CBT automotive newscast: August 1, 2022

Inside Automotive:

Sonic Automotive President Jeff Dyke discusses powerful Q2 2022 performance
Sonic Automotive has announced all-time record revenues and gross profit for the second quarter. The fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina is reporting record Q2 earnings of $3.7 billion, up 9% year-over-year. The company’s used vehicle brand EchoPark Automotive also gained 12% in revenues year-over-year. We’re going to discuss all of that and more today on Inside Automotive with Jeff Dyke, President of Sonic Automotive. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines:

In a surprise turn of events, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin announced a deal that includes $369 billion for energy and climate change initiatives with the goal of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. The bill would maintain the $7,500 federal tax credit currently available for the purchase of “clean vehicles.” Additionally, it would eliminate the present 200,000 car cap for tax credits, which is a significant win for automakers. Read More

For the first time ever, General Motors has offered green bonds, joining its rivals in utilizing the sustainable debt market to finance the switch to electric vehicles in order to compete with Tesla. A Bloomberg source claims that the automaker divided the $2.25 billion in green bonds into two parts. It is the second-largest green deal from a US firm outside of the financial industry, according to data gathered from Bloomberg. Read More

Late last week, a bipartisan majority in the House approved a $280 billion dollar piece of legislation meant to revive American production of semiconductor chips, a scarcity that has tormented US automakers. The legislation includes around $52.7 billion dollars in subsidies over five years to help increase American semiconductor production. It is a scaled-down version of earlier legislation that was intended to increase American competitiveness between China and other Asian markets. Read More

​​In response to the ongoing chip scarcity, Hyundai Motors, the largest automaker in South Korea, announced Friday that it has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer for its US business. Effective today, Hyundai has named Randy Parker as CEO of Hyundai Motor America. According to a statement from the company, Parker will be in charge of Hyundai’s commercial automotive activities in the US market. “Randy is the perfect person to continue Hyundai’s recent successes in sales, market share and growth in the US,” Global Leader José Muñoz said. Read More

News & Opinion:

Why this mindset shift will change your career in automotive for the better
Mindsets come from our lived experiences and how our brain interprets the experiences. When you combine your brain with your initial beliefs, a mindset is born. In her ground-breaking book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, renowned psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. introduced the idea of a true growth mindset by writing, “This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others. Your mindset is the foundation for success and determines the trajectory for not only your career but your life. If you start a new project believing that the outcome will be negative, this negative or fixed mindset will only keep you caged in and restricted. Read More

Using strategy and media to differentiate your car dealership
Image isn’t everything, but in today’s TikTok-inspired media, your dealership needs to stand out to your target market when compared to your competition. So, it would help if you were more appealing. You don’t need to own or sponsor a title-winning NASCAR team like Hendrickcars.com to be looked upon as a better choice but using your media options to represent yourself to your customers will set you apart from other dealers. Yes, consumers have various choices on where to buy the same car. But they’ll buy from you if you show them that you’re unique. And that starts with knowing your strategy. Read More

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