September 2, 2014 — The management shuffle continues at Renault-Nissan as product chief and executive vice president Andy Palmer leaves to take the CEO position at Aston Martin. Replacing Palmer is Philippe Klein, executive vice president with Renault SA, who starts in his new position on September 15. Palmer is the fourth senior executive to leave…
UPDATED — At least ten (updated from eight) cases of manufacturers using the Right of First Refusal since January 2013, including at least three lawsuits, shows dealers wanting to sell their stores and the dealers hoping to acquire need to do their homework up front to know whether it will be an issue. Since we first reported…
TBR has talked to several BMW dealers the last two weeks who say that BMW has been exerting significant pressure on them to engage in a practice commonly known as “punching” sales. According to the dealers, BMW zone officials have been offering anywhere from $1,000 to $3,500 in some cases, to count vehicles as sold,…
Longtime Illinois dealer Ed Napleton is suing Florida attorney and New York dealer Manuel Kadre; Jaguar Land Rover North America; the Long Island Automotive Group, MMS-HM and their owners, the Marubeni America Corp. It’s another lawsuit resulting from a manufacturer’s exercise of the right of first refusal in which they nix one buyer and bring… Continue Reading
When the New Jersey Assembly voted last week overwhelmingly to allow Tesla to sell its vehicles directly to consumers it looked like the Jim Appleton led dealer-association had their rear ends handed to them. There had to be more to this story. There is no way New Jersey’s assembly votes 77-0 against the dealers unless Appleton…
A couple of days ago, on April 30, Southern Motors Chevrolet filed a lawsuit against General Motors for blocking its purchase of Fuller Chevrolet, located in Rincon, GA. According to dealers and individuals who broker dealership acquisitions one of the more under-reported dynamics of the dealership buy-sell field is the growing willingness on the part…
April 20, 2014 — Six New Jersey dealerships owned by Bob Ciasulli last week filed lawsuits against Toyota Motor Sales USA and American Honda Motor Corp. claiming dealer incentive programs created by manufacturers are illegal according to New Jersey state franchise law. The implications of this case could be far reaching because there is little… Continue Reading
March 26, 2014 — The automotive retail system is on the cusp of revolutionary change. The transformation already is happening and we predict over the next 20 years, forces such as changing franchise laws, new retail models being developed by automakers along with the ever-lurking autonomous vehicle are going to upend the system as we… Continue Reading
November 11, 2013 — As part of our Brands in Transition series, we take a look at Volvo this week, a once-storied brand that has never recovered from the downturn of 2009-2010. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. bought the Swedish automaker for $1.8 billion in 2010 from Ford Motor Co. Since then, the brand has…