Goldman Sachs praises energy incentives, FCC regulates telemarketing, New Honda hydrogen car

Inside Automotive:

How your salespeople can generate more leads with LinkedIn — Matt Easton
Every salesperson is troubled by the nagging thought, “How do I receive better insight to make myself more credible with resources that can increase my success?” On today’s episode of Inside Automotive, Matt Easton, sales consultant, trainer, and founder of Easton University, offers his insight on the tools necessary for success. According to Easton, you only need one effective tool to get started: LinkedIn. When it comes to LinkedIn, there are three worlds: those who know how to use it, those who don’t, and those who use it improperly. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines:

Starting our news coverage Goldman Sachs praised the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act this Tuesday, calling it a “turning point” for energy infrastructure. The investment firm believes that the tax incentives provided in the bill will spur development of new green energy advancements, allowing the industry to soon abandon gas-power. Businesses building zero-emission infrastructure have historically failed to generate revenue due to high development costs. However, thanks to the bill’s generous tax credits for renewables such as hydrogen, Goldman Sachs expects the sector to finally turn a profit. This is exciting news for automakers, who are banking on an improved energy infrastructure as they increasingly pledge to cease production of gas-powered cars within the next two decades. Read More

Next up the FCC is cracking down on a controversial marketing tool used by many auto dealers. According to the commission’s new ruling, ringless voicemails are now illegal without consent. With the practice now in violation of the telephone consumer protection act, non-compliant telemarketers are at risk of fines or worse. Despite numerous lawsuits, dealerships using the tactic have managed to escape federal attention for years. Meanwhile, those defending the practice have said that since the tool skips to voicemail, it does not technically count as a call. Read More

Carvana’s chance at recovery now has a deadline, according to Bank of America. Analyst Nat Schindler, writing to the bank’s clients, warned against buying the company’s stock as he expects the online retailer to be bankrupt by 2023, unless it can return to generating revenue. Carvana’s recent troubles began after the company purchased a surplus of vehicles expecting the surge in demand during covid to continue into 2021. Instead consumer’s spending slowed and used car values plummeted, leaving the company in debt. While many deem the brand to be beyond saving, Schindler avoided making a doomsday prediction, only saying it was impossible to tell. Read More

Finally, Honda has announced its second-ever hydrogen vehicle, slated to be released in 2024. The new sixth-gen Honda CR-V will use hydrogen fuel cells instead of the more popular battery powertrains. Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai are the only automakers competing for the technology. While it is a renewable source, many analysts have deemed hydrogen to be too expensive and inefficient to be a viable competitor to battery powertrains. However, Honda believes that its cutting-edge fuel-cell technology will allow drivers to charge faster and drive longer, which it hopes will offset the emissions caused by hydrogen production. Read More

News & Opinion

Marketing in uncertainty: Best practices for car dealerships
Since 2020, uncertainty has become a running theme for the automotive industry. From material shortages to factory shutdowns, the pandemic became a significant disruption. While some issues have begun to stabilize, looming problems like vehicle affordability, inflation, and lingering semiconductor shortages add to the current automotive industry uncertainty. How can dealership marketing teams continue to innovate and connect with consumers when these issues remain? Read More

Best practices when submitting warranty claims
In 2019, automakers across the world had to spend about 2.5% of the product revenue, totaling more than $49 billion, covering warranty expenses. This cost only shows the warranty that was covered with the understanding that many more were denied. In your dealership, it’s essential that you take proper steps to ensure a good workflow when turning in a claim. To help you, we put together four of the best practices when submitting warranty claims. Read More

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