CBT automotive newscast: December 27, 2021

Featured Show:

Leadership expert Mike Robbins on staying focused and ramping up for a prosperous 2022
The holiday season can be jam-packed with sales and added stress and right now, many of you may be in the thick of it. On today’s show, we’re speaking to a leadership expert to find out what you can do to stay focused and ramp up for a prosperous new year. We’re pleased to welcome back Mike Robbins, speaker, coach, author. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines:

Online vehicle marketplace TrueCar has released its industry sales forecast for December and Q4. According to a press release from the company, new car sales will reach slightly above 1.1 million units in December, down 27% year-over-year. The total SSAR is expected to be down 27% as well from 2020, coming in at 11.9 million units. And used car sales are expected to reach around 3 million units, up 3% and holding steady compared to this time last year.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed that he is almost done selling a 10% stake in Tesla after tweeting that he would abide by the results of a Twitter poll on November 6. So far, Musk has sold 14.77 million shares of which 9.34 million were sold to pay taxes related to his options exercise, Reuters reports. On the heels of this sale, Tesla’s share price has increased, and the company made its return to a $1 trillion dollar valuation.

Ford Motor Company continues its expansion into electrification after entering into a partnership with the California Air Resource Board to develop a “sustainable charging program” for electric vehicles. This jointly developed program aims to ensure that the power needed to run an EV will not contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. All current Ford EV owners based in California can participate in the program.

Despite concerns around the COVID-19 Omicron variant, U.S. consumer confidence rose again in December, signaling a recovery that will end 2021 on a high note. According to a survey from the Conference Board, there is an increase in consumer plans to buy homes, cars, and major appliances. Existing home sales also rose 1.9% in November, however, inventory shortages continue to keep prices high.

News & Opinion:

It’s a used-car desert—how to get creative and boost inventory
Used-vehicle inventory levels are at the lowest point in almost nine years. Twenty years from now, economists will not have much difficulty explaining what happened. A confluence of factors, starting with the semiconductor shortage and pandemic-induced consumer behavior changes, upended supply and demand. With fleet and rental car providers scrambling to regrow fleets, and consumers leasing less because of rising costs associated with supply constraints, reliable channels for used vehicles have dried up this year. Based on current forecasts, it doesn’t appear 2022 will offer much of a respite. Read more

Closing in F&I starts with a strong opening
Most salespeople judge their entire career by how good of a closer they are. In F&I specifically, closing more deals with higher rates and products is everything and most know that their close rate must be a certain number on every deal to make a good living. Successful closing is what it’s all about…or is it? To close more on product in F&I, trainers will tell you it’s all about specific tactics and techniques that put you in the best position to sell. But how can you close if you haven’t started the process strong to begin with? Read more