Author: Automotive News n Feed

When look-alike stores sell the same vehicles at roughly the same prices, only the people distinguish one dealership from another. Yet very few dealers are good at hiring and retaining employees. It’s costing the industry billions of dollars a year.

What has driven the industry’s recent surge toward autonomous vehicles? Ola Kaellenius, Daimler’s new head of randd, says breakthroughs in artificial intelligence have made all the difference.

Ford Motor Co. is making midcycle changes to the Mustang in an effort to stay on top of the muscle car sales race, even as demand for such vehicles wanes.

Audi may have room in its lineup for a larger three-row crossover and for more variants of current vehicles, but probably not for anything smaller than its current A3 sedan and Q3 crossover.

Bad hiring can cost a dealership plenty. Rick Evans figures his Toyota dealership lost at least $500,000 — maybe even $1 million or more — because of his hiring problems.

Surging sales in China are giving Cadillac’s U.S. business a luxury it lacked during previous attempts to regain its former luster: time.

Lincoln will continue to expand in China this year, but the pace of growth for its dealership network will likely slow after targets were exceeded in 2016.

Mercedes and BMW still sell a good volume of the luxury sedans known as brand flagships. But the identity builders for European luxury brands are likely to increasingly become crossovers and SUVs as the sales shift to trucks continues.

Porsche dealers expect the redesigned Panamera sedan to drive the brand to higher sales again in 2017.