Auction Prices Rise…Again

Auction prices rise…again

"Fueled in part by tariffs," is how Black Book summarized April since its latest installment of Market Insights, which covered the week that included the last day of the month. As the calendar flipped, analysts watched wholesale prices rise another 0.24% as last week's auction conversion rate came in at 61%. “The market continued to see week-over-week increases in wholesale values, although the pace of these gains slowed last week,” Black Book said in the report released on Tuesday. “Despite the moderation compared to the prior two weeks, the scale of these gains remains atypical, as seasonal trends would generally reflect week-over-week declines during this period."

Source: Auto Remarketing

U.S. auto industry - trade deal with Canada & Mexico to be priority

President Donald Trump's trade agreement with the United Kingdom, reached earlier in the week, has set off alarm bells in the U.S. auto industry. The U.S. carmakers worry that other automakers that import from Europe and Asia will be next to get a deal while General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis wait on the sidelines for a new free trade agreement to replace the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was negotiated during Trump's first term. Trump has said USMCA must be renegotiated. But he has seemingly put the United Kingdom ahead of that task, likely because it was the easier deal to get done, experts said. That made U.S. automakers jittery as they watch others get trade advantages first.

Source: Detroit Free Press

Really fast sedans

Source: CAR and DRIVER

Ferrari is making an electric car

Reports out of Maranello say it will hit the streets in October 2026.

The car they once said would never come is coming: an electric Ferrari. Ferrari is still tight-lipped about its first all-electric BEV, a step beyond the hybrid drivetrains in the SF90 and 296, but we can expect to see the powertrain, what Ferrari called the—“technological heart”—of its first fully electric car, on October 9 as the first part of a three-stage unveiling process culminating with its world premiere in the spring of next year. “Deliveries... will commence just months after that, in October 2026,” Benedetto Vigna, Ferrari CEO, told analysts in a post-earnings call, as reported by Reuters this week. Hybrid development will also continue. “We continue to enrich our product offering—in line with our plans—with six new models this year, which include the newly launched 296 Speciale, 296 Speciale A, and the much-anticipated Ferrari Elettrica through a unique and innovative unveiling,” Vigna said. “We are very excited about what lies ahead.”

While no photos, drawings or sketches have been released by Maranello, our friends at Car and Driver had this rendering put together by the professionals at Avarvarii Automotive Artworks, a firm that specializes in such things.

While Ferrari's first fully electric car breaks tradition of the world's greatest V12s, V8s, and now V6s, it's an inevitability. Ferrari has said it will keep building V12s and other internal-combustion engines as long as it's allowed to, but it must also yield to the future. And what will that future look like? “It will be something completely different. But we've been developing skills on components for EVs for more than a decade,” chief marketing and commercial officer Enrico Galliera said. Indeed, Ferrari opened a new production facility in Maranello last June specifically to include production of electric vehicles. Called the e-building, the factory will produce internal combustion-engined cars, hybrids, and Ferrari's first electric model. It is “a plant that combines the centrality of the people in the workplace with respect for the environment,” said Ferrari President John Elkann. “Investing in our territory is essential to prepare ourselves for Ferrari's future with confidence.” The fact that it will house the production and development of internal-combustion engines, hybrid engines, and electric motors, “each capable of delivering Ferrari's signature driving excitement,” and that production can be adjusted to fit whatever drivetrain is selling the best, should reassure the tifosi that roaring V12s are not going away anytime soon. Vigna reaffirmed this month Ferrari would continue to make gas and hybrid cars, as well as EVs, Reuters said. He added the company would launch a total of six new models this year, including the fully electric one.

The other new models are special versions of the plug-in hybrid Ferrari 296 GTB and 296 GTS: the 296 Speciale and 296 Speciale A. They were unveiled last week. “These new models are based on the current berlinetta in our range, the 296 GTB and 296 GTS, and they mark further progress in both performance and features, embodying solutions derived from our racing cars: the 499P, the 296 GT3, the 296 Challenge and the Formula 1 single-seater. Prototypes of what may be the Elettrica have been seen, and heard, in Maranello, suggesting Ferrari my add some form of “engine” sound.

Source: Autoweek

Classic auto parts companies file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Wheel Pros, which operates as auto parts distributor and retailer Hoonigan, filed for a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 9, 2024, to eliminate $1.2 billion in debt and provide about $570 million in new capital through an exit facility.

Accuride Corp., another leading manufacturer of wheels and wheel-end products for commercial trucks and trailers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 9, 2024, seeking a consensual restructuring of its debt to continue operating as a going concern.

Motor vehicle parts manufacturer Hypertech Inc. and two affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 11, 2025, to reorganize their businesses. The Memphis, Tenn.-based manufacturer of automotive performance electronics and components filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, listing $1 million to $10 million in assets and liabilities.

The Shingle Springs, Calif.-based auto parts dealer filed its Subchapter V petition on May 10 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California, listing $100,000 to $500,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities. The debtor's largest creditors include the U.S. Small Business Administration, owed about $2 million; Web Bank, owed about $103,000; and U.S. Bank NA, owed about $58,000. Funds will be available to distribute to unsecured creditors after paying administrative fees, according to the petition.

Finally, Techno Toy Tuning LLC, a provider of auto parts for classic and discontinued automobile models, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking to reorganize its business. Techno Toy Tuning, which has operated for over 25 years, produces high-quality, durable, and aesthetically pleasing performance auto parts that are rigorously tested and have been successfully used in various motorsports, including Sports Car Club of America, National Auto Sport Association, and Formula Drift, according to its website. The auto parts dealer provides parts for classic and discontinued vehicles such as the Datsun/Nissan 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z; Toyota Celica and Supra; Lotus Elise and Exige; Chevrolet C5 Corvette; Ford Capri; Mazda RX2, RX3, RX4, and RX5; and various other models. The company can sometimes modify an existing auto parts design to meet a customer's needs if the part is no longer in production, according to its website. The company distributes products through dealers in California and Texas, and ships auto parts worldwide using FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service, through its website, Technotoytuning.com.

Source: The Street

Honda, Nissan expect to be hit hard by U.S. tariffs

Two major Japanese automakers have warned that earnings will be hit hard by U.S. tariffs, underlining the risk of an industrywide downturn that could stunt Japan's economic recovery. Honda and Nissan Motor both expect multibillion-dollar blows from the tariffs on foreign-made cars imposed by the Trump administration in April, they said Tuesday as they reported earnings and gave dim guidance for the year ahead. Honda expects its net profit to drop 70%-to-250-billion-yen, equivalent to $1.68 billion, for the year ending March 2026. Nissan refrained from offering annual profit projections due to tariff uncertainty but guided for a ¥200 billion operating loss for the April-June quarter. Speaking at a news conference, Honda Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe said the company has already started looking at ways to boost production capacity in the U.S. in case tariffs remain in place for a long time.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

GM suspends hydrogen fuel cell plant project in Michigan

A major investment in hydrogen fuel cell production by GM has been put on hold, according to a report in Crain's Detroit Business. According to a source familiar with the matter, work has been paused on a $55 million joint project with supplier Piston Automotive to make hydrogen fuel cells at a Detroit facility.

The original plan was for Piston Automotive to lease and operate a 292,500-square-foot facility on the old State Fairgrounds site and create 144 jobs making hydrogen fuel cells. GM currently makes hydrogen fuel cells at a Brownstown, Michigan facility alongside other automotive components in a joint venture with Honda, but this would have been GM's first standalone fuel cell factory.

Piston Automotive declined to comment when reached by Crain's Detroit Business, and GM spokesman Kevin Kelly simply said that the project had not been canceled. The reported pause on the project comes at a time of uncertainty around the future of alternative fuel vehicles, given slower-than-expected EV demand and a White House that's cutting back on incentivizing such vehicles.

This project was first announced in September 2024 with ambitions to create up to 300 jobs as production scales at the potential hydrogen fuel cell plant. “It's great to have a new technology in the city we're from,” GM chief economic development and real estate officer David Massaron told Crain's Detroit Business at the time of the announcement. “To us, it's a really exciting investment not only to the future of our company but also an investment in the city, and we're really proud of it.”

Should it resume, the new hydrogen fuel cell facility's strategic location will place it near key logistics hubs, including a massive 3.8-million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center and a Target “sortation” warehouse. Piston Automotive has a history with GM. The former was previously contracted to operate a “value-added assembly” plant at the former Palace of Auburn Hills site following a major $278 million investment. The investment is expected to create 960 new jobs.

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