Category: Automotive News

Expert Insights: The Future of Connected Vehicles and Customer Experiences

By on June 7, 2023

Q: What types of experiences are on the horizon that will be supported through connected or software-defined vehicles? Macleod: As digitally fueled car sales increase, vehicles are also becoming more connected. By the end of the decade, it is estimated that connected cars — cars that can communicate and share data with a variety of systems both inside and outside the vehicle — will make up about 95% of all new vehicles sold around the world. Layering web-based and location-based data, for example, a car will be able to alert a hungry driver that a favorite fast-food dining spot is…

Elon Musk’s politics play to potential EV buyers in red states

By on June 6, 2023

Mario Natarelli, managing partner of the MBLM marketing group, doesn’t see Musk’s political shift and controversial Twitter posts as an attempt to shift from “blue” liberal customers to “red” conservative shoppers. “I don’t buy the argument that Musk is trying to pivot to red customers,” Natarelli said. “To think that he’s doing it on purpose seems really shortsighted.” Many brands seen as blue, such as Apple, or red, such as Walmart, are able to attract broad swaths of the American political landscape by focusing on their brand strengths, Natarelli said. MBLM publishes an annual brand intimacy report that ranked Tesla…

Franchise Equity Partners invests $55M in Parks Automotive Group

By on June 5, 2023

“We remain a passive partner,” Romanoff said. “Adam and team continue to fully run operations, but we’ve provided them the intellectual and equity capital that they need to further their objectives.” Family-run Parks Automotive is the second auto retailer investment for Franchise Equity Partners, following its $70 million October investment in Georgica Auto Holdings. Shortly after that partnership was announced, Georgica Auto bought three dealerships in Connecticut. Launched by Romanoff and Michael Esposito in November 2021, the firm received $1 billion in funding from HPS Investment Partners. It was tasked with investing in five sectors, including automotive dealerships, with about…

GM battery materials investment in Quebec to top $1 billion

By on June 4, 2023

General Motors and South Korea’s Posco Future M said they will invest more to expand the production capacity at their chemical battery materials facility in Canada, taking their estimated total investment in the plant to over US$1 billion. The companies said on June 2 the new investment in their Ultium CAM plant, expected to start operating in 2025, will be used to set up additional facilities for local on-site processing of critical minerals used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The announcement comes less than a week after the two initially said it would be a C$600-million facility in Becancour, Que.…

May sales up 13%, but remain well below pre-pandemic numbers

By on June 3, 2023

May marked just the second month of this year in which sales were up over 2021 totals, which were higher than 2022 totals in all but November and December of last year. DAC said that historically, May was more often than not the strongest sales month of the year over the previous decade. It took the sales crown eight times between 2010 and 2019. “The last three years have seen very different sales patterns, however, with the first the pandemic and then the semiconductor shortage, meaning that the traditional spring selling season failed to materialize,” the consultancy said in a…

Should You Use Insurance to Replace Your Windshield: Yes or No?

By on June 3, 2023

It’s likely what happened to you before: a chipped or cracked windshield. Unfortunately, this type of issue generally occurs quickly, and without any warning. In addition, chips, cracks and breaks can be big, small, easy to fix or very expensive to repair. Each situation is different and calls for a specific action. It’s important to remember that when you experience windshield damage, seek professional automotive assistance as soon as possible. Not only is it extremely unsafe for you (and others on the road) to drive a car with a windshield that has been impaired, but small chips or cracks can…

Canadian partners buy VW car dealership in the US

By on June 2, 2023

Hewitt — an experienced used-car manager — is focusing on the store’s sales department, while Alalouf oversees fixed operations, accounting and finance. The partners each have three decades of automotive managerial experience. They met 25 years ago at what was then the Cowell Auto Group near Vancouver, British Columbia, then later worked for Canada’s Foundation Automotive Corp. in the US After they decided last year to launch their own business, Alalouf and Hewitt sold their Vancouver homes to raise cash. They said they chose a US location because Canadian dealerships were either too expensive or too remote. If all goes…

Panasonic Confirms Third EV Battery Plant For The US

By on June 2, 2023

Japanese battery and electronic manufacturer Panasonic has confirmed it will build a third EV cell factory in the United States, according to Automotive Newsciting Panasonic Energy’s CEO Kazuo Tadanobu, who spoke at the company’s annual business strategy meeting yesterday. Currently, the Japanese electronics company operates a manufacturing facility along with Tesla at the EV maker’s Giga Nevada plant, and a second battery plant is being built in De Soto, Kansas, which will cost an estimated $4 billion when it’s all said and done. Reports of a third Panasonic EV battery plant in the United States surfaced last year, when “people…