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Ask Peter Welch, the CEO of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) what worries him the most, he'll admit that it is average consumers getting priced out of new cars. He admitted this yesterday at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit. Welch said that the latest figures he has seen - through October of last year - reveal the average retail price of a new car climbing to a new high of $35,366. The average monthly payment is hovering at $538, and interest rates have climbed to an average of 5.76 percent (new) and 9 percent (used). Longer loan terms are becoming common, with the average length standing at 64.3 months. "You know, people buying $55,000 pickup trucks with $1,000-a-month payments — I've never seen it. A lot of people don't think that's sustainable," said Welch. "That is going to put a giant dent in the SAARs and it almost makes me wonder if at some point we're going to see another Henry Ford," offering new and more affordable vehicles. Aside from more people buying more expensive trucks and utility vehicles, Welch said other reasons for the increases in prices come down to new fuel economy standards and safety equipment. He sees new car prices rising towards $40,000 with $800 monthly payments. On a slightly positive note, NADA predicts that 16.8 million light vehicles will be sold in 2019. While down from 17.3 million in 2018, Welch notes there are some positive economic indicators "such as high employment rates, a solid GDP and a healthy economy overall." Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article- 71 replies
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NADA's CEO is Concerned About Consumers Being Priced Out
William Maley posted an article in Automotive Industry
Ask Peter Welch, the CEO of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) what worries him the most, he'll admit that it is average consumers getting priced out of new cars. He admitted this yesterday at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit. Welch said that the latest figures he has seen - through October of last year - reveal the average retail price of a new car climbing to a new high of $35,366. The average monthly payment is hovering at $538, and interest rates have climbed to an average of 5.76 percent (new) and 9 percent (used). Longer loan terms are becoming common, with the average length standing at 64.3 months. "You know, people buying $55,000 pickup trucks with $1,000-a-month payments — I've never seen it. A lot of people don't think that's sustainable," said Welch. "That is going to put a giant dent in the SAARs and it almost makes me wonder if at some point we're going to see another Henry Ford," offering new and more affordable vehicles. Aside from more people buying more expensive trucks and utility vehicles, Welch said other reasons for the increases in prices come down to new fuel economy standards and safety equipment. He sees new car prices rising towards $40,000 with $800 monthly payments. On a slightly positive note, NADA predicts that 16.8 million light vehicles will be sold in 2019. While down from 17.3 million in 2018, Welch notes there are some positive economic indicators "such as high employment rates, a solid GDP and a healthy economy overall." Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) -
Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced that he had reached an agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to open trade talks between the two nations. Previously, the president had threatened a 25 percent tariff on cars to reduce imports and encourage more production in the U.S. The two agree that the "sanctions on auto exports won’t be applied while the talks take place." A key topic of talks will likely be giving better access to U.S. cars to be sold in Japan, something President Trump has complained about before. Data from Japan’s auto industry associations said only 0.3 percent of the 3.2 million vehicles sold in the country this year when American brands. Contrast this to 40 percent of the U.S.' market share being made up by Japanese automakers according to Bloomberg. But there arises a problem with Trump's ambition, Japanese buyers aren't interested. Japan has argued time and time again that the reason American automakers don't do some well is the perception of that American cars are " bulky and inefficient". There is one American brand that bucks this trend, Jeep. According to Bloomberg, Jeep sold more than 7,000 vehicles in the first eight months of this year - beating all other U.S. brands combined. Source: Bloomberg (Subscription Required) -
Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced that he had reached an agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to open trade talks between the two nations. Previously, the president had threatened a 25 percent tariff on cars to reduce imports and encourage more production in the U.S. The two agree that the "sanctions on auto exports won’t be applied while the talks take place." A key topic of talks will likely be giving better access to U.S. cars to be sold in Japan, something President Trump has complained about before. Data from Japan’s auto industry associations said only 0.3 percent of the 3.2 million vehicles sold in the country this year when American brands. Contrast this to 40 percent of the U.S.' market share being made up by Japanese automakers according to Bloomberg. But there arises a problem with Trump's ambition, Japanese buyers aren't interested. Japan has argued time and time again that the reason American automakers don't do some well is the perception of that American cars are " bulky and inefficient". There is one American brand that bucks this trend, Jeep. According to Bloomberg, Jeep sold more than 7,000 vehicles in the first eight months of this year - beating all other U.S. brands combined. Source: Bloomberg (Subscription Required) View full article
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Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would be rolling back the fuel-efficiency regulations that were approved during the Obama administration. The agency also announced possibly revoking California's waiver that allows it to set tougher standards on vehicle emissions. The state vowed to fight this. But a new report from the New York Times says California and officials from the Trump administration are in talks about possibly reaching a deal to avoid a legal fight. Speaking to a half-dozen of sources briefed about the talks, the Times reports that the two parties, along with representatives of major automakers, "are searching for a compromise that could save a uniform set of standards for the entire country." One of the proposals on the table is to keep the Obama fuel economy standards, but allow automakers to take advantage of more generous loopholes to meet them. In turn, the Trump administration would honor California's wavier through 2030. There could be other proposals in the cards as the EPA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the White House begin to coordinate their various strategies. There are a number of obstacles that could derail the talks. Various automakers "are in different positions” on how to proceed with the talks. According to a source, some are focused on rolling back the standards through 2025, while others want to have the discussion to reach a compromise to avoid having to build vehicles to different standards. The talks themselves seem to be spinning their wheels. Last week, William Wehrum, the EPA's senior clean air adviser met with Mary D. Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board. Depending on who you ask, the meeting didn't amount to anything or was considered to be productive. Source: New York Times View full article
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Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would be rolling back the fuel-efficiency regulations that were approved during the Obama administration. The agency also announced possibly revoking California's waiver that allows it to set tougher standards on vehicle emissions. The state vowed to fight this. But a new report from the New York Times says California and officials from the Trump administration are in talks about possibly reaching a deal to avoid a legal fight. Speaking to a half-dozen of sources briefed about the talks, the Times reports that the two parties, along with representatives of major automakers, "are searching for a compromise that could save a uniform set of standards for the entire country." One of the proposals on the table is to keep the Obama fuel economy standards, but allow automakers to take advantage of more generous loopholes to meet them. In turn, the Trump administration would honor California's wavier through 2030. There could be other proposals in the cards as the EPA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the White House begin to coordinate their various strategies. There are a number of obstacles that could derail the talks. Various automakers "are in different positions” on how to proceed with the talks. According to a source, some are focused on rolling back the standards through 2025, while others want to have the discussion to reach a compromise to avoid having to build vehicles to different standards. The talks themselves seem to be spinning their wheels. Last week, William Wehrum, the EPA's senior clean air adviser met with Mary D. Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board. Depending on who you ask, the meeting didn't amount to anything or was considered to be productive. Source: New York Times -
Rumorpile: Lucid Motors Had Takeover Talks With Ford
William Maley posted an article in Automotive Industry
Electric car startup Lucid Motors has been in process of trying to raise extra cash to move forward with the development of their first model, the Air and a factory in Arizona. But Bloomberg has learned from sources at the startup that Lucid reached out to Ford about a possible sale. Reportedly, Ford said they are not looking for a deal at the moment. Currently, the blue oval is undergoing a 100-day review by new CEO Jim Hackett. Interestingly, a source went on to say that Ford isn't ruling out a deal down the road. For the time being, Lucid has called in Morgan Stanley to help with raising the extra funds. “We don’t have the money in place. That’s why we need to secure Series D,” said Lucid Motors' Chief Technology Officer Peter Rawlinson to Bloomberg back in April. “It would be irresponsible to start moving earth or start anything until we have a financial runway to execute that professionally and with absolute integrity.” When asked about how the investments were going this month, Rawlinson said the company is "thrilled with the response from investors." He declined to comment on the scale of investments and the possible meeting with Ford. A Ford spokeswoman said "We don't comment on speculation." Source: Bloomberg -
Electric car startup Lucid Motors has been in process of trying to raise extra cash to move forward with the development of their first model, the Air and a factory in Arizona. But Bloomberg has learned from sources at the startup that Lucid reached out to Ford about a possible sale. Reportedly, Ford said they are not looking for a deal at the moment. Currently, the blue oval is undergoing a 100-day review by new CEO Jim Hackett. Interestingly, a source went on to say that Ford isn't ruling out a deal down the road. For the time being, Lucid has called in Morgan Stanley to help with raising the extra funds. “We don’t have the money in place. That’s why we need to secure Series D,” said Lucid Motors' Chief Technology Officer Peter Rawlinson to Bloomberg back in April. “It would be irresponsible to start moving earth or start anything until we have a financial runway to execute that professionally and with absolute integrity.” When asked about how the investments were going this month, Rawlinson said the company is "thrilled with the response from investors." He declined to comment on the scale of investments and the possible meeting with Ford. A Ford spokeswoman said "We don't comment on speculation." Source: Bloomberg View full article
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Muller: On Second Thought, We Would Be Willing To Talk With FCA
William Maley posted an article in Volkswagen
It was only a week ago that Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller rebuffed FCA's CEO Sergio Marchionne'sidea of having talks between Volkswagen and FCA. “We are not ready for talks about anything. I haven’t seen Marchionne for months,” said Müller. “We have other problems.” This week, Müller seems to have changed his tune. Speaking with reporters at the company's annual press conference, he said that he was open to talks with FCA. "I am not ruling out a conversation," Müller told reporters. “It would be very helpful if Mr. Marchionne were to communicate his considerations to me.” What changed? There are two possibilities. First is the sale of Opel and Vauxhall to PSA Group, which makes them the second-largest automaker in Europe. Volkswagen could see this as a threat and might consider teaming up with another automaker as an additional layer of protection. The other comes from the massive costs as a result of the diesel emission mess. Volkswagen has so far agreed to pay $25 billion in fines and buyback programs. Source: Reuters -
It was only a week ago that Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller rebuffed FCA's CEO Sergio Marchionne'sidea of having talks between Volkswagen and FCA. “We are not ready for talks about anything. I haven’t seen Marchionne for months,” said Müller. “We have other problems.” This week, Müller seems to have changed his tune. Speaking with reporters at the company's annual press conference, he said that he was open to talks with FCA. "I am not ruling out a conversation," Müller told reporters. “It would be very helpful if Mr. Marchionne were to communicate his considerations to me.” What changed? There are two possibilities. First is the sale of Opel and Vauxhall to PSA Group, which makes them the second-largest automaker in Europe. Volkswagen could see this as a threat and might consider teaming up with another automaker as an additional layer of protection. The other comes from the massive costs as a result of the diesel emission mess. Volkswagen has so far agreed to pay $25 billion in fines and buyback programs. Source: Reuters View full article
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Collaborations between automakers and tech companies are becoming commonplace as self-driving vehicles and a sharing economy are starting to enter the limelight. Doing either one of these alone is difficult and it appears one automaker is realizing this. Bloomberg reports that Hyundai is in talks with Google about a possible partnership. Hyundai Motor President Jeong Jin Haeng said in an interview the two companies share some "common areas that may require cooperation". One of those common areas is autonomous technologies. Both Hyundai and Kia are lagging far behind when it comes to this. It doesn't hurt that former Hyundai USA CEO, John Krafcik heads up Google's autonomous vehicle program. “Hyundai is lagging behind the competition to develop autonomous vehicles. It’s not a choice but a critical prerequisite for Hyundai to cooperate with IT companies, such as Google, to survive in the near future,” said Ko Tae Bong, senior auto analyst at Hi Investment & Securities Co. Source: Bloomberg View full article
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Hyundai In Talks With Google About A Possible Partnership
William Maley posted an article in Hyundai
Collaborations between automakers and tech companies are becoming commonplace as self-driving vehicles and a sharing economy are starting to enter the limelight. Doing either one of these alone is difficult and it appears one automaker is realizing this. Bloomberg reports that Hyundai is in talks with Google about a possible partnership. Hyundai Motor President Jeong Jin Haeng said in an interview the two companies share some "common areas that may require cooperation". One of those common areas is autonomous technologies. Both Hyundai and Kia are lagging far behind when it comes to this. It doesn't hurt that former Hyundai USA CEO, John Krafcik heads up Google's autonomous vehicle program. “Hyundai is lagging behind the competition to develop autonomous vehicles. It’s not a choice but a critical prerequisite for Hyundai to cooperate with IT companies, such as Google, to survive in the near future,” said Ko Tae Bong, senior auto analyst at Hi Investment & Securities Co. Source: Bloomberg -
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles surprised everyone last month when they announced a partnership with Google concerning autonomous vehicles. It seems that FCA wants to do something similar with another company. Bloomberg has learned from sources that FCA is currently in talks with Uber Technologies to strike a similar partnership concerning autonomous vehicles. At the moment, the talks between the two companies are at the preliminary stage. Unsurprisingly, both FCA and Uber declined to comment. Another source tells Bloomberg that Uber is in talks with other automakers. Not a big surprise as Uber already has announced a partnership with Toyota concerning the ride-service section of the business. Why would FCA be talking with Uber? FCA doesn't have the money/resources to develop their own technology. By partnering with various technology, this allows FCA to catch up in terms of autonomous tech. Source: Bloomberg -
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles surprised everyone last month when they announced a partnership with Google concerning autonomous vehicles. It seems that FCA wants to do something similar with another company. Bloomberg has learned from sources that FCA is currently in talks with Uber Technologies to strike a similar partnership concerning autonomous vehicles. At the moment, the talks between the two companies are at the preliminary stage. Unsurprisingly, both FCA and Uber declined to comment. Another source tells Bloomberg that Uber is in talks with other automakers. Not a big surprise as Uber already has announced a partnership with Toyota concerning the ride-service section of the business. Why would FCA be talking with Uber? FCA doesn't have the money/resources to develop their own technology. By partnering with various technology, this allows FCA to catch up in terms of autonomous tech. Source: Bloomberg View full article
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The Volkswagen diesel scandal has prompted the German transport minister to meet with the counterpart in the U.S. According to Reuters, Alexander Dobrindt will be holding talks today with Anthony Foxx, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation about the scandal. The report goes on to say that Dobrindt hopes to meet with officials from the EPA. That's not all that is taking place in the U.S. for Volkswagen. Another report from Reuters says the company has put plans of overhauling the management and overall strategy for the U.S. on hold till they deal with the litany of lawsuits and penalties. "What matters more than anything else right now is to sort out this disaster," a source said. "If we fail to do that, then questions that are completely different (than the future U.S. leadership) will come up," Now one of items that this decision affects is finding someone to take the place of North American head Winfried Vahland, who stepped down a few weeks after being announced to the position. Source: Reuters, 2 -
The Volkswagen diesel scandal has prompted the German transport minister to meet with the counterpart in the U.S. According to Reuters, Alexander Dobrindt will be holding talks today with Anthony Foxx, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation about the scandal. The report goes on to say that Dobrindt hopes to meet with officials from the EPA. That's not all that is taking place in the U.S. for Volkswagen. Another report from Reuters says the company has put plans of overhauling the management and overall strategy for the U.S. on hold till they deal with the litany of lawsuits and penalties. "What matters more than anything else right now is to sort out this disaster," a source said. "If we fail to do that, then questions that are completely different (than the future U.S. leadership) will come up," Now one of items that this decision affects is finding someone to take the place of North American head Winfried Vahland, who stepped down a few weeks after being announced to the position. Source: Reuters, 2 View full article
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Mitsubishi hasn't had the best of luck of trying to find a partner. Back in February, we learned that talks between it and Renault had fallen apart for a new midsize sedan. Mitsubishi shelved those plans and reportedly began talks with Nissan. We also learned that Mitsubishi moved up the replacement for the Lancer. Now Mitsubishi has begun working on the Lancer replacement in-house while it still looks for a partner. “We are talking with a potential partner at this time, (but) at the same time we’re doing an internal design of the vehicle. We’re running parallel because we cannot wait any longer to see if a partnership will work out. If it falls through then we’re another year behind,” said Don Swearingen, executive vice president of Mitsubishi Motors North America to Wards Auto. Swearingen confirmed that Mitsubishi is still in talks with an automaker - many believe to be Nissan. Even if a deal is reached, Swearingen says the model is still 18 to 2 years out. Additionally, Swearingen confirmed the a midsize sedan from Mitsubishi isn't happening. “We’ve made the decision that D-segment will not work for us in the U.S. When you do the financial analysis and you look at the amount of money (needed) for advertising (and the amount) most of our competitors are spending on incentives, it doesn’t pencil out to do a partnership.” Source: Wards Auto -
Mitsubishi hasn't had the best of luck of trying to find a partner. Back in February, we learned that talks between it and Renault had fallen apart for a new midsize sedan. Mitsubishi shelved those plans and reportedly began talks with Nissan. We also learned that Mitsubishi moved up the replacement for the Lancer. Now Mitsubishi has begun working on the Lancer replacement in-house while it still looks for a partner. “We are talking with a potential partner at this time, (but) at the same time we’re doing an internal design of the vehicle. We’re running parallel because we cannot wait any longer to see if a partnership will work out. If it falls through then we’re another year behind,” said Don Swearingen, executive vice president of Mitsubishi Motors North America to Wards Auto. Swearingen confirmed that Mitsubishi is still in talks with an automaker - many believe to be Nissan. Even if a deal is reached, Swearingen says the model is still 18 to 2 years out. Additionally, Swearingen confirmed the a midsize sedan from Mitsubishi isn't happening. “We’ve made the decision that D-segment will not work for us in the U.S. When you do the financial analysis and you look at the amount of money (needed) for advertising (and the amount) most of our competitors are spending on incentives, it doesn’t pencil out to do a partnership.” Source: Wards Auto View full article
