CBT automotive newscast: January 19, 2022

Featured Show:

Tackling the biggest issues facing the F&I office today with Jason Gannon, Pres. of F&I Guys
What should your car dealership be doing in this new year to ensure profitability in the F&I department? On this episode of F&I Today, anchor Jim Fitzpatrick speaks with Jason Gannon, President of F&I Guys, to discuss what F&I offices look like today and his recommendations for maximum productivity in 2022. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines:

The semiconductor chip shortage is continuing to hinder production throughout the auto industry, with Toyota announcing earlier this week that the automaker is not expecting to reach its annual nine million vehicle goal. Toyota executive Kazunari Kumakura said meeting its goal would be “extremely difficult” and noted that Toyota will be releasing a new production goal sometime in the future. Despite Japan’s production lines reopening last month, Kamakura said around 50% of the goal shortage will be due to Japan’s setbacks in production. Toyota is also expecting to see a 25,000 to 35,000 reduction in vehicle production throughout North America in February.

Shares of Stellantis have jumped 60% since its introduction on the stock market a year ago, surpassing rival Tesla’s annual increase of 27%. While Stellantis’s market value is a slim 6% of Tesla’s, investors are excited about its success in the stock market as well as the automaker’s European plans and various alliances it has formed with technology firms. Stellantis still lags behind Tesla throughout China and has said it will unveil its strategic plan for its operations there at the beginning of March.

Cox Automotive released its twelfth Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study, which showed that car buyers are still much more satisfied with the car buying process compared to their satisfaction before the pandemic. The annual study found that 66% of consumers surveyed were “highly satisfied” with their car buying experience, which was slightly down from 72% in 2020, but still higher than pre-pandemic rates. Cox Automotive said the slight drop was likely due to inventory shortages and rising prices, but indicated that dealerships’ transitioning to more digital processes and a lower amount of time consumers spent car shopping were major factors in the recent responses.

Credit reporting and compliance solutions agency 700Credit has partnered with automotive fintech firm eLEND Solutions to provide rapid identity and financial fraud checks for dealerships. The alliance will combine 700Credit’s prescreening software and eLEND’s ID Drive software to authenticate customers’ driver’s licenses and conduct credit and fraud checks on car buyers. Dealers will be able to utilize the tools to screen customers early in the sales process, which the firms say saves time while also preventing potentially detrimental fraud.

News & Opinion:

Increased online sales adoption could signal the in-person experience needs change
The 2022 Deloitte Global Automotive Consumer Study indicates that concluding a vehicle in-person remains the preferred method for 75% of car buyers. However, more people are attracted to buying their next vehicle fully remote. Dealerships and manufacturers have taken great strides in providing a venue for the growing number who want to take their journey online, either primarily or to a larger extent than previously. While work on improving the online sales or omnichannel experience is important, most car buyers want to maintain face-to-face interactions, and there’s still work to be done there. Read More

Great Resignation? Gray Tsunami? How F&I can better prepare for turnover in 2022
The pandemic has ushered in a shift in workers looking for better pay, conditions, and work-from-home opportunities. Some have left traditional jobs to strike out on their own and start a business, which has been labeled the Great Resignation. Still, others have looked to early retirement. And that’s the ‘Gray Tsunami.’ A survey in late 2021 by Bankrate saw 55% of Americans planning to look for a new job in 2022 and of those, 44% were currently making $80K or more at their current job. That says even high earners are looking for a change, too. Read more