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The family sedan is dying, and the usual cure-all prescription — cash on the hood — isn’t working.

In one of the U.S. auto industry’s best years ever, with sales through August 0.5 percent ahead of last year’s record pace, demand for midsize cars is at a five-year low.

The segment is fading faster with each passing month. Midsize car sales fell 3.4 percent in the first quarter, 13 percent in the second quarter and 21 percent so far in the third, compared with last year.

In August alone, sales of the Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima all plunged more than 30 percent. Chrysler 200 sales fell by two thirds. Across all 16 midsize nameplates, the declines averaged 27 percent, a loss of more than 60,000 units.

Meanwhile, sales of compact and smaller cars fell just 3.6 percent last month, in line with the industry’s overall decline of 3.5 percent, showing that the market’s shift away from sedans isn’t across the board. Some high-volume small cars, including the Chevrolet Cruze and Honda Civic, posted gains in August.

“That larger sedan buyer just sees more value in the SUVs or CUVs,” said Mike DeSilva, co-owner of Liberty Hyundai in Mahwah, N.J. “That’s just where the activity is. And heading into the end of summer and going into winter, we’re really going to get into SUV season.”

Midsize cars have been the industry’s powerhouse segment for decades, even through the SUV boom of the 1990s and early 2000s. In each of the past four years, sales have topped 2.4 million.

But for 2016, compact crossovers are poised to take over as No. 1 for the first time, as midsize cars likely will fall to fourth. Since June, midsize cars have been less popular than full-size pickups and compact cars, too.

That’s in spite of increasing discounts on midsize cars. Incentives last month on the top eight midsize nameplates were 7 percent, or $252, higher than in August 2015 and 11 percent above the industry average, according to Autodata.

“It doesn’t matter how deep you discount the leisure suit and bell-bottoms — nobody’s going to buy them if they’re not fashionable,” said Eric Lyman, vice president of industry insights at TrueCar. “I don’t think they’re ever going to go away, but there’s a lot more people who don’t consider them anymore.”

Last December, Bob Carter, Toyota’s head of U.S. operations, predicted that the Camry, America’s No. 1 car for 14 consecutive years, would be outsold by the company’s own RAV4 within five years. The fizzling of the midsize car segment could make that happen much sooner.

In August, the Camry trailed the RAV4 for the first time, according to the Automotive News Data Center. The Camry fell short of the Honda CR-V and Nissan Rogue as well.

Aside from midsize cars, sales of everything else rose 0.4 percent last month. Analysts and automakers are divided on whether the year will end up ahead of 2015, when 17.47 million vehicles were sold. Last year included the strongest fourth quarter ever, so matching that will be a challenge.

The industry’s seasonally adjusted, annualized selling rate fell to 16.97 million last month, from 17.86 million in July and 17.79 million a year ago. Still, sales have topped 1.5 million in each of the past six months, the longest such streak on record.

General Motors’ chief economist, Mustafa Mohatarem, said healthy economic indicators “point toward a strong second half of the year and another potential record year for the industry.” But Ford Motor Co. said sales have already reached a plateau, signaling that a second consecutive annual record might be slightly out of reach.

“We have a pretty high level of sales,” said Bryan Bezold, Ford’s senior U.S. economist. “It’s just we’re no longer in a period where we have a lot of pent-up demand coming out of the financial crisis.”

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20160905/RETAIL01/309059951/the-family-car-is-in-free-fall

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Automobiles are shown for sale at a car dealership in Carlsbad California U.S. May 2 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Subprime lending has not significantly hurt the health of U.S. automotive lending which has continued to show steady growth and remarkable stability Experian Automotive said on Tuesday in its second-quarter report. The amount of the average loan for a new vehicle was only a few dollars short of $30000 and the average monthly payment just a dollar shy of $500 Experian said. Thirty-day delinquencies rose slightly to 2.22 percent of all vehicle loans from 2.19 percent a year earlier. The combined share of subprime and deep-subprime lending in the automotive credit market for new and used vehicles fell to 22.8 percent from 23.3 percent from a year earlier Experian said. Automotive lenders seem to be keeping cool heads when it comes to how much risk they are willing to take with subprime and deep-subprime customers said Melinda Zabritski senior director of automotive finance for Experian. Yes subprime and deep-subprime loans are growing but the entire market is growing from a volume perspective across all risk tiers. In fact the subprime loans have actually dropped as a percentage of the total market. That combined with only a slight uptick in delinquencies makes clear that the sky is not falling. Longer loans are helping consumers manage payments and low interest rates have helped U.S. auto sales rise about two-thirds since the 2008-2009 recession. The length of an average new vehicle loan rose to 68 months in the quarter from 67 months a year earlier. The average monthly payment for a new-vehicle loan rose to $499 from $483 a year ago Experian said. Leasing took a larger share of the new-vehicle market to 31.4 percent from 27 percent a year earlier Experian said and the average monthly payment for a lease of a new vehicle rose to $404 from $394 a year ago Experian said. The amount of the average new-vehicle loan rose 4.8 percent to $29880 Experian said. Read more:http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-lending-idUSKCN11C1IP Get in touch for a cash for cars quote The post Automotive lenders keeping subprime loans under control: Experian appeared first on http://cork.cashforcarsireland.com/ via Cash For Cars - Locations http://cork.cashforcarsireland.com/automotive-lenders-keeping-subprime-loans-under-control-experian/

A new report argues that car parts manufacturers are in a strategic position to adopt circular practices and highlights the Dutch automotive industry as a potential sector leader Changing consumer demands including digital connectivity and new mobility trends such as car as a service concepts are transforming not only cars themselves but the ways in which we use them. In the traditional automotive sector policies are also being put in place that promote safety and reduced emissions. These new demands require a complete restructuring of the automotive supply chain. Car manufacturers can no longer only focus on re-evaluating car design but must also take into account how the car is used and what happens to it when it reaches end-of-use. This requires new strategies and collaboration across the entire value chain spreading the heavy burden of innovation throughout the supplier network. Suppliers need to be able to adapt to these changes quickly in order to stay relevant and avoid becoming the Kodak of the automotive industry says Ralph Ramaekers marketing director automotive at DSM Engineering Plastics. A report On the Road to the Circular Car published by ABN AMRO and Circle Economy argues that car parts manufacturers are in a unique position to answer these rapidly changing and increasingly dominant demands by adopting circular strategies. Highlighting the strength of the Dutch automotive industry which consists of close to 300 suppliers the report focuses on innovative circular technology solutions that are putting Dutch component suppliers in a strong position to compete in international markets. At the moment nobody is demanding a circular car however car sharing trends will lead to shorter life cycles for cars and a circular approach will ensure cars will have a second third and fourth life says David Kemps sector advisory ABN AMRO. Car lifecycle. Photograph: Circle Economy Innovators such as TenCate DSM and CLAUT are actively researching new polymers and lightweight materials to enable simplicity and recyclability of materials used for car parts not only to reduce their weight but also their long-term environmental impact. Furthermore features such as advanced sensors intelligent navigation systems and self-driving capabilities being tested by the likes of TomTom and Google are improving driver convenience and dramatically improving vehicle resource use and safety. New service models such as car sharing are increasing rates of car use while reducing the amount of cars needed to provide the same mobility level. This will lead to a decrease in the overall lifetime of a car from nearly 10 years to just over six. This challenge of product life extension is starting to be addressed by companies such as Neways who use big data and the Internet of Things to perform predictive maintenance. Other initiatives like the TU/ecomotive Nova an electric modular car are taking this challenge into consideration from the start and creating design solutions that focus on improved modularity and reconfigurable parts and components that can be easily exchanged and adjusted. Hoping to tackle the growing number of cars that end up in local junkyards and city landfills companies such as Tesla Volvo and Renault have established buy-back schemes to retain any remaining value in used cars. Innovators such as ACtronics and Perfect Green No Risk Parts have created a market for the used parts obtained from these cars by remanufacturing and upgrading them for reuse while companies such as Black Bear Carbon are breaking down the remaining parts into usable raw materials that can be cycled back into the supply chain. The report further explores these strategies highlights success stories from the industry and stresses that in order to drive successful innovation the automotive industry needs to collaborate across the entire value chain. Bottom-up circular innovation from parts and component suppliers will play a crucial role in making the automotive industry future-proof. Read more:https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/sep/06/how-the-automotive-industry-is-uniquely-placed-to-embrace-the-circular-economy We offer cash for cars quotes on any type of vehicle The post How the automotive industry is uniquely placed to embrace the circular economy appeared first on http://dublin.cashforcarsireland.com/ via Cash For Cars - Locations http://dublin.cashforcarsireland.com/how-the-automotive-industry-is-uniquely-placed-to-embrace-the-circular-economy/

UPDATED: 8/25/16 5:07 pm ET – adds detailsAmazon, in its latest move into the automotive space, is getting into the vehicle research business.

The online retailer today launched Amazon Vehicles, a car research portal where consumers can view vehicle-detail pages and reviews of thousands of new and classic cars, while being able to upload photos and videos of their own rides.

Those who upload their vehicles can interact with the Amazon Vehicles community by answering questions about their cars, the company said.

While Amazon is synonymous with online shopping, the new research portal isn’t stepping into vehicle transactions just yet. But it houses information one would expect to see on third-party shopping sites such as Cars.com and Autotrader.

Amazon’s vehicle detail pages have sections that break down “model changes,” “model strengths” and “model value.” The pages also include an extensive “model overview” that summarizes vehicle features.

Beyond parts

Individuals who use the site can compare a specific vehicle’s trim levels side-by-side on the detail pages in neatly organized tables that outline price, performance, exterior and interior functions among other features.

Amazon Vehicles is an extension of the company’sAmazon Automotive store, which is a marketplace for parts that Amazon sells and ships, as well as used parts offered by others, just as Amazon.com does for other, non-automotive products.

Amazon is steadily carving out a place in the automotive space. The Amazon Vehicles announcement comes after Hyundai launched a limited test-drive program in California through Amazon Prime Now, which is known for delivery of groceries and household goods.

Follows Hyundai test

Hyundai Motor America partnered with Amazonfor an on-demand test-drive program for the 2017 Elantra in Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif. People can book 45- to 60-minute drives. The program — called “Prime Now. Drive Now.” — ran last weekend and will take place again this weekend.

Hyundai said the vehicles can be delivered to a person’s front door, office or even local coffee shops.

“Our goal is to support customers during one of the most important, research-intensive purchases in their lives by helping them make informed decisions every step of the way,” said Adam Goetsch, director of automotive at Amazon.com, said in a statement.

“Amazon Vehicles is a great resource for customers who are interested in car information or looking for a broad selection of parts and accessories — all enhanced by the ability to tap into the knowledge, opinions, and experiences of other car owners within the Amazon customer community,” Goetsch said.

Domain clues

Amazon already has several domain names that could serve its new research portal.

Amazon purchased six automotive-themed domains in January, including Amazon.Cars, Amazon.Car and Amazon.Auto. At the moment, the domains send people to the Amazon Automotive parts hub.

Online auction and shopping site eBay also has acquired an automotive domain. The site uses eBay.Cars to direct people to eBay Motors.

Using the Amazon.Auto designation for Amazon Vehicles, for example, would not only be a branding play but could lead to increased search-engine traffic, said Mike Ambrose, COO of the XYZ registry, which operates the .Cars, .Car and .Auto domain extensions. The new automotive domains were first made available in December to companies registered in the Trademark Clearinghouse.

Ambrose has no direct knowledge of Amazon’s future plans, but wouldn’t be surprised to see the research site migrate to one of the new domains at some point.

He said: “I can’t predict the future, but we have seen big brands do it with these new automotive domain names in the past. They’re shorter, they’re more precise and they make sense.”

Cars.com CEO Alex Vetter said he isn’t surprised to see Amazon get into the vehicle research space. He doesn’t view Amazon Vehicles, a site purely for research, as a direct competitor because it doesn’t connect consumers to dealerships.

“Amazon has been in the advertising and automotive parts business for years. I think this is just yet another way to extend their current aftermarket business and parts business and continue to grow there,” Vetter toldAutomotive News. “We operate fundamentally different businesses.”

Read More: http://www.autonews.com/article/20160825/RETAIL03/160829916/amazon-expanding-automotive-business-launches-vehicle-research-portal

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In February, Google’s self-driving car caused an accident. Although it was a minor fender bender, any issue can erode public trust in the technology, making it that much harder for Google to push through regulatory measures and bring their product to market.

Several manufacturers have launched models that produce more pollutants when driven in real-world conditions A Volkswagen Golf 2.0 being tested for emissions. The only new diesel model to meet the official limit was a Volkswagen Tiguan. Photograph: Patrick Pleul/Alamy New diesel cars are still emitting many times the official limit for polluting nitrogen oxides when driven on the road almost a year after the Volkswagen emissions scandal broke. Renault Mercedes-Benz Mazda and Hyundai have all launched diesel models in 2016 with NOx emissions that are far higher than the official lab-based test when driven in real-world conditions according to tests by Emissions Analytics (EA) a company whose data is used by the manufacturers of most cars sold in Europe. Ironically the only new model to meet the limit when on the road was a Volkswagen Tiguan. Diesel cars must pass lab-based tests for NOx emissions but most cars perform far worse in the real world and in 2015 Volkswagen was caught using software to cheat the tests. Previous EA analysis showed 97% of diesels launched since 2009 exceeded the lab limit. NOx pollution is a serious public health problem causing the early deaths of 23500 people a year in the UK alone. New research presented on Tuesday suggests the air pollution crisis in UK cities has not been tackled because politicians prioritise economic growth and road safety instead. The EU has tightened emissions regulations and from September 2017 diesels that emit more than double the lab limit for NOx on the road will be banned from sale. The Emissions Analytics road test is very similar to the new test the EU is implementing and it found that 2016 Renault Megane (1.5l engine) and Espace (1.6l) diesel models emitted more than 12 times the NOx lab limit in real-world driving. A Mercedes Benz CLA (2.1l) diesel emitted 8-12 times the limit on the road while a Mazda 3 (1.5l) and Hyundai Sante Fe (2.2l) emitted 6-8 times the limit. Until the testing regime changes in 2017 it is legal to sell such high emitters. In contrast to the other vehicles the road emissions of the Volkswagen Tiguan (2.0l) met the lab limit for new cars. Diesels can be clean said Nick Molden the EAs chief executive. It is about getting a [regulatory] system that forces deployment of the technology. Molden said the continued sale of highly polluting diesels reflected the struggle of some manufacturers to catch up and implement the emissions-reducing technology. Other carmakers he said have the technology in their cars already but are calibrating their engines to maximise fuel efficiency at the expense of high NOx emissions. But some such as VW had already delivered on the most recent standard called Euro 6 Molden said. There is a massive irony given that VW are the ones that have been caught. But their Euro 6 cars from the get-go have been very clean and they came in before dieselgate blew. It is an even bigger irony than it first looks they had already cleaned themselves up before they got found out. Julia Poliscanova from the campaign group Transport and Environment said: The current regulatory climate in Europe sees testing authorities protecting carmakers and allowing polluting vehicles to be sold even after dieselgate. New on-road tests after 2017 will help and are the only way to measure accurate real-world emissions she said. But more action is necessary. In the short term governments must stand up for their citizens health and order mandatory recalls to bring illegally dirty cars in compliance. In the long term more independent oversight transparency and robust testing over vehicles lifetimes are necessary for Europeans to finally enjoy the cleaner air promised to them almost 10 years ago. Tamzen Isacsson from the UK trade body The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said: We cant comment on results from non-official tests where the robustness or methodology is unclear. However SMMT and industry acknowledge the need for reform of the EU test process. We support the introduction next year of a more onerous lab test that better reflects real world driving together with an on-road Real Driving Emissions (RDE) test. This will be the worlds toughest emissions testing regime. A spokeswoman for Hyundai said: Hyundai Motor vehicles on sale in the UK meet all the current regulatory standards. New Euro 6 cars are built using the best available technology and they produce less NOx emissions than their predecessors. Hyundai Motor takes environmental compliance extremely seriously and is committed to meeting forthcoming new targets and to significantly improving the environmental performance of its vehicles. Spokesmen for Mercedes-Benz and Mazda said they were unable to comment on unofficial tests. The spokesman for Mazda added: In compliance with the law Mazda works hard to ensure that every petrol and diesel engine it makes fully complies with the regulations of the countries in which they are sold. Renault did not respond to requests for comment. Molden said the new regime in 2017 would probably mean diesels at the smaller end of the range would no longer be sold: Some of these cars will be discontinued because the after-treatment system will just be too expensive as a proportion of the total price to work commercially. But from mid-sized cars upwards it can be done. We are talking about adding hundreds of pounds per [car] not thousands. Original article:https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/30/emissions-new-diesel-cars-far-higher-than-official-limit Get in touch for a cash for cars quote The post Emissions from new diesel cars are still far higher than official limit appeared first on http://cork.cashforcarsireland.com/ via Cash For Cars - Locations http://cork.cashforcarsireland.com/emissions-new-diesel-cars-still-far-higher-official-limit/

NEW YORK — Lamborghini expects to at least double production to 7,000 vehicles a year by 2019 once it rolls out its new SUV, but it will not lose its focus on making sports cars, CEO Stefano Domenicali said.

Domenicali said the company plans to cap yearly production of its supercars at 3,500. He also expects SUV production will be at least as high but could be higher depending on demand.

Lamborghini is owned by Volkswagen Group through its Audi unit.

The SUV, based on the Urus concept, will go on sale in 2018 starting at around $200,000 and will be built alongside the Huracan and Aventador supercars at the brand’s factory in Sant‘Agata Bolognese, Italy.

“We will push like hell to” sell 3,500 or more of the SUVs, Domenicali said in an interview on Tuesday, adding that interest in it is high in the U.S. and elsewhere. “It’s a big game-changer.”

Domenicali, a former Ferrari Formula One team boss,joined Lamborghini as CEO in February, replacing long-time chief Stephan Winkelmann.

He said Lamborghini plans to boost its worldwide dealer network to 160 from 132 now.

About 30 percent of its dealers and sales are in the U.S., its largest market. Lamborghini sold a record 3,245 vehicles worldwide in 2015, including just over 1,000 in the U.S. “We will not, clearly, give up on our DNA, which is to produce super sports cars,” he said.

Lamborghini is adding 500 employees and doubling the size of its Sant’Agata Bolognese plant as part of an investment worth hundreds of millions of euros announced in 2015.

Lamborghini is joining several luxury carmakers that have entered the profitable SUV market, including VW’s Porsche and Bentley units.

Domenicali said he wants to keep brand volume limited. The company unveiled its Centenario Roadster in California, and said the company had already sold the 20 roadsters it was building at a starting price of 2 million euros before taxes.

Lamborghini plans a plug-in hybrid electric version of the SUV by 2020, and could add an electric version.

Domenicali said the SUV could be a platform for future autonomous vehicles, but such vehicles won’t hurt the brand.

“If you buy a Lamborghini you want to drive … We are talking about emotions,” he said, adding that steering wheels won’t go away in Lamborghinis: “In life, technology has to be part of the emotion.”

Automotive News Europe contributed to this report.

Original article: http://www.autonews.com/article/20160824/COPY01/308249972/lamborghini-sees-worldwide-sales-doubling-by-2019-after-suv-launch

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DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is officially extending production of its GT supercar for two additional years. The initial run included 500 GTs, with 250 being built a year at a facility in Markham, Ontario.

Ford said it received 6,506 completed applicationsfor the first 500. The car is expected to be priced around $400,000.

Acceptance, but more commonly rejection, letters for the first round of GTs started popping up in late July.

“While we can’t build enough Ford GTs for everyone who has applied, we are going to produce additional vehicles in an effort to satisfy more of our most loyal Ford ambassadors,” said Dave Pericak, global director at Ford Performance, in a statement Friday. “We want to keep Ford GT exclusive, but at the same time we know how vital this customer is to our brand.”

Now that production has been extended, Year 3 production will go to applicants who were placed on the wait list, Ford said.

Applicants who already applied only need to update their request.

Additionally, previously deferred applicants and those who missed the initial application window will be able to apply for Year 4 production when it opens in early 2018, Ford said.

Of the accepted applications, 87 percent currently own a Ford vehicle and 69 percent own a previous-generation GT, said Raj Nair, Ford’s vice president, product development, and chief technical officer, in an interview on the automaker’s employee website.

Read original article here: http://www.autonews.com/article/20160819/OEM04/160819819/ford-to-extend-gt-production-two-more-years

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