General Motors should gain market share by replacing 88% of its light-duty lineup by 2020, while Volkswagen and Korean automakers are relying too heavily on cars with consumer demand shifting toward SUVs and trucks, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst has said.
Introduced last month, Senate Bill 3 would permit electric vehicle makers to sell vehicles directly to consumers at up to three locations. The state dealers association, General Motors and the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers have taken a stand against the measure.
General Motors responded on Friday to legal concerns raised in a Feb. 8 letter from the California New Car Dealers Association. The automaker said it is not infringing on its dealers' used-vehicle operations, adding that projected sales from its Factory Pre-Owned Collection program will represent 'roughly 1% or less of current used retail volume our dealer network sells.'
The automaker Factory Pre-Owned Collection portal is now live. The site, which will open up the automaker's remarketing channel to consumers, contains more than 30,000 used cars with less than 37,000 miles on the odometer.
The regulator said the three companies agreed to settle its charges that they failed to disclose that some certified pre-owned vehicles were subject to open and unrepaired safety recalls despite claims of rigorous inspections in advertisements.
General Motors' decision to open up its remarketing channel to consumers through an online car-buying portal may give dealers pause, but officials said the move is designed to help GM dealers compete with third-party sites that are disrupting the used-car market.
The General Motors Board of Directors has unanimously elected Mary Barra as its next chairman, effective immediately. She succeeds Theodore Solso, who will serve as the board’s lead independent director.
On Monday, ridesharing firm Lyft announced it closed a $1 billion round of funding, half a million of which came from General Motors. The plan, according to the two companies, is to eventually deploy a fleet of GM self-driving vehicle within Lyft’s ride-hailing service.
With the 2016 model year, Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto will make smartphone integration available with the touch of a steering wheel button.
GM Financial's transformation from subprime finance source to GM's captive finance company continued in the second quarter, with GM new-vehicle loans and leases accounting for 83.5% of total originations during the period.
