Automotive News - May 6, 2019 - Retail - 1

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MAY 6, 2019

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marketing
misunDerstandings
SPECIAL SECTION

In the autonomous, electrified era, marketers must make sure
consumers understand what they're getting I PAGES 23-34 I

There's no
slowdown
in plant
investment

BUYERS KEEP ON

TRUCKIN'

In weakening market,
carmakers think ahead

New models, need for profits
fuel near-record pickup sales

Vince Bond Jr. and Lindsay Chappell
vbond@crain.com

Michael Wayland
mwayland@crain.com

see PICKUPS,
Page 50

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS ILLUSTRATION

ETROIT - Has the U.S. reached peak pickup?
It's a question on the minds of industry executives
and dealers as sales plateau and automakers - specifically the Detroit 3 - expand or update their pickup offerings to keep hauling in big profits. One Wall Street analyst raised the issue during recent earnings calls with General
Motors and Ford Motor Co., which get a significant portion of
their income from pickups.
"GM and other OEMs are feasting on strong demand for
trucks and SUVs," Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas said in a note
to investors last week projecting that GM's profits would
decline in the next three years by roughly a third.
"We don't think this
will last."
see PICKUPS, Page 50

If the U.S. auto industry is so worried
about a slowdown, why are so many decision-makers suddenly writing checks to invest in assembly plants?
Automakers are thinking beyond the
weakening market of 2019 to more robust
times ahead.
Last week found General Motors in dis

cussions with Missouri officials about its
plan for a billion-dollar project at its midsize pickup and commercial van plant in
Wentzville, near St. Louis. Late last month,
GM said it would expand production at its
plant in Bowling Green, Ky., by adding a
second shift.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in February an

nounced it will invest $4.5 billion in southeast Michigan to modernize several plants
and usher in the next phase of Jeep products.
The City of Detroit said last week it assembled around 215 acres needed for a key piece
of the project: the conversion of the Mack
Avenue Engine Complex into a hub for the
next-generation Grand Cherokee and a
three-row Jeep that potentially could slot below the upcoming Grand Wagoneer.
Toyota Motor North America last week

said it will spend $1.1 billion to move its
see INVESTMENT, Page 50

Zotye seeks 120 more U.S. dealers by late 2020
Parent ready to bring on another Chinese brand

Melissa Burden
mburden@crain.com

NEWSPAPER

ETROIT - Zotye USA is looking to
add 120 dealers - some taking
multiple points or entire markets
- by late 2020 while its holding
company prepares to bring other Chinese
manufacturers' vehicles to the U.S.

Duke Hale, CEO of HAAH Automotive
Holdings in Lake Forest, Calif., told Automotive News to "stay tuned" for an announcement soon on HAAH adding another brand. He declined to elaborate.
Last fall, Zotye USA was created when
HAAH signed a distributorship agreement
with Chinese automaker Zotye Automo-

bile International Co. Hale started HAAH
with partners in 2014 with the plan of handling multiple brands.
"HAAH Automotive Holdings is a holding company really designed to handle
shared services, so IT, legal, finance, HR,
parts distribution, those kind of things are
housed in HAAH Holdings. That was
see ZOTYE, Page 51

DEALERS CAN

SELL CARS WITH

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Duke Hale, CEO
of HAAH
Automotive
Holdings,
said Zotye will be
"the brand that
probably a lot of
brands hate
- and that's OK."
JENNIFER VUONG

http://www.autonews.com http://www.CarSaverDealers.com

Automotive News - May 6, 2019 - Retail

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