Tag: car news websites

Nikola, once the ‘Tesla of trucking,’ sells stock at a discount

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Nikola Corp.‘s planned move to ramp up production of semitrucks powered by electric batteries and hydrogen fuel cells will be costly. The Phoenix company is expected to raise $100 million for “working capital and other general corporate purposes” through a secondary stock sale of roughly 90 million shares. The sale is expected to close by the end of the day at $1.12 a share. That’s a 20 percent discount compared with the stock’s closing price of $1.40 per unit March 30, the day it announced the offering. Nikola, one of the first EV companies to go public via a special…
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Rising new car prices stalling purchases

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More than a quarter of shoppers who would have bought a new vehicle within a year now report they’ll give it another 12 months. Additionally, interest in buying a new vehicle within the next six months has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, according to market research company GfK, which pointed to vehicle affordability as the culprit. Six-month demand for a new vehicle dropped 13 percent across all consumers between January 2020 and December 2022, according to a January survey by GfK. Demand fell 11 percent among households earning $50,000 to $99,999, a key consumer demographic. Interest in buying a new vehicle…
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UAW President Shawn Fain prepares for ‘war’ against corporations

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“We have the discipline we need to organize better than ever before,” Fain said. “We have the understanding we need to regain the trust of the membership. We have the organization that, if united in a common goal, we cannot be defeated. We have the will to sacrifice for the greater good, including on the picket line. “ Fain said the UAW planned to fight to gain what it lost during the Great Recession, when the automakers asked for concessions to remain afloat financially. “Our members have very high expectations, and rightly so,” Fain said. “They demanded equality of sacrifice…
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Lithia Motors buys UK dealership group Jardine Motors

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Jardine Motors has more than 40 new-vehicle franchise points in the UK, with a portfolio of luxury brands including Aston Martin, Porsche and BMW, DeBoer said. Part of the conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings, Jardine is Europe’s 23rd-largest dealership group by annual revenue, according to Automotive News Europe’s 2022 Guide to Europe’s Biggest Dealers. The deal will add $2 billion to Lithia’s annual revenue, DeBoer said. In 2022, the company’s revenue surged 24% to $28.23 billion. “And more importantly, it gives us a foundation to grow more in the United Kingdom, which is helping us drive towards our $50 billion target…
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Magna to build three plants to supply Ford Blue Oval City

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Magna’s project is the latest example of a major supplier investing to alter its manufacturing footprint with an eye toward winning EV-related businesses as the industry’s electrification push continues. This is the third significant investment Magna has made in its battery enclosure manufacturing footprint in the past year. In that time, the company also committed about $700 million to build or expand battery enclosure plants in Michigan and Ontario, the latter of which supplies Ford for F-150 Lightning production. Battery enclosures are a significant “target area” for Magna as it positions itself for EV production in the coming years, said…
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Rolls-Royce says it will blacklist customers selling Specter EVs

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It’s one strike and you’re out at Rolls-Royce. The ultraluxury brand says anyone caught reselling its first electric vehicle, the Specter, for profit will be banned for life. “They’re going immediately on a blacklist and this is it — you will never ever have the chance to acquire again,” Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös told Car Dealers magazines. Deliveries of the Specter, which costs about £350,000 ($450,000) and has a 320-mile driving range, are scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2023. The aerodynamic electric coupe has amassed so many orders that Müller-Ötvös is already talking about needing to increase…
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Port of Vancouver strike would affect auto retail

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BCMEA, which represents a range of port employers, including terminal operating companies and shipping agents, said the notice was a “regrettable development” after months of talks. The previous collective agreement between the labor union and employer expired March 31. BCMEA said it would remain engaged with the union through the federal mediation process “with the desire of reaching a fair and balanced deal at the table that keeps our ports stable and goods flowing for Canadians.” Grain shipments will continue to move, even if ILWU members walk out July 1, but servicing of vessels used by all other industries, including…
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Expert Insights: Dealership Succession Planning

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ABOUT THE PANELISTS FARID AHMAD Founder and Chief Executive Officer, DSMA With over 35 years of global auto industry experience, Farid is considered a genuine industry expert by dealers and OEMs alike, with his finger on the pulse of the automotive marketplace across North America. Farid is founder and CEO of DSMA, an automotive intelligence and M&A advisory service with more than 1,000 years of combined industry experience and over 1,500 valuations and over 400 completed transactions. For the second consecutive year, DSMA has placed on the 2022 Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies. www.dsma.comCHRIS SCHAUFELE…
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