CBT automotive newscast: August 19, 2022

Inside Automotive:

4 methods to navigate the most common sales objections — Matt Easton
Nearly every potential customer you deal with has sales objections or reasons they’re hesitant to purchase your product. These objections typically include price, value, and ease of transaction. Although objections are a normal part of selling, they can impede your ability to move customers through the sales pipeline. Today on Inside Automotive, we’re pleased to welcome back Matt Easton, sales trainer, consultant, and Founder of Easton University, who discusses how salespeople can handle the most common sales objections. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines:

Officials for the United States and Taiwan outlined plans to enter into formal negotiations for a sweeping trade treaty today. The first round of negotiations is expected to take place early this fall. According to a statement from the office of the US Trade Representation, topics on the agenda are agriculture, digital trade, and labor environmental standards. Together, the trade agreement seeks to remove “removing discriminatory barriers to trade” and address “distortive practices of state-owned enterprises and non-market policies and practices.” Read More

SK Innovation and SK Energy announced they have acquired a controlling stake of US energy company Atom Power for $150 million. Atom Power is a North Carolina-based company that specializes in semiconductor-based circuit breakers for electric vehicle chargers. The SK companies said the acquisition will help establish an “energy solution platform” that enhances efficiency in electricity production and consumption. The company hopes to use the technology in EV charging stations and expand the EV charging business to other locations. Read More

Sonic Automotive announced that it has acquired Audis Owings Mills dealership, located just northwest of Baltimore, Maryland. The company purchased the dealerships from AutoNation. It is the company’s first franchise acquisition since January. The sale brings the number of total franchised dealerships in the company’s portfolio to 112. In a statement, Sonic President Jeff Dyke said, quote “we are excited to once again expand our national franchise sales and service network… [it] allows us to continue delivering on the Audi brand promise.” Read More

General Motors is recalling hundreds of thousands of vehicles due to a problem with the third-row seatbelts. The recall affects GM’s 2021-2022 Cadillac Escalades and Escalade ESVs, Chevrolet Suburbans, Tahoes, GMC Yukons, and Yukon XLS equipped with third-row seating. Eight cases of seat belt assemblies detaching are known, although none of them have led to accidents or injuries. Customers can contact Chevrolet or GMC customer service or visit the NHTSA website for more information. Read More

News & Opinion:

Barriers and opportunities the auto industry must address to achieve an all-electric future
Popular media would have us believe that the automotive industry is on a smooth and rapid transition to EVs. At the same time, governments across the globe set execution dates for the internal combustion engine. But the radical transformation of anything that’s been around for a century involves patience and a good dose of reality. A new CDK Global study, The Charged Truth About Electric Vehicles, uncovers the habits and attitudes of today’s EV buyers. It also delivers what dealers face moving forward in this brave new world. Read More

How to help struggling F&I managers embrace change
When someone has done the same job for years, the exact same way every day, it can be a challenge to get them to embrace change. With F&I, the old way of working a deal has changed a lot over the decades and with it, F&I managers have had to adapt. New products, new presentation methods, new compliance rules, and regulations. The list goes on and on. But what do you do if you have an F&I manager who won’t embrace change – not even a change that makes them better at their job or could help them achieve their goals quicker? How do you reach them? At first glance, it’s easy to simply say ‘Get rid of them’ but that’s not always easy to do. You don’t just find qualified F&I folks standing around on the corner waiting to get hired. Read More

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