When I was first starting at Automotive News a few years back and trying to learn the service and parts business, Lee Harkins, CEO of dealership training company M5 Management Services, let me be a fly on the wall at one of his performance group meetings. I must not have made too big of a…
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F&I talks over video a good option for car buyers
Jonathan Jordan, director of retail strategy for F&I product provider JM&A Group, said his company launched its so-called virtual F&I offering in 2018. He told Automotive News in late January the company had logged more than 23,000 transactions where the F&I manager and customer had never actually met — with about 20,000 occurring in the…
Polestar will take over part of the old Saab plant to expand R&D
Polestar will take over part of Saab’s former car plant in Sweden to extend its R&D operations in Europe. The EV maker will conduct powertrain development for the Polestar 5, a Tesla Model S rival, and the Polestar 6 roadster at a 15,000-square-meter building in Trollhattan, Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche reported. Polestar will…
Renault’s Alpine Brand Is Developing Two Electric Crossovers for the US
Alpine Developing Two Crossovers for the USGREG PAJO Renault performance sub-brand Alpine is developing two electric crossovers for the United States market, the company’s CEO confirmed Thursday. Alpine boss Laurent Rossi told journalists on a roundtable phone call the “US is the main destination for these cars,” reports Automotive News. The first will be a…
Volkswagen Is Reportedly Removing Its Design Chief
Volkswagen Is Reportedly Removing Its Design ChiefULI_SONNTAG/VW Volkswagen will replace its current design chief Jozef Kaban, Automotive News Europe’s affiliate Automobilwoche reports. The designer’s work reportedly hasn’t impressed new VW CEO Thomas Schaefer, and as a result, he’ll reportedly be replaced by Bentley design boss Andreas Mindt. Kaban has been the head of Volkswagen design…
Toyota predicts $50,000-plus average new-car price this year
Top executives at Toyota’s North American operations anticipate new-vehicle average transaction prices will break the $50,000 barrier and continue to rise, that demand will outstrip supply again this year even as the supply chain recovers and that there now may be as many as 6 million potential new-vehicle buyers sidelined by inventory and pricing. Speaking…
Car cybersecurity firm expects consumers to emerge as hackers
Add vehicle owners to the growing list of potential cyber security threats against automakers in 2023. Early adopters of new digitized offerings from automakers will find ways to bypass premium features by manipulating their vehicles’ systems fraudulently, according to executives from Israeli cybersecurity firm Upstream. Speaking at a cybersecurity webinar Tuesday, the Upstream team said…
2024 Polestar 2 to start at $51,300
Polestar’s electric fastback, the Polestar 2, delivers more power, range and content for the new model year — along with a higher sticker price. The 2024 models arrive in August. The updated Polestar 2, like its XC40 and C40 siblings from major shareholder Volvo, receives a new-generation permanent magnet electric motor and new silicon carbide…