CBT Now
Leading dealership teams through uncertainty — Meridith Elliott Powell
In recent years, dealership teams have undergone significant changes and uncertainty from inventory, inflation costs, and even new automotive regulations. While it has become challenging for dealers, much of the difficulty originates from creating or sustaining a team that understands change and their current goals. On this episode of CBT Now, host Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by award-winning business expert, keynote speaker and author Meridith Elliott Powell to discuss her research on how to develop the leaders of tomorrow and lead in a world of uncertainty. Watch full segment here.
Top Stories
On June 28, the Biden administration said it’s looking to boost electric vehicle production with a $2 billion investment from his Inflation Reduction Act. By accelerating grants and other incentives to subsidize the conversion of current automakers into EV producers, the White House may be able to suppress criticism of new environmental laws intended to steer the EV era. Additionally, the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion subsidies for the EVs initiative will offer cost-shared grants for producing fuel cells, all-electric, plug-in hybrid, and efficient hybrid vehicles. Read More
A group of Calhoun County residents in Marshall, Michigan, filed a lawsuit aiming to derail a massive Ford battery plant. The case followed local officials signing a massive incentive package with Ford. The lawsuit is the most recent attempt to persuade Marshall city officials to acknowledge a community-led movement overturning the regulatory decision that permits Ford and its partners to begin construction on the EV battery plant planned for a section of the city’s 2,000-acre megasite. Read More
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a major lobbying group representing most U.S. car manufacturers, is speaking out against new emissions rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and backed by President Biden, which would push the industry to accelerate the electric vehicle transition. The new guidelines represent the strictest emissions rules yet, with even more aggressive targets scheduled to apply in the coming years. Read More
Edmunds predicts that quarterly new vehicle sales will finish strong at 4,048,922 units by the end of June, boosted by pent-up demand and more buyer-friendly pricing. The predicted volume would place Q2 sales ahead of Q1 by 13.8% and 16.1% year-over-year. General Motors will likely take the lead in terms of volume, followed by Toyota and Ford. All three brands saw higher new vehicle sales on both a quarterly and yearly basis. However, Toyota and Ford saw their market share decline by 8.4% and 4.4% from 2022, while Honda, ranking fifth for sales, saw a massive 27.7% increase over the same period. Read More
For Dealers
Unifying EV chargers: The debate around standardization
As the expansion of electric vehicles (EVs) continues to ramp up, the issue of standardizing EV chargers is garnering a lot of attention. Of course, one major hesitation consumers have about transitioning to EVs is the uncertainty of the availability of chargers compatible with their specific vehicles. Standardization of EV chargers would theoretically reduce this anxiety and allow access to a seamless, widespread charging network that would cater to all EVs. Read More
Weekly roundup: June new vehicle sales, Tesla charging standards, and new EV market study
Car buyers and auto retailers expressed opposing beliefs and concerns over the electric vehicle market in a new Cox Automotive survey. The Society of Automotive Engineers announced that they would join Tesla’s extensive Supercharger network. J.D. Power and GlobalData forecast a monthly new vehicle sales total of over 1.38 million units this June, and more headlines to stay on top of this week in automotive industry news. Read More
