Sales of full-size SUVs and pickups — and a decreased appetite for small cars — pushed the average U.S. new vehicle transaction price to $49,275 in March. +

Factories sharing new vehicle sales reports with the Automotive News Data Center suffered a roughly 5% drop in total volume in the first quarter, driven in large part by a double-digit decline in March. +

Daniel Pellegrini says his new auto sales platform, AI2Mob, leverages AI to help dealers spend less on ads by monetizing the trust they have built in their communities. +

Sony Honda Mobility has canceled two EVs that were set to be built in the U.S. and sold directly to consumers — a plan opposed by Honda dealers and trade groups — citing declining EV demand. +

A new framework for TrueCar’s dealer program was built to promote pricing transparency, accountability, accuracy and fair competition while protecting front-end gross. +

Lotlinx dealers can now use COOPABLE to apply manufacturer co-op funds to their inventory management solutions without the need for manual approvals or submissions. +

Kelley Blue Book’s Erin Keating sees rising ATPs as “more like normalization than a new pricing problem” as MSRPs — and incentive spending — ticked upward in February. +

Back at the helm of TrueCar after a 10-year absence, Scott Painter says he is leading the company in a new direction and challenges dealers to consider the car buying process from Captain Kirk’s perspective. +

Analysts say fewer than half of U.S. dealers are optimistic about the auto retail market in Cox Automotive’s latest Dealer Sentiment Index report, but expectations for the spring are notably higher. +

Volvo dealers sold 41.7% fewer new units on a year-over-year basis last month, contributing to a nearly 4% overall decline offset by increased sales for Hyundai, Toyota and Honda. +