CBT automotive newscast: March 23, 2021

Featured Interview:

Tekion founder Jay Vijayan discusses the company’s latest partnership with GM
Tekion is one of many companies that is providing innovations to the DMS landscape. The company recently announced a partnership with General Motors to power their EV digital retail tool. Today on CBT News, host Jim Fitzpatrick speaks with Jay Vijayan, Founder and CEO of Tekion, about the partnership with GM and the role of DMS in the current automotive market. Watch the full segment here.

Top Headlines:

Two U.S. senators representing the state of California are calling on President Biden to create a deadline for U.S. automakers to phase out sales of gasoline-powered vehicles. In a letter sent to Biden that was obtained by Reuters, Democratic senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein urge Biden to, “follow California’s lead and set a date by which all new cars and passenger trucks sold be zero-emission vehicles.”

Alfa Romeo dealers are seeing signs that new Stellantis leadership will work to revitalize the brand in the U.S. market. Larry Dominique, head of Alfa Romeo North America, is connecting with dealers to express his commitment to growing the brand. Alfa has dealt with low sales since its return to the North American market in 2014. With Stellantis sidelining Peugeot’s U.S. expansion, many dealers believe now is a perfect time for the automaker to invest more resources into Alfa. The brand is expected to get two new crossover models added to its lineup in the next few years.

General Motors is considering a plan to stock electric vehicles at regional hubs to ensure quick delivery to nearby dealerships. In the second half of this year, GM could test centralized inventory with Chevrolet, placing some 2022 Bolts at regional lots throughout the U.S. Chevy dealers in each region could pull bolts from their nearby hub instead of waiting weeks for the vehicles to be shipped from the factory. The strategy is modeled after Amazon using regional warehouses to provide next-day delivery.

Jeep has unveiled a new all-electric version of the Wrangler, but consumers might have to wait a few years to purchase one. The Wrangler “Magneto” is a concept vehicle used to gauge customer interest. Jeep executives have said every Jeep will offer some form of electrification going forward. The company recently started selling a plug-in hybrid Wrangler, however, the jeep hasn’t released any timeline to signal when the Magneto will hit showrooms.

The automotive buy-sell market set new records in 2020, despite dealing with lockdowns caused by the pandemic. According to the 2020 Blue Sky Report by Kerrigan Advisors, the buy-sell market completed over 176 transactions after July 1, with a total of 289 completed transactions for the year. This was a 24% increase from 2019. The market also set a record with 103 transactions completed in the fourth quarter alone.

News & Opinion:

Are auto dealers and consumers ready for an EV future?
Last week, in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said there are no new internal-combustion engines in development at Audi. With Audi and, seemingly, every other automaker moving towards government-mandated production of only electric vehicles, is there really a wide and deep market ready for that influx? Or will the electric market only exist for those who have the generous income to pay for the vehicles and the infrastructure needed to charge them? Read more

Ford to allow 30,000 executives to utilize a hybrid work model
Ford Motor Company announced on Wednesday that roughly 30,000 white-collar workers will have the choice for when, if, and how often they will return to work in their office. Since beginning a work from home strategy in March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, a date to return to work at their office has been pushed back from January 2021 to July 2021. A full return to the traditional office-job model may never happen for the carmaker. Read more