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Forvia says its flexible, automated door panel manufacturing lines at plants in Michigan and Tennessee give the French supplier a giant leg up on its competition.

As dealer profits fallfrom pandemic highs, a growing number of retailers are considering a controversial tactic to help offset one of their top monthly costs: surcharges on credit card transactions in the service lane.

Stellantis NV has filed another lawsuit against a parts supplier over a pricing dispute, this time targeting the manufacturer of fuel tanks for the Chrysler Pacifica minivan.

The automaker sued Quebec-based Spectra Premium Mobility Solutions Ltd. earlier this month after the supplier threatened to stop shipping fuel tanks for the plug-in hybrid minivan, which would shut down production at Windsor Assembly Plant, according to the lawsuit filed in Oakland County Circuit Court.

Stellantis said its supplier demanded a 12.5% price increase retroactive to Jan. 1 or it would withhold parts. The automaker was set to run out of fuel tanks late last week, which would bring the line to a halt. An Oakland County judge denied the automaker’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have forced the supplier to keep shipping parts at contract price.

It is unclear to what extent, if any, production has been impacted at the plant, which produces 350 minivans per week and is aiming to scale up to 750 per week in the second half of the year, per the lawsuit. read more

AutoNation said this impact would be split about evenly between lost income and guaranteeing commissioned employees’ pay.

Anderson Economic Group estimated auto dealerships lost 56,200 new-vehicle sales and more than $1 billion between June 19 and July 15 because of the CDK Global cyberattacks and subsequent software outages.