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BMW Q1 earnings: Higher margins for the car business

BERLIN — BMW AG reported a higher earnings margin for its cars segment, with a rise to 12.1 percent in the first quarter from 8.9 percent a year earlier. BMW benefited from continued stable pricing for both new and used cars, it said in a statement on Thursday. The automaker attributed a drop in first-quarter earnings before tax to 5.1 billion euros ($5.65 billion) from 12.2 billion last year to the impact of last year’s full consolidation of its Chinese joint venture, BMW Brilliance Automotive. The company kept its outlook unchanged in the face of ongoing high costs and rising…

Automotive News

What dealerships service managers are reading

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 nuisance of myself because I’ve been invited back to every meeting since, including one a couple weeks ago in Orlando. The discussions there were the same: What are you struggling with? Where are you having success? What’s one best practice you want to share with…

Automotive News

April sales up 2.3% but still below pre-pandemic levels

New light-vehicle sales in April were up 2.3 per cent compared with the same period last year, but still below pre-pandemic levels, at an estimated 144,069 units compared with 180,616 in April 2019, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. Sales in April were also slightly below March. All figures are estimates now that the vast majority of automakers report sales on only a quarterly basis. DesRosiers managing partner Andrew King said in a statement that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales for April was 1.48 million units. King says that’s easily the weakest reading so far in 2023, and a…

Automotive News

What Happens if ADAS Calibration Isn’t Done?

Automotive design and technology are constantly evolving; each year, vehicles become increasingly advanced and reliable on electronic and computerized features to deliver better safety, performance, and comfort.Windshields are no exception. Although the windshields of newer vehicles may look like they’re just a piece of glass, most of them contain sensors, cameras, and other advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) equipment that play a large role in how your car functions. Unfortunately, this makes the process of replacing windshields more complex—and costly. Understanding ADAS Calibration ADAS refers to a wide range of automated features that assist or alert drivers while they’re…

Automotive News

Aston Martin to renew DB11, Vantage, DBS sports cars in 2023

LONDON — Aston Martin will reveal the first of its overhauled sports-car range at the end of this month, Chief Financial Officer Doug Lafferty said. The automaker has promised to reveal new versions of its three core sports-car models – the DB11, Vantage and DBS – over the next 12 months. The company has not said which will be first, but the DB11 is the oldest model in its lineup. Aston Martin will increase prices on all three cars as it looks to return to profitability with a target margin of 40 percent. “All the next-generation sports cars carry that…

Automotive News

Study reveals drop in customer satisfaction for independents

Recent numbers from research firm Ducker Carlisle showed growing dissatisfaction with franchised dealership service departments. This week, JD Power released its 2023 US Aftermarket Service Index Study that showed an overall decline in satisfaction with independent repair facilities as well. The data firm revealed independent shops dropped in all three categories that make up the study — quick oil change, full-service maintenance and repair and tire replacement. Shops were scored on seven measures within each of the three segments. These include ease of scheduling, fairness of charges, service adviser courtesy and quality of work. This is the fourth year of…

Automotive News

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 past two years. The video chat feature at first focused on the notion “customers don’t want to come to the dealership,” Jordan said. But this hypothesis was found to be incorrect, he said. “What I like to say is ‘it’s not that they don’t want…

Automotive News

Quebec toughens ZEV sales mandate, frustrating automakers

Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette announced April 21 that the province was “accelerating” the yearly percentage of ZEVs that must be sold until the goal of 100 per cent is reached in 2035. The current Quebec sales mandates are already more aggressive than the proposed federal mandates and the new provincial targets widen that spread significantly. For example, the federal ZEV target for 2027 is 23 per cent, the current mandate in Quebec is 34 per cent and the newly proposed mandate is 43 per cent. For the 2030, the federal target is 60 per cent, the current Quebec target…

Automotive News

Facebook Is Trying to Make Dealers Pay for Car Listings

Photo: Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto (Getty Images)Facebook Marketplace, over the past few years, has taken the vehicle-classifieds crown from Craigslist. It did so almost by accident; Facebook spun up Marketplace just as Craigslist instituted a fee for selling cars on its platform. Now, it seems new rules from Meta aim to get in on that cash — but only for dealers. In case you missed it: Early this year, according to Automotive News, Meta changed the rules around Facebook Marketplace listings. Now, Facebook business pages can no longer post Marketplace ads for vehicles. Instead, they’ll have to purchase ad space…