Canadian-based taq Automotive Intelligence has teamed up with VinFast to support a digital retailing offering for customers of the electric vehicle manufacturer.

The partnership was announced on July 4; under the agreement taq Automotive Intelligence will provide an “intelligence-based, white-labeled” digital retailing solution for VinFast to help its consumers easily move from vehicle ordering to financing and delivery in a digital environment.

“We are excited to solidify this partnership with VinFast,” said Alan Bird, Chairman and CEO of taq Automotive Intelligence, in a statement. He adds that “Our business philosophy and early adaption to a digital automotive marketplace aligns well with VinFast’s direct-to-consumer model. We firmly believe that by continuously modernizing the customer buying journey, we will push the industry in the right direction.”

The company plans to leverage the credit portal from its digital retailing solution so VinFast’s customers can have more autonomy to configure finance payments, submit credit applications and stipulated documents, and digitally sign contracts. It will also provide access to a dedicated concierge team to guide and support VinFast’s customers through the credit application and financing process.

“(Our) strategy is rooted in merging the power of convenience, autonomy, and a connected experience,” said taq Automotive Intelligence President John Currado in a statement. “As such, we are well positioned to extend to our partners the ability to govern their own customer’s buying journey. In VinFast, we have found a partner who, like us, is driven to deliver on that holistic experience.”

The post taq Automotive Intelligence teams up with VinFast appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

Ottawa’s largest automotive group is about to get bigger. The company is closing in on a 16th dealership that will formally be announced next week. Ground-breaking on its first Subaru dealership has already begun, and is scheduled to open in the spring of 2024.

“Since COVID started, we bought out an Infiniti dealership and moved it into one location we already had, and we opened a new Volkswagen dealership next door to where the Subaru is going,” said Myers’ CEO Cyril Leeder in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.

“We’re pretty focused on the Ottawa market and expanding here. We’re always looking for opportunities in Ottawa, both open point and existing dealerships,” he added, noting that this will be only the third Subaru dealership in Canada’s capital city.

“We like their cars, we think they really suit the Ottawa winter,” said Leeder. “The manufacturer gets high praise from dealers. They are top-of-the dealer rankings every year.”

They are also a sister company to Toyota, he said, which they already have a relationship with. “We get along famously with the folks at Toyota, so good product, right brand for it. Subaru has made a commitment to only have 100 dealers in Canada and this is number 96. We’re getting in just under the wire.”

The Subaru dealership will be in Barrhaven, which is 17 kilometres southwest of the city’s downtown core. Myers currently has three dealerships in Barrhaven, but plans to move a Nissan dealership there — so it will be five in the end, once the Subaru dealership is built.

Barrhaven has a connection to brothers Harry and Rob Mews, the third-generation owners of the dealership group who grew up in the area. They bought 25 acres of land a few years ago, when it was just a farmer’s field, and developed it into an auto park.

“They knew the area well and had the vision to think that one day it will be a great spot for dealerships,” said Leeder.

There are six automotive centres on the land, including Toyota, Hyundai and Volkswagen dealerships that Myers owns, and a Carstar Collision Centre that the company owns. There are separate owners for Ford and Honda.

“The brothers are really community-driven, and we give back a lot to the community,” said Leeder. “They could probably be a bigger group if they expanded outside of Ottawa, but their plan was to keep it local and family-focused here.”

The post Myers Automotive Group set to expand number of stores appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

Qualcomm, which creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology, is poised to dominate electric vehicles before Apple has the chance to do so, according to WIRED. The company’s Digital Chassis is an internet-connected automotive technology platform “that combines safety and connectivity systems, entertainment, customization, and upgradability all into one product.” Many OEMs are on board, including General Motors, Jeep, and Mercedes-Benz, Sony Honda Mobility, Cadillac, and Stellantis. BMW, Hyundai Motor Group, Nio, and Volvo all support the idea. (Source: WIRED) Read the original article…

The post Qualcomm may have the one system to rule them all appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

Ford recently changed some of the rules of its EV sales program for dealers. “The automaker removed some requirements for the lowest dealer tier, including ditching the 25-EV per year cap and loosening the requirement to operate a public charger 24/7,” said Autoblog. Many dealers left the Model E program, but Autoblog said Ford is “still satisfied with enrollment and said it would open another round of signups for the program starting in 2027.” (Source: Autoblog) Read the original story…

The post Ford changes rules to Model E program appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

Retail company 7-Eleven announced plans for an electric vehicle charging network called 7Charge, with the goal of making it one of the largest in North America. “The plan includes DC fast-charging stations at 7-Eleven locations in the U.S. and, eventually, Canada, with access via a proprietary app,” said Green Car Reports. It also noted that 7-Eleven’s EV charging network is already available at some of its stores in Florida, California, Colorado, and Texas. (Source: Green Car Reports) Read the original story…

The post 7-Eleven wants largest charging network in North America appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

More than 40 automotive brands slashed vehicle prices ahead of a change in emissions rules in China. “Government plans for a stricter auto emissions standard effective July 1 has added pressure to automakers and dealers to clear inventories of vehicles that do not meet the standard, Fitch Ratings analysts said in a client note on Thursday,” said Autoblog. SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co is offering $537 million in cash subsidies for car purchases in the East Asian country. (Source: Autoblog) Read the original story…

The post OEMs slash prices ahead of China’s new emissions rules appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

Masahiro Moro, Mazda’s director and senior managing executive officer, will be the company’s next president and CEO if shareholders and the board approve the move in June, according to CNBC. “The leadership shake-up comes as the company, which is owned 5.1 per cent by automotive giant Toyota, said in November it would ramp up spending to electrify its vehicles and is considering investing in battery production.” Moro would take over from current Mazda President and CEO Akira Marumoto. (Source: CNBC) Read the original story…

The post Masahiro Moro will be Mazda’s next CEO appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

At around 2:00 AM local time on February 28, thieves managed to steal six Dodge Challenger Hellcats from Don Franklin Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Somerset, Kentucky, USA in under a minute. A recently released video from inside the showroom captured the crooks in action and revealed how quickly they got away with the muscle cars. Four of the Hellcats were in the showroom. The other two were in the car park outside. The camera’s perspective only showed the theft of three of the vehicles in the building. What made the cars so easy to steal from the dealer was that the keys were in the vehicles’ ignition, according to WKYT News. Plus, the thieves found the keys for the two Hellcats outside in the building. Read original article here.

The post Six Dodge Challenger Hellcats stolen from dealership in under one minute appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

The European Union was about to finally sign its 2035 ban on new internal combustion vehicles last week, but the vote has been delayed due to objections from some countries, mainly Germany. Indeed, the vote was reported over fears that Germany would abstain, which it would have done automatically if its coalition government wasn’t in agreement. This internal disagreement comes from the nature of the ban, which doesn’t leave room for alternative power sources to electric vehicles, such as carbon-neutral synthetic fuels. This is the same reason why France and Italy, the other two major car-producing countries in the European Union, are also voicing concerns over the ban. By completely banning internal combustion engines, this legislation would prevent automakers from developing new technologies and force them to put all of their eggs in the same basket. Read original article here.

The post European Union ICE vehicle ban vote delayed appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

Over the years, Ford’s pony car has gained performance and sophistication, sometimes at the expense of old-school character. Now, the new 2024 Ford Mustang is getting further from its roots by losing its AM radio receiver as controversy over the technology’s future in new cars escalates. The AM radio’s discontinuation was discovered in an order guide for the new Mustang that circulated on the Mustang7G forum. A Ford spokesperson confirmed the feature’s deletion to The Drive, citing that “countries and automakers globally are modernizing radio by offering internet streaming through mobile apps, FM, or digital.” This makes the Mustang the second Ford product after the 2023 F-150 Lightning to drop the function.  Read original article here.

The post Ford Mustang drops AM radio appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

A few months after it began building the fuel cells for the BMW iX5, the automaker has officially launched the first batch of hydrogen-fueled sport utilities. BMW is just one of a handful, along with Toyota and Hyundai, to have developed passenger cars powered by hydrogen amid a significant turn toward EVs in the past year. The BMW iX5 couples fuel cells made by Toyota with what is essentially an EV drivetrain borrowed from the BMW iX, along with a small 2.0-kWh lithium-ion battery. The result is an output of 395 hp, with the 16 pounds of hydrogen aboard giving the sport utility a range of 310 miles in the WLTP cycle. The automaker doesn’t intend to sell or lease any of these vehicles. Instead, like many others before them including the 7-Series hydrogen cars, the iX5 will be part of an eventual fleet of fewer than 100 units that will be used for demonstration purposes. Read original article here.

The post BMW building hydrogen-powered demo fleet of iX5s appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

In a post targeting Tesla CEO Elon Musk in January 2023, Twitter user Prerak posted photos and details of a “horrific” experience with his brand-new Tesla Model Y all-electric SUV: The steering wheel reportedly came off while the vehicle was in motion. This would be at least the second incident in which a new Tesla’s wheel fell off since 2020, when the same happened to a Tesla Model 3 sedan. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation into the potential risk of the Model Y’s steering wheel falling off, which could impact more than 120,000 vehicles. The posted NHTSA report on the new investigation claims at least two Model Y vehicles were delivered to customers apparently missing a retaining bolt in the steering column, as was reported in the case of Prerak’s complaint back in January. Read original article here.

The post Eek, another Tesla steering wheel falls off while driving appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.