Today’s Featured Interview:
Artificial intelligence has a large role to play in supporting the future of the automotive industry. Daniel Davenport, Sr. Director of North American automotive for Capgemini, joined us to provide insight on AI.’s impact on the auto world. Watch the full-length interview here.
Top Headlines:
The rich just keep getting richer. Tesla, Inc. posted another profitable quarter, reporting a 104 million dollar profit for Q2. This marks the fourth consecutive profitable quarter for the world’s leading electric-vehicle maker.
The latest profit report comes amidst a lawsuit filed by Tesla against Rivian Automotive, Inc. The grounds of the lawsuit involve alleged employee poaching and stealing trade secrets. Tesla claims that four former employees took highly sensitive proprietary information as they left to join the startup, and they also suspect two more former employees could be involved as well.
What makes a car brand appealing? Porsche and Dodge might be the most equipped to answer that question. J.D. Power’s latest APEAL study found that the two brands topped the charts of most appealing brands. Porsche was ranked number one among luxury brands, as well as being ranked number one overall. Dodge topped the mainstream brands and ranked number four overall.
Used-vehicles will play a big role in the long term strategy of AutoNation. The retailer announced that they plan to build 20 or more used-vehicle-only stores over the next three years. The company reported a 280 million dollar net income in Q2 from resuming operations and also gained from its investment in the online used-car retailer Vroom.
News Stories & Opinion:
What Dealers Can Take Away from the Cox Auto Weekly Summary
The coronavirus pandemic has certainly impacted the auto industry much more than most would have ever imagined. From supply chain issues to fluctuating consumer trends and behaviors, COVID-19 has crippled automakers, dealerships, parts suppliers, consumers, and so much more, and Cox Automotive’s Weekly Summary warns that the auto industry may regress in the coming months despite recent upticks in sales and jobs. Read More
Are Personally-Branded Facebook Pages Bad for Dealers?
Thanks to an estimated 80% turnover rate on sales teams, dealership managers know the challenges of efficiently hiring and training new salespeople. One thing that can complicate this inevitable revolving door is social media. On Facebook, many dealership salespeople have chosen to set up their own business Facebook pages. This form of personal branding has been shown to help any dealership stimulate its sales efforts, but it comes with a hefty list of rules and exceptions. Read More
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