370z , on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Major automakers post mixed US June sales figures

General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV posted declines in US new vehicle sales for June on Monday, while major Japanese automakers reported stronger figures. Once again, demand for pickup trucks and crossovers offset a decline in sedan sales. Automakers' shares rose as overall industry sales still came in above Wall Street expectations. The US auto industry is bracing for a downturn after hitting a record 17.55 million new vehicles sold in 2016. Analysts had predicted that overall, US vehicle sales would fall in June for the fourth consecutive month. As the market has shown signs of cooling, automakers have hiked discounts and loosened lending terms. Car shopping website Edmunds said on Monday the average length of a car loan reached an all-time high of 69.3 months in June. "It's financially risky, leaving borrowers exposed to being upside down on their vehicles for a large chunk of their loans," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of industry analysis. GM said its sales fell about 5 percent versus June 2016, but that the industry would see stronger sales in the second half of 2017 versus the first half. "Under the current economic conditions, we anticipate US retail vehicle sales will remain strong for the foreseeable future." GM shares were up 2.4 percent in morning trading, while Ford rose 3.3 percent and FCA shares jumped 6 percent. "US total sales are moderating due to an industry-wide pullback in daily rental sales, but key US economic fundamentals clearly remain positive," said GM chief economist Mustafa Mohatarem. "Under the current economic conditions, we anticipate US retail vehicle sales will remain strong for the foreseeable future." Ford said its sales for June were hit by lower fleet sales to rental agencies, businesses, and government entities, which fell 13.9 percent, while sales to consumers were flat. But it sold a record 406,464 SUVs in the first half of the year, with Explorer sales increasing 23 percent in June. And sales of the F-150 had their strongest June since 2001. On a media call, Ford executives said an initial read of automakers' sales figures indicated a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of around 17 million new vehicles for the month, which would be better than 16.6 million units analysts had predicted. FCA said June sales decreased 7 percent versus the same month a year earlier.

Honda, Nissan, and Toyota expand Takata recall by millions worldwide

Honda, Nissan, and Toyota are expanding their global Takata airbag inflator recalls to cover millions of additional vehicles. Toyota alone is adding about 5 million vehicles to its campaign globally, and over 600,000 of those are in the US, according to Automotive News. Nissan's expansion includes an estimated 1.56 million cars worldwide, including about 326,000 in North America, but the exact models from the company are not yet known. According to Automotive News, Honda has also announced plans to increase the scope of its campaign but hasn't yet disclosed specific models, total numbers, or their location. Company spokesperson Chris Martin tells Autoblog that none of these vehicles are in the US, though. In the US, Toyota is replacing the driver's side front inflators on 160,000 examples of the 2004 and 2005 RAV4 nationwide. It's also swapping out the front passenger side parts for 177,000 units of the 2003 and 2004 Tundra (pictured above) and 2004 Sequoia. The automaker is also expanding its regional recalls in high-humidity areas to include the passenger-side inflators of 300,000 more vehicles. In total, the affected models are 2005-2007 model-year Corolla, Matrix, Sequoia, and Lexus SC; plus the 2005-2006 Tundra is included, as well. All of the states that are covered by this campaign are listed in Toyota's announcement, below. In a statement to Autoblog, Nissan said that it's currently working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on this campaign. "We expect to have a more formal statement and additional information by Friday, May 15," the company said. TOYOTA EXPANDS TAKATA AIRBAG SAFETY RECALLS TORRANCE, Calif., May 12, 2015 – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. today announced that it is expanding its recalls involving Takata air bag inflators. First, Toyota will conduct a recall to replace Takata-supplied driver front airbag inflators on approximately 160,000 model year 2004 and 2005 RAV4 sport utility vehicles. The inflators could potentially be susceptible to rupture when deployed in a crash, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants. For similar reasons, Toyota will expand two existing recalls for Takata-supplied front passenger airbag inflators, namely: Toyota's nationwide recall launched in April 2013 will expand to include approximately an additional 177,000 model year 2003-2004 Tundra and model year 2004 Sequoia vehicles.

Nissan will expand free* charging incentive to 25 Leaf markets

Nissan has proof that giving away a bit of electricity makes buying a new Leaf all the more enticing. Thanks to a deal that offers free charging to some Leaf owners in Texas, one dealer there claims his Leaf sales have tripled. We don't see national sales climbing quite that high starting July 1 2014, but an announcement made today at the New York Auto Show will likely give the EV a boost. New Leaf buyers will get to charge for free at public chargers for two years. Within limits: a max of 30 minutes at CHAdeMO and an hour at Level 2 stations. Nissan will expand its "No Charge to Charge" promotion to at least 25 markets across the US. The deal means that new Leaf buyers will get to charge for free at public chargers that accept the new EZ-Charge card, within limits. That means a maximum of 30 minutes at CHAdeMO DC fast chargers and just one hour at Level 2 stations, Brendan Jones, director of Nissan EV infrastructure strategy and development, told AutoblogGreen. This should be plenty of time, Jones said, since the average Leaf driver comes to a CHAdeMO station with 35-40 percent state-of-charge on the battery and the average time they stay is around 16-17 minutes. A half hour is fine at a fast charger, since the battery will get to 80 percent full within that time, but we're less impressed with the one-hour limit at a Level 2 station, since that will only put maybe 20 miles into the battery. The EZ-Charge card is compatible with four of "the leading EV charging networks," which here means ChargePoint, Blink, AeroVironment and NRG eVgo. Nissan says the 25 markets make up over 80 percent of all the US Leaf sales. Anyone who buys a new Leaf in one of the specified markets - or bought one on or after April 1 of this year - will get the free-to-use EZ-Charge card (others can still get the card, which means only carrying one charger company fob instead of four). The promotion starts July 1 in 10 markets (San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Washington, DC) and then expands to the next 15 by the end of June, 2015. Nissan would not specify which markets these will be, but they will be where the Leaf is selling well and there are DC fast chargers. That means, we suspect, places like Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Atlanta.