CBT automotive newscast: December 7, 2021

Inside Automotive:

Cox Automotive strategist John Ellis shares bird’s-eye view of what’s happening with car dealerships today
Today on Inside Automotive, we’re pleased to welcome John Ellis, Inventory Strategist for Cox Automotive. As an inventory strategist, John has a bird’s-eye view of not only the data but what’s actually happening on the ground with the dealerships he works with every day. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines:

Shares of Lucid Motors fell 12% after the electric car maker revealed that it received a subpoena from the SEC as part of an investigation into the merger that took Lucid public earlier this year. The SEX is requesting documents concerning the business deal between the company, Churchill Capital, and Atieva, incorporation, and certain projections and statements. The deal was with Michael Klein’s blank-check acquisition firm. Lucid said it’s “cooperating fully” with the investigation.

Tesla is also under investigation with the SEC after a whistleblower alleged the company failed to properly disclose fire risks associated with its solar panel defects. Concerns about fires from the EV maker’s SolarCity, have been published previously, but this is the first report of an investigation by the securities regulator. More than 60,000 residential customers in the U.S. were affected by the issue.

For more than a decade, Subaru rose from one U.S. sales record to the next, until its shortcomings of ultra-thin vehicle inventories. The Japanese automaker’s backorders now stand at almost 45,000 vehicles in the U.S. The automaker’s U.S. inventory of vehicles has dropped to a five-day supply, down from its normal 45 days. Known for its ultralean operations, Subaru is now aiming to have around 30 days of inventory, while adding around 10,000 vehicles a month to a backlog of orders.

North Carolina government officials announced yesterday that a huge economic development project will likely be a Toyota EV battery factory that will employ 1,750 people. The 1,800-acre plot will be called the Greensboro-Randolph mega-site. In October, Toyota unveiled a plan to build a new $1.29 billion U.S. factory to make batteries for hybrid and fully electric vehicles. The automaker said the plant would start making batteries in 2025, expanding through 2031.

News & Opinion:

Remarketing and retargeting your online parts customers
Effective digital marketing requires a solid understanding of strategies within an overall marketing plan. Marketing for your parts department is no different. There are two specific marketing strategies that every parts department should use to its advantage, retargeting and remarketing. The two are often interchanged but they encompass different aspects of the overall marketing process. What are the differences between retargeting and remarketing? Moreover, how can you do both successfully? Deliver content and promotional offers to your customers in ways that get them engaged. If you can do these things, you can grow and maintain your parts department’s business effectively. Read more

Discount Tire acquiring Tire Rack by year’s end
Two of the largest tire businesses in the US are merging operations to become an industry powerhouse. Discount Tire is acquiring Tire Rack for an as-yet-undisclosed sum with an expected close of December 31, 2021. When the deal is complete, the combined company will employ 25,000 people and vastly improve their ability to meet customers wherever they want – in-store, online, or mobile installations. Dean Muglia is the CEO at Discount Tire and will continue in that role. He said in a press release, “We have for many years admired one another from afar, each pushing the industry forward to meet customers where they are most confident shopping for tires and wheels. Read more