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November U.S. new car sales mixed as automakers deepen discounts

DETROIT — Major automakers posted mixed U.S. November new vehicle sales on Friday and predicted a competitive December as they rushed to sell vehicles and boost their numbers before 2017 ends. Automakers are trying to sell down 2017 model-year vehicles, offering high discounts to consumers as the year-end nears. In 2016, the industry reported record annual sales of 17.55 million units. According to consultancies J.D. Power and LMC, discounts have been above 10 percent of the average transaction price for 16 of the past 17 months, a level experts say is unhealthy and unsustainable. The November sales results come as the National Automobile Dealers Association said on Friday it expects new vehicle sales to decline to 16.7 million units in 2018, after dropping to 17.1 million for the full year in 2017. If that forecast comes true, the race to move new vehicles off dealers' lots will only intensify next year. Brandon Mason, a director at PwC's automotive practice, said a worrying trend for the industry was a rising number of subprime loans. He said subprime levels are at just over 20 percent of originations, against more than 30 percent prior to the Great Recession, but recent increases remain a concern. "That's a bit of a red flag," Mason said. "It's something to keep an eye on as we move into 2018." November results by automaker: General Motors: Sales fell 2.9 percent, with sales to consumers flat against the same month in 2016. Much of the decrease was driven by lower fleet sales. GM said strong SUV and crossover sales pushed its average transaction price for the month above $37,000 for the first time. The level of unsold cars, which has been a concern for analysts and the industry, rose slightly to 83 days' supply, from 80 days at the end of October. "More vehicles are sold in December than any other month, and we are very well positioned because we have momentum in so many segments, but especially in crossovers," said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of sales operations. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: Fleet sales are low-margin, and FCA in particular has targeted a significant reduction in this type of sale in 2017. It posted a 4 percent overall decrease in sales for November, but fleet sales were down 25 percent while sales to consumers were up 2 percent on the year. Ford: The No. 2 U.S. automaker reported a 6.7 percent increase for the month, with fleet sales up nearly 26 percent and retail sales 1.3 percent higher than in November 2016.

Detroit 3 small cars lay an egg in latest Consumer Reports reliability study

Consumer Reports has released its Annual Auto Reliability Survey and the results are, in a word, interesting. While we already covered the score-damaging effects of infotainment systems, there's another big angle to the data that's getting some attention - the utterly dismal scores of the Detroit Three's small car offerings.
The turbocharged Dodge Dart and Chevrolet Cruze, as well as the Ford Fiesta were their respective brands' lowest-scoring models, a stat that's made worse by the fact that the American automakers finished 25th, 21st and 23rd, respectively.
That's not acceptable for The Detroit Free Press' auto critic, Mark Phelan, who has penned a scathing critique of the D3's small car reliability scores, arguing that GM, Ford and Chrysler are "out of excuses."

Stellantis and the UAW reach tentative contract deal to end strike

The United Auto Workers has made a tentative deal with Stellantis that follows a template set by UAW and Ford. The deals will amount to total pay hikes of more than 33% when compounding and cost-of-living are factored in. The contracts will start with an initial increase of 11%. "We look forward to welcoming our 43,000 employees back to work and resuming operations," Stellantis said on Saturday. The Ford and Stellantis agreements will have to be ratified by all workers. U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement the Stellantis "contract is a testament to the power of unions and collective bargaining to build strong middle-class jobs." The deal includes an agreement to reopen Stellantis' assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, which will now build midsize trucks, Fain said in a video on social media. The trucks could compete against Ford's Ranger and GM's Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models. The factory was previously shuttered and became a rallying point for the union's bargaining campaign. Stellantis also agreed to build a battery plant next to the Belvidere plant, UAW said. Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker called the agreement a "huge win for Illinois" and said the state will offer incentives to help offset the automaker's costs. Stellantis will also keep open two facilities that were under threat of closure -- an engine manufacturing complex in Trenton, Michigan, and a machining operation in Toledo, Ohio, Boyer said. In all, the automaker committed $19 billion in new investments in U.S. operations and the creation of 5,000 jobs where previously it planned to cut 5,000 jobs, Fain and Boyer said. The UAW has won the right to strike over product investment decisions, Fain said. The United Auto Workers on Saturday expanded its strike against General Motors to include its Spring Hill, Tennessee, engine plant, a move that could stall GM's large pickup production and increase its financial pain. The expansion of the seven-week strike leaves GM the only Detroit automaker without a contract deal.  Those deals won workers a record 25% jump in wages over the 4-1/2-year contract and allow the companies to restart their profitable truck assembly lines. At GM, people familiar with the bargaining said sticking points in the UAW negotiations include retirement benefits and issues related to temporary workers. GM has more retirees than either Ford or Stellantis and increases to pension benefits for workers hired before 2007 cost GM more than its rivals.