiples
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Dealership valuations in a post-COVID world
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Blue sky multiples by franchise, including multiple outlooks for 2021
Around the Web
Next-Gen Mercedes-Benz AMG SL Coming with AWD [MotorAuthority]
Here Are Some of the Weirdest Cars You Should Import from Japan Right Now [Jalopnik]
Jaguar Celebrates 60 Years of the E-Type with 6 Pairs of Restomod Cars [Autoblog]
Jeep Brings Back the Legendary Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer [The Detroit Bureau]
