Import automakers saw their April sales climb double digits on a year-over-year basis, with particularly strong sales being spotted in the smaller segments, according to the American International Automobile Dealers Association. Citing statistics from AutoData Corp., AIADA indicated that import brands moved 619,629 units during April, a 14.7-percent hike from the year-ago period, although down […] [Read More]

Honda revealed this week that it has added 833,000 more vehicles to a previously announced recall of Honda and Acura units from model years 2001 through 2003 that deals with the driver’s side airbag inflator. Affected models in this recall are certain Honda Civic and Accord vehicles from model years 2001 and 2002, the 2002 […] [Read More]

AutoNation revealed a double-digit year-over-year new-vehicle sales increase in April, moving a total of 18,266 units. This amount represents an 11-percent rise from the same month last year. The company went on to share how its retail new-vehicle unit sales broke down by operating segments: —Domestic: 5,796 units, up 18 percent versus April 2010. —Import: […] [Read More]

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America recently announced two shifts in senior management. The internal changes are effective immediately. Shigeki Terashi, former executive vice president of TEMA as well as president of Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., will assume the position of president of TEMA and will also retain his role at […] [Read More]

With a big push from its perennially best-selling Sorento model, Kia Motors America notched its best-ever month for the second straight time. The automaker moved 47,074 units in April, up 6.6 percent over March when Kia hit its previous best-ever mark. April’s sales also represent a 56.7-percent year-over-year hike. Kia moved more than 12,000 Sorento […] [Read More]

Along with revealing that a few models will get a delayed fall launch, Honda’s latest production update shared on Monday gave a glimpse as to which specific units will be in the shortest supply as the automaker attempts to ramp up production again, following the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Honda stressed it will bring in only […] [Read More]

In financial moves aimed at restarting production, Spyker Cars N.V. announced Monday it secured short-term funding for Saab Automobile AB by entering into a 30-million Euro convertible loan agreement with Gemini Investment Fund Limited. Executives explained Spyker’s 30-million Euro convertible loan agreement with Gemini contains a six-month maturity at a 7-percent annual interest rate and […] [Read More]

As franchise dealers brace for dwindling supplies, Edmunds.com’s April new-vehicle sales forecast reflected the softening figures stemming from the Japanese disasters. The site thinks April new-unit sales, including fleet sales, are expected to be approximately 1,171,000 units, a 19.3-percent increase from April of last year, but a 6.0-percent dip from March. Analysts believe retail sales […] [Read More]

Mazda North American Operations announced last week it has gone in-house to find a senior vice president for the U.S. operations group, a newly created entity within MNAO focused on the U.S. market. Robert Davis, MNAO’s former senior vice president of research and development, customer service operations and quality, was chosen for the newly created position designed to […] [Read More]

The National Automobile Dealers Association recently revealed the first OEM to work in partnership with NADA University on an exclusive training program. By subscribing to NADA University online, association officials last week said Mercedes-Benz USA will equip its dealer contact team with 24/7 online access to a vast collection of interactive training courses, Webinars, data, […] [Read More]