CBT automotive newscast: October 23, 2020

Today’s Featured Interview:

Cox Automotive analyst Zo Rahim breaks down CPO sales and market forecasts
While dealers struggle with new vehicle inventory, used vehicle sales have become an emphasis for many dealers. Despite this, certified preowned sales have struggled since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zo Rahim, manager of economics and industry insight for Cox Automotive, joined us on CBT News to help make sense of the drop in CPO sales. Watch the full segment here.

Top Headlines:

Fiat Chrysler is rebranding its online retailing experience with a new platform. FCA announced the launch of ‘E-shop’ as a platform that would enhance consumer capability to buy Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram. E-shop is a one-stop platform that widens the customer’s view of choices. The new platform will also allow buyers to set up test driving appointments, reserve vehicles, and allow dealers to list their entire certified pre-owned vehicles and used vehicle inventories. FCA also announced plans involving its new Detroit assembly complex. The company has hired 4,100 Detroiters to work in the company’s Jeep plant. FCA has invested $2.5 billion into the expansion of the complex, creating a total of 4,950 new jobs.

Several auto retailers and automakers are outperforming third-quarter predictions made by market analysts. After four straight profitable quarters, many wall street experts expected Tesla to stagger based on recent market trends. However, the EV maker not only produced its fifth straight profitable quarter but the company also produced its best quarterly profit to date. Tesla’s profit of $874 million was up nearly 156% from a year ago and doubled what it had earned in Q2. Penske automotive also beat its quarterly estimates, producing its best quarter in the company’s history. The retailer came out with quarterly earnings of $2.87 per share, up from $1.42 per share in 2019. Penske shares have added about 12.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500’s gain of 6.3%.

New Jersey has joined California in calling for the ban on gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035. The recommendation was made to state legislation by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as a way to fight global warming. The report states that global warming has led to the rising of sea levels, threatening to swamp the state’s Atlantic coastline. The call for banning gas-powered vehicles has been heavily debated among state legislators, automakers, and car buyers.

Subaru of America is once again assisting rescue groups in helping shelter dogs find new homes. On Thursday, the automaker celebrated its second annual “national make a dog’s day” encouraging people to help last-to-be-adopted dogs find their forever families. The company has a long history of creating initiatives to assist shelter groups. In 2015, the group made the month of October, “Subaru loves pets” month, where dealers host adoption events in their showroom. Since 2015, over 230,000 animals have been adopted through a number of different Subaru events.

News Stories & Opinion:

Service department retention may start with the facility
According to NADA research, 76% of car buyers purchase a vehicle from the dealership that performs their regular maintenance. Yet despite nearly 100% of new vehicles being bought from a dealership, just 1 in 3 car owners are taking their car to a dealership for service. The retention rate is rather dismal, often attributed to lackluster customer service. Read More

Tips for effective vehicle merchandising and marketing – Part 2
As discussed in part one, the virtual showroom may seem similar to the brick-and-mortar store, but there’s no single entry that you can control. Links that drive the person to the site could land them onto the homepage, a vehicle landing page, inventory search, etc. A recent Adobe UX blog says, “Not all users are coming in through the front door. Only 10% are direct to the homepage, and the other 90% arrive on websites in various ways. These numbers suggest that the starting (or entrance) point for a user could be any page on your site. Read More