Railroad strike averted, New Tesla Semi, Record November Auto Sales

Inside Automotive

6 basic needs that motivate your dealership staff and how to meet them
Jonathan Dawson is the Founder and President of Sellchology Sales Training, consultant, coach, best selling author, contributing writer, and host of Mind Your Own Business. Today he walks us through strategies to better influence buying behavior on his show. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines

In a controversial turn of events the Senate has voted to force an eleventh hour deal between railroad unions and industry executives, hoping to avoid a devastating strike before Christmas. The deal used terms negotiated earlier this year, which did include a substantial pay raise, but failed to satisfy the union’s request of seven days of paid sick leave. In response, labor organizers had set December 9 as the strike date, despite warnings that disruptions of rail services would impede America’s slowly recovering economy. The cost of sick leave is estimated to be $321 million a year, amounting to under 2% of the industry’s $23.3 billion in revenue. What the next steps are for rail unions remains to be seen. Read More

Tesla’s long awaited electric semi-truck is finally on the road as of last Thursday. The semi has been in development for five years, after drumming up considerable excitement during CEO Elon Musk’s 2016 expose. Pepsi is the first customer to receive its order, but the automaker’s waitlist includes large brands such as Walmart. The rig can travel 500 miles on a single charge, and uses a customized charging setup. While the vehicle’s price tag has yet to be publicly announced, electric trucks are projected to save considerable money on fuel, and, if widely adopted, could have a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Read More

Japanese automakers have reported huge improvements in American sales since last November, with a majority achieving over 20% growth. The biggest recoveries came from Subaru and Hyundai, who saw 51.7% and 42.8% increases respectively. Hyundai’s U.S. CEO Randy Parker called November a record breaking month for the brand. Honda was the only automaker to fall behind, but only decreased deliveries by 3,901 cars from 2021. The improved market performance can be attributed to recovering supply chains and boosted inventories across the U.S., in addition to a growing interest in hybrids and electric vehicles. Read More

President Biden introduced new EV incentives and biofuel requirements last Thursday as part of his plan to make the U.S. Climate friendly. EV automakers will now be able to receive generous subsidies under the plan as part of the fuel-efficiency credit system, a first for non-gas powered vehicles. The fuel industry will also be required to further dilute their oil deliveries with biofuel incrementally over the next several years. While the news has been welcomed by green energy advocates, oil executives have seemed more reticent to praise the new regulations. It remains to be seen whether the president’s proposal will be implemented as is. Read More

News & Opinions

Leveraging the power of your dealer brand with white label F&I
Even though dealers have to manage multiple competing issues of low inventory, rising lending rates, and a pandemic that is not quite 100% gone, they must still focus on activities designed to get people online and in the showroom. Marketing staff must make sure their name is top-of-mind with local shoppers, starting with proper branding. Brand building may be nothing new, but dealerships now have more options than ever that can make it easy to gain exposure: social media posts, digital ads, banner ads, and traditional media (print, direct mail). Read More

How to encourage better interdepartmental collaboration in the dealership
Remote work has undoubtedly disrupted the workforce, with many employees working from home and eliminating in-person collaboration. While there are some companies who say remote work actually made their internal collaboration better, many say it was a hindrance. As employees trickle back into the office – or dealership – it is critical to build better inter-departmental collaboration, as joint efforts between teams can boost business and lift profits. Read More

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