Toyota's recent leadership change sees CFO Kenta Khan stepping up as CEO, marking a significant shift in the company's strategy towards profitability from services. Stellantis faces a $26 billion write-down as it exits the battery business, pivoting towards energy storage solutions. Cox Automotive's Steve Rowley discusses the transformative role of AI in dealerships, emphasizing the urgency for dealers to integrate AI into their operations to enhance customer engagement and operational efficiency. The episode highlights the evolving dynamics in the automotive industry amidst economic challenges.
Cox Automotive President Steve Rowley joins Daily Drive from the NADA Show 2026 to talk about how the AI revolution is transforming dealerships. Toyota CFO Kenta Kon will become CEO effective April 1, just three years after the last major leadership change. Plus, LG Energy Solution buys out Stellantis’ stake in NextStar.
"...Stellantis shares dropped as much as 22% in Milan, wiping out about 5 billion euros in market value. Filosa will present a new strategic plan in May."
Stellantis is a big car company that makes many different brands of cars. It was created when two companies joined together.
Stellantis is a multinational automotive manufacturer formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group. It produces a wide range of vehicles under various brands, including Jeep, Dodge, and Peugeot.
"...An LG energy solution is buying Stellantis's 49% stake in next-star energy. That move ends their joint venture and gives the South Korean battery maker full control of the Windsor, Ontario plant."
LG Energy Solution is a company that makes batteries, especially for electric cars. They work with car companies to provide the power needed for these vehicles.
LG Energy Solution is a South Korean company specializing in battery manufacturing, particularly for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems. They are known for their advancements in battery technology and partnerships with automotive manufacturers.
"...Stellantis will stay on as a long-term customer, continuing to source batteries for its EVs. The buyout lets LG energy solution pivot the facility toward energy storage systems and pursue new automotive clients."
An electric vehicle, or EV, is a car that runs on electricity instead of gasoline. This makes them better for the environment because they produce less pollution.
An electric vehicle (EV) is a type of vehicle that is powered entirely or partially by electricity, using electric motors instead of traditional internal combustion engines. EVs are known for being more environmentally friendly and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
"...there is more customers for Nexstar and above and beyond just electric vehicle batteries because they were already doing energy storage systems..."
Electric vehicle batteries are special batteries that store electricity to power electric cars. They are different from regular car batteries.
Electric vehicle batteries are rechargeable batteries specifically designed to power electric vehicles. They store electrical energy and are crucial for the operation of electric cars.
"...Stellantis earlier this year said they were going to kill all of their plug-in electric hybrid vehicles..."
Plug-in electric hybrid vehicles are cars that can use both electricity and gas. You can charge them up and drive them on electricity for a while before they switch to using gas.
Plug-in electric hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are cars that can run on both electricity and gasoline. They have a rechargeable battery that can be charged from an external power source, allowing for electric-only driving for a certain distance before switching to gasoline.
"... know they've brought back the V8 engine for the charger that has been installed on the line now at Windso..."
The Dodge Charger is a big car that looks sporty and can go really fast. It's famous for having a strong engine that makes it fun to drive, especially for people who like powerful cars. Recently, they've brought back a special engine that many fans love.
The Dodge Charger is a full-size sedan known for its powerful performance and muscular design. Recently, it has gained attention for reintroducing the V8 engine, appealing to enthusiasts who appreciate traditional American muscle cars. Its combination of performance, style, and practicality makes it a popular topic among automotive discussions.
"...they've brought back the V8 engine for the Charger that has been installed on the line now at Windsor assembly plant..."
A V8 engine is a type of car engine that has eight cylinders. It is known for being powerful and is often used in fast cars.
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder engine configuration where the cylinders are arranged in a V shape. This design allows for more power and torque, making V8 engines popular in performance and muscle cars.
"So, we'll see what happens. I do think there's going to be vehicles and opportunities for the OEMs to really do some special things. It wasn't just a few NADAs ago..."
OEMs are the companies that make cars, like Ford or Toyota. They create the original parts that go into the vehicles.
OEMs stands for Original Equipment Manufacturers, which are companies that produce parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. In the automotive context, it refers to car manufacturers themselves, like Ford or Toyota.
"It wasn't just a few NADAs ago that EVs were the big talk. Right. And now they've, you know, EVs not to, but used EVs are going to be a thing."
EVs are cars that run on electricity instead of gasoline. They are becoming more common because they are better for the environment.
EVs stands for Electric Vehicles, which are vehicles powered entirely or partially by electricity. They are becoming increasingly popular due to their environmental benefits and advancements in battery technology.
"I think there's still great vehicles, but there's going to be concerns about battery life, things like that."
Battery life is how long a battery can work before it needs to be charged again. For electric cars, this is important because it affects how far you can drive.
Battery life refers to the duration a battery can hold a charge and power a device or vehicle before needing to be recharged. In electric vehicles, battery life is crucial for performance and range.
"So, look, you know, we're going to have about 75 percent of all the EV inventory coming out of Mannheim. It's a big focus of ours."
Mannheim is a company that helps sell used cars, including electric ones. They have a big role in the market for these vehicles.
Mannheim is a company known for vehicle auctions and remarketing services, particularly in the used car market. They play a significant role in the automotive industry by facilitating the sale of used vehicles, including electric vehicles.
"I mean, you have to have lifts. You've got to have functionality. You've got to have chargers to be able to have those."
Chargers are what you use to refill the battery in electric cars. Just like you plug in your phone, you plug in an electric car to charge it.
Chargers are devices used to recharge the batteries of electric vehicles. They come in various types, including home chargers and public charging stations, and are essential for the operation of EVs.
"...some of it is getting education. We have a battery health monitor to let them understand what that battery health is for that car..."
A battery health monitor checks how good the battery in an electric car is. It tells you if the battery is working well or if it might need to be replaced soon.
A battery health monitor is a tool that assesses the condition of an electric vehicle's battery, providing information on its capacity, efficiency, and overall health. This helps owners understand how well their battery is performing and when it may need replacement.
"...most people will have an EV in the house in an ice and a car. And so, you know, most of them are charging to 300 plus miles..."
Charging is how you fill up the battery in an electric car with electricity. You can do this at home or at special stations, and it can take different amounts of time depending on the charger.
Charging refers to the process of replenishing an electric vehicle's battery with electricity. This can be done at home or at public charging stations, and the speed of charging can vary based on the charger type and the vehicle's battery capacity.
"...charging to 300 plus miles. If you think the average driver, I think their commute is about 37 miles round trip..."
Miles in this context means how far an electric car can go on one charge of its battery. Different cars can go different distances before needing to be charged again.
In the context of electric vehicles, 'miles' typically refers to the distance an EV can travel on a single charge. This range can vary significantly based on the vehicle model, battery size, and driving conditions.
"...I want to talk about EV battery services, something that Bacox has involved with..."
EV battery services are the help and maintenance that electric vehicle batteries need. This includes checking how well they work and fixing any problems.
EV battery services refer to the various support and maintenance services provided for electric vehicle batteries, including diagnostics, repairs, and lifecycle management. These services are crucial for ensuring the longevity and performance of EV batteries.
"...we do everything soup to nuts as it relates to life cycle management of the EV space..."
Life cycle management is about taking care of a car from the time it's made until it's no longer used. This includes fixing it, keeping it running well, and recycling parts when it's done.
Life cycle management in the automotive context refers to the process of managing a vehicle's entire life span, from production to disposal. This includes maintenance, repairs, and recycling of parts, especially important for electric vehicles.
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Welcome to Daily Drive! For Friday, February 6, 2026, I'm Kellan Walker in Las Vegas. Today on
the show, Toyota names a new CEO. Stellantis takes a $26 billion hit in write downs and
Stellantis gets out of the battery business. Plus, Cox Automotive president Steve Rowley
joins us from the NADA show here in Las Vegas to talk about the AI revolution transforming
dealerships. Just the importance of making sure that you get AI in your operations today.
Doesn't matter what level, just starting to work at it. Let's run through all the news you need to
know to keep up in the auto industry. Toyota is naming a new CEO. Just three years after its
last major leadership transition. The company announced today that CFO, Kenta Khan, will become
CEO, effective April 1. Current CEO, Koji Sato, who took over in 2023, is moving to vice chairman.
Toyota says the shuffle lets Sato focus on broader industry issues.
He recently became chairman of Japan's Auto Manufacturers Association and serves as vice
chairman of Kedonrin, the country's most powerful business group. But the move marks a dramatic
shift, putting a finance executive behind the wheel for the first time since Akiyo Toyota
became CEO in 2009. Khan helped develop Toyota's strategy of generating profit
from services and add-ons to its 150 million vehicles on the road, moving beyond just relying
on new car sales. Stalantis is taking a $26 billion hit in write downs. That's as it scales back
electric vehicle plans and resets its business strategy. The charges reflect what CEO Antonio
Filosa calls, quote, the cost of overestimating the pace of the energy transition. The automaker
now expects a preliminary loss of up to 21 billion euros for the second half of last year
and won't pay a dividend this year. Stalantis shares dropped as much as 22% in Milan,
wiping out about 5 billion euros in market value. Filosa will present a new strategic plan in May.
An LG energy solution is buying Stalantis's 49% stake in next-star energy. That move ends
their joint venture and gives the South Korean battery maker full control of the Windsor,
Ontario plant. Stalantis will stay on as a long-term customer, continuing to source batteries for its
EVs. The buyout lets LG energy solution pivot the facility toward energy storage systems and pursue
new automotive clients. It's part of a broader strategy to balance production between EV batteries
and grid-scale storage. The deal requires regulatory approval. Financial terms weren't
disclosed. Joining me now to talk more about it is Greg Lason, the digital and mobile editor for
Automotive News Canada and host of the Automotive News Canada podcast. Greg, welcome back to Daily
Drive. Good to be back. All right, Greg, walk us through what this means for the Windsor plan
and for battery production in Canada. Well, the battery plant in Windsor was already slowly
pivoting away from a focus on electric vehicle batteries because demand has dried up. There was
no need for them. And so they started making energy storage system batteries for a broader
market. So things like AI and Bitcoin and all these places that need additional energy sources
and additional energy storage. So they were already moving down this path. And now what it means
is two things. They can continue to do that, but they can also continue to make electric vehicle
batteries but sell them to more automakers than just Stellantis. That was revealed hours after
the news is that, you know, Stellantis Canada's president Trevor Longley said it allows them
to sell batteries to whoever they want. So it means there is more customers for Nexstar and above
and beyond just electric vehicle batteries because they were already doing energy storage systems.
This effectively gets Stellantis out of the battery manufacturing business.
What does that tell us about the automakers broader EV strategy,
especially given those massive write downs they just announced?
Yeah, this just seems like another domino in a long line that has been falling for a while. Now
we know that Stellantis earlier this year said they were going to kill all of their plug-in
electric hybrid vehicles. So no more offerings in that segment. Now they're selling off their stake
in Nexstar and I should mention for $100 that's it, $100 nominal fee to get right out of batteries.
And I have talked to people in the know at the Windsor assembly plant who have seen product
plans and have told me that there are no electric vehicle offerings coming down the pipeline
anytime soon. I've heard as far out as 2029 model year as the earliest you might see an electric
vehicle at Stellantis. Now that's just coming from a couple people at one plant,
but it gives you a sense of what's going on. We know they've brought back the V8 engine for
the charger that has been installed on the line now at Windsor assembly plant. So Stellantis is
clearly cashing in on Donald Trump's rollback of fuel efficiency and emissions targets and looking
at bigger, stronger, faster internal combustion engines for some of those niche products.
All right, Greg Laysen, thank you so much for joining me.
Anytime.
Coming up next, Cox Automotive President Steve Rowley talks about how AI is transforming dealerships
and why dealers need to start implementing it now. That's next on Daily Drive.
If you're an automotive supplier and you know your team is building the next big thing,
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Welcome back to Daily Drive. I'm Kellan Walker.
Artificial Intelligence has been one of the biggest topics here at the NADA show in Las Vegas this
week. Dealers are figuring out how to integrate AI into their operations from customer service to
inventory management. Cox Automotive president Steve Raleigh sat down with automotive news
senior retail editor Dan Shine on the NADA show floor to talk about the AI revolution,
affordability challenges and what's ahead for the used EV market.
Steve, great to have you on Daily Drive. Thanks for joining us.
Well, thank you, Dan. It's a pleasure to be here. Great place to be.
Yeah, right. This is a great buzz on the first day of NADA. You come from Telecom back in the day.
Talk to me about how you can compare this AI kind of revolution that auto is seen right now
a few days of Telecom when it was like a sprint. It was like this kind of that craziness of encounter.
It's great. Telecom is always one of those hockey sticks. Everyone gets
collate around something new technology that's coming about. I've never seen something like
this though. AI seems to be really taking a life of its own and really capturing units.
The important thing here is to really make sure you understand it and you look at your systems
and your operations and determine how can this be a part of my life. That's what's so important
to do it early. Yeah, you can't have a choice to do it or not to do it. You really have to
get on this bandwagon. Yeah, so I just spent a dinner interview with one of the 20-year veterans
of AWS and one of the things I asked them was just that. How do you view this? You have to start
now. And for me, artificial intelligence is so unique. And so you have to have an enterprise
view on it. And you've got to make sure that it becomes a centerpiece of what you're doing.
Because now you have artificial intelligence. You have a genic AI, which are these agents that
were 24-7. And you've got to figure out how do I integrate this into my operation? How do I think
about the front line? How do I measure and make sure I have a strategy that balances to our needs?
And then most of all, unfortunately, that I spent so much time, you've got to make sure that
cybersecurity and security of your networks and your efforts are tightened and tied down
in a very, very smart way. Yeah, for sure. Talk about your time over automotive and then
the changing market dynamics that you're seeing encountered back then and how things are really
changing today. Yeah, well, look, I think today's a great place to have this conversation. I feel
like there's an electricity here that I didn't see last year with the dealers. So you're seeing
the dealers very excited. Everyone's looking for ways to say, how do I put customer centristy at
the center of everything that I do and create outcomes that match those? So it is going to be
about technology. People are looking for integrated products, integrated fashions, so that the way I
treat the customer and the outcomes that I get really are driving efficiency, profitability,
and trust with the consumer. Do you think part of that is driven by maybe the things were maybe
easy for the last few years coming out of the pandemic and maybe didn't have to work as hard
or you were still making money? And no, I think there's concern. Probably a new vehicle sales
is going to be going down. There's going to be more stress on the service and parts. Do you think
maybe dealers are here and energized because they think that they really have to strap it on and
where they go? Yeah, look, when things are going well, people think things are easy. And I don't
care what it is. A guy building your house, it goes, it's easy. But what I will tell you here is
the dealers are just so resilient, in my opinion. This industry is so resilient. And so when I look
at the things that are going on and how they're getting things done, there's a lot of hard work
going in place. And I think that there's been some headwinds, right? So you look at the economy,
you look at tariffs, you look at interest rates, you look at affordability. Those are things that
you had to overcome. And I think the dealers have really done the right things to say, how do we do
this in a fashion that they can deliver customer service excellence and meet my objectives?
Yeah. So I saw you earlier moderating a little discussion with Marianne Johnson from your group
and Dave Richardson from AWS. And they came over and kind of enough to spend time with us. Talk
about that relationship with AWS and kind of the excitement about agentic AI and where that is
going to take Cox Automotive. Well, look, I'm such a believer in technology and AWS, along with some
of the large language providers out there are an integral part of what you do. You have to be
working with them. When I first came in to Cox Automotive, one of the things I said was, look,
every part of our business has to be in the cloud. We've got to have things in the cloud. I said,
we have to have an enterprise thinking and think about integration from soup to nut so that you
can really talk about the things that you're doing and deliver on the outcomes and the expectations
you're speaking about. David just speaks to just the importance of making sure that you get AI
in your operations today. It doesn't matter what level, just starting to work at it. And then you
got to build a governance team and you got to put a governance across how you're thinking about that
and then get your infrastructure in place and then get your strategy in place. So,
in AWS is a partner that really helps us do that because they've got some great sophistication
on the tech side. So, AI is a big topic. Affordability is another big topic that you want to hear
about. What's your take on affordability and how that is going to impact the auto industry for
2026? Well, there's a lot there. Affordability has been something we've been talking about for
the last three years heavily. I think it's real. I think that it does a couple of things. It puts
pressure on the used car marketplace. I think you're going to see a very strong used car marketplace.
I think you'll see a strong remarketing of EDs because of that as well. But I think it requires
us to think differently and determine what do we need to be doing to make the consumer
make an easier path for them to purchase it. So, we're going to have to get creative, no doubt.
And we're seeing, as you said, we'll probably see the SAR at about 15.8 this year down from last
year of about 16.2. But there's still, it's still yet to be seen. I think there's about an 80-day
supply of inventory with the dealers. So, I think there's some excitement. You just saw Toyota come
off a record year. So, we'll see what happens. I do think there's going to be vehicles and
opportunities for the OEMs to really do some special things. It wasn't just a few NADAs ago
that EVs were the big talk. Right. And now they've, you know, EVs not to, but used EVs are going to
be a thing. Mannheim is, you know, on the forefront of that. Yep. I'm praising and using. So, talk
about how Cox will kind of get into that used EV space and how that you're going to kind of help
the consumer. I think there's still great vehicles, but there's going to be concerns about battery life,
things like that. Talk about how Mannheim is kind of getting into that used EV space.
So, look, you know, we're going to have about 75 percent of all the EV inventory coming out of
Mannheim. It's a big focus of ours. We build an infrastructure there. I mean, you have to have
lifts. You've got to have functionality. You've got to have chargers to be able to have those
facilities. And we've made those investments. I really think we're going to see some excitement
around the EVs in the used car marketplace. If you look at people that have an EV, 71 percent
of them want to buy another one. What's kept some people out is the price points. So, now you're
going to be able to see that used vehicle market. And I think you're going to see a really strong
clay come out from the EVs. They've been very, very good cars and they've been reliable. And so,
some of it is getting education. We have a battery health monitor to let them understand
what that battery health is for that car. I really think, you know, if you think about use of EVs,
most people will have an EV in the house in an ice and a car. And so, you know,
most of them are charging to 300 plus miles. If you think the average driver, I think their
commute is about 37 miles round trip. Yeah. So, or if it's someone that might be stayed home,
it doesn't drive as much. So, I do think EVs are going to do well. It's going to be exciting. We're
seeing, you know, off lease now go, you know, it used to be four million. It was two million last
year. It's going to be 2.4 million this year. And 200,000 of that incremental four million
are coming from EVs. So, you're going to see them come off lease as well. And so, it should be
pretty exciting to see quite frankly. Two more quick questions for you. I want to talk about
EV battery services, something that Bacox has involved with. Tell me a little bit about that
and what has evolved there. We've been managing some of the largest recalls in the automotive
industry. We do everything soup the nuts as it relates to life cycle management of the EV space.
We do everything from, you know, diagnostics to logistics to storage, every aspect of what we
do. We work with the dealers. We work with the manufacturers and we've got several locations
around the US to support that. We've really worn about 80% of the RFPs out there in this space.
So, we're a real thought leader in that space. And we believe still heavily in electrification.
Maybe different than the EV world that we did three years ago, but we do believe in electrified
world. And that's, you know, we're seeing that in the hybrid space. We're seeing that in other
vehicles. And we think that we're going to be able to parlay that into a really exciting business
for us. Finally, as always, very big presence here. I would say we came over here yesterday
before the show opened, 3.30 in the afternoon. The place was still torn up. The carpet wasn't
down anywhere. It was kind of a mess. But your whole team was over already on their computers.
And like you're already running through drills and all this kind of stuff. What's a successful
show? What is that? What are you hoping to leave your side? The show for us is making sure that
we have time to meet with our customers and give them reviews of all the new products we have.
AI we talk a lot about. So, you know, we have service to sales products where we've taken
our VIN product, which is our CRM, our V auto product, and our X time product. And we're able
to bring those into more of a service to sales environment where we can, as a car comes in,
we could send that to the used car manager and say, Hey, this car is paid off, coming off lease,
should look at them into a new car or something like that. So just getting all the dealers and
customers to see the new innovations that we have, talk about the exciting things that we have in
the future. So those are going to be the exciting things. We've got 150 stations. I think we have
over 3000 demos here. And so making sure that we get through those and and really educate the
customer on the excitement that we have around what we're offering the industry. Great. Hope
you have a great show. Thanks for your time. Pleasure. Thank you. Thank you very much.
That's daily dry for today. I'm Kellen Walker. Thanks to automotive news executive producer
Jake Nier, as well as our own Hans Grimel is reporting for today's podcast. We also have
reporting from Greg Lason and Grace Macaluso of our sibling publication, automotive news Canada.
You can get the latest news on Toyota's CEO transition, the next star buyout, AI at dealerships
and everything happening in the auto industry at auto news.com. Come back over the weekend for
a weekend drive edition of the show. Our own Larry Bellaquette and Mike Martinez talk about
all the news here at the NADA show, as well as the UAW's tentative deal with Volkswagen in Chattanooga.
You've had a federal monitor that has been taking Sean Fain to the woodshed. You have somebody that's
going to be accountable to the membership in a matter of months who needed a win.
And this could certainly give him momentum and a few more thousand votes come this fall.
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