Toyota Motor estimates it could cost 1 trillion yen ($6.4 billion) annually from 2028 to modernize its factories as the world's biggest carmaker accelerates automation and robotics deployment. Across the industry, automakers are turning to robotics to cut costs and address ageing infrastructure and labour shortages, a strategy that analysts say could open a growth avenue beyond vehicle manufacturing.

Source: Reuters

Sales of late models grew on the used market, with the Toyota Camry and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 leading the category at the start of September. AutoVision’s Used Vehicle Inventory Analysis, which uses AI to track VINs, showed a slight decrease in vehicles sold last month, down 2.8%. Mainstream sales fell 9.1%, with premium (-1.8%) and ultra-premium faring better (-2.3%). The inventory coming into the market was also down, with the top 10 models seeing a 5,000-vehicle drop from the previous month. On the used market, the 1-to-3-year-old group saw growth in market volume and sales.

Source: Car Dealership Guy

More automakers are preventing their dealers from publicly competing on price—in the name of consumer transparency. Starting next month, Jeep parent Stellantis will be the latest U.S. automaker to adopt “minimum advertised pricing” for its dealers, a rule that sets a floor for the lowest price dealers can advertise a vehicle. General Motors, Mazda, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai already mandate how low their dealers’ advertised prices can go, among others. In theory, the practice means dealers can’t set deceptively low prices and then hike them when buyers show up. But it also means buyers won’t know the best price they can get on a car until they get it directly from the dealership.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. electric vehicle market is struggling to recover nearly a year after the repeal of the federal EV tax credit sparked a buying frenzy followed by a deep slump. With the tax credit gone and the Trump administration relaxing fuel-economy standards and emissions rules, automakers are shifting back to combustion engines, including V-8s, while accelerating development of hybrid models for fuel-conscious consumers. “The death of the internal combustion engine has been greatly exaggerated,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. “The biggest thing that’s happened in the last year is manufacturers embracing the reality of how little market demand there is for EVs.”

Source: Automotive News

Volkswagen Group will accelerate its restructuring program, the head of its core brand said, as thousands of German auto workers staged protests over job cuts and possible plant closures. The comment by VW brand head Thomas Schaefer came after VW Group slashed its 2026 outlook to a 1 percent margin after booking €10 billion ($11.5 billion) in charges tied to its Porsche stake, China’s collapsing market and worker buyouts. Protests were held on Sept. 21 at VW, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche as well as major suppliers in response to job cuts, possible production relocations and even plant closures for Germany’s most important industry.

Source: Reuters via Automotive News

CarMax has eliminated 145 corporate positions, about 4% of its white-collar workforce, in a restructuring that hit offices in Richmond, Dallas and Atlanta as well as its Edmunds automotive research division. The company said the reduction will help it move faster and create better alignment across teams as it works to operate with a leaner corporate structure. CEO Keith Barr, who took over in March following Bill Nash’s departure, faces a mandate to turn the business around at a difficult moment for used-vehicle retailers. According to Cox Automotive, average used-vehicle listing prices climbed to $27,239 in August, the highest monthly figure since December 2022.

Source: CBT News

Jennifer Briggs, GM at Volkswagen of Marion in Illinois and former dean of the Auto Diesel Institute, said dealers chasing technicians from competitors are fighting over a shrinking pool when they should be growing it instead. “It's not a recruiting war; it's a retention war,” Briggs told her audience at this year’s Digital Dealer Conference & Expo on Tuesday (Sept. 22). Driving the news: The industry needs about 70,865 new technicians annually, and net new technicians nationally last year numbered just 8,755, according to presentation materials Briggs shared.

Source: Car Dealership Guy 

Useful chart for anyone buying a vehicle in the near future! Interesting to see, surprising to see two Porsche models had the lowest average five-year depreciation. As Porsche struggles with costs and electrification what will the future depreciation be or is the name “Porsche” enough to ensure future high residuals.

Just as dealers were preparing for a busy tax season of shoppers, a record number of cyberattacks on dealerships were attempted in March. A study by Proton Dealership IT and Cybersecurity found nearly a 1,000% spike in March compared to activity before June 2024, along with an increase in attempted attacks on the auto industry. Driving the news: Cybercriminals target auto dealers for consumer data and with scams designed to collect money.

Source: Car Dealership Guy