CBT automotive newscast: April 6, 2021

Featured Interview:

Glenn Pasch on the importance of adding a digital marketing manager to your car dealership staff
The digital landscape of retail automotive is dramatically changing at a rapid pace. While car dealers often wear many hats, dealerships need more digital experts to help generate success in this new frontier of the industry. Recently Glenn Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital, recently wrote an article for CBT about the need for a digital marketing manager in dealership operations. Watch the full segment here.

Top Headlines:

News & Opinion:

Nissan’s stair-step scheme is officially coming to an end. Last week, the automaker told automotive news that it will officially abandon its “stair-step” dealer volume bonus program, which has used cash awards to incentivize retailers to hit aggressive monthly, quarterly, or year-end sales goals. The program was controversial among Nissan dealers, many of whom believed the automaker pushed unrealistic sales targets that created a culture of price discounting and diminished resale values. The company will replace the old program with the new “Nissan next retail program”, which dealers learned about last week. The new program will eliminate the push for sales volume and will instead focus on value. As part of the program, Nissan’s 1,073 u.S. Retailers will receive a $250 bonus for every vehicle they sell.

General Motors recently unveiled the all-electric hummer SUV, the counterpart to the upcoming hummer pickup. The electric SUV comes with a lofty price tag, topping $110,000 when it hits showrooms in 2023. The electric hummer SUV will feature the same torque as the pickup, however, it is estimated to have 50 miles less range, 170 less horsepower, and be half a second slower than the pickup due to the smaller battery size.

Tesla’s market value is surging after the company announced record EV deliveries in Q1. The EV maker delivered 184,800 vehicles globally during the first quarter, beating Refinitiv data estimates of 177,822. In response to the news, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, “great work by Tesla team!”

Scott Keogh, CEO of Volkswagen of America, took responsibility and apologized for the pre-April Fools’ Day prank last week in which the company claimed it was changing its name. In an interview with the wall street journal Keogh said, “never in our wildest dreams did we imagine it taking hold. If there’s any trust of credibility to be rebuilt from me, I’m going to do it.”

Tesla delivers nearly 185k vehicles in first quarter
According to a press release from Tesla, the EV carmaker delivered 184,800 new vehicles from January through March 2021. The first-quarter sales figures are an accomplishment that puts Tesla on pace to sell nearly 750,000 new vehicles this year without accounting for SAAR. All but 2,020 of those units were the Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV. The delivery pace exceeds that of Tesla’s incredible Q4 2020 performance that delivered 180,570 new vehicles, totaling just shy of a half-million deliveries for the year. Incredibly, their production pace hasn’t been disrupted due to the shortage of microprocessor chips – at least, not to the same extent as other carmakers. Read more

Edmunds reports that new inventory continues to ‘dwindle’
Consumers who are ready to buy that shiny new car at a reasonable price may have to wait a while longer, according to an Edmunds report released this week. While the economy will hopefully continue to bounce back after the disastrous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it won’t happen overnight. As with most industries, it will take some time for the auto industry to recover, which includes the stabilization of supply chains as well as inventory and affordable vehicles. Read more