CBT automotive newscast: July 21, 2021

Featured Interview:

Car dealer and Ohio Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno discusses record campaign funding
On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome Bernie Moreno, President of Bernie Moreno Companies. He’s entered the race to be the next Senator of Ohio. Moreno begins the conversation by discussing his campaign and how he was able to raise the campaign funds. This is Moreno’s first time running for public office and he was motivated by what was going on in our country. In his first fundraising quarter, he beat his nearest Republican opponent by 50%, and with one Democrat candidate, he outraced him by $150,000. Watch the complete segment here.

Top Headlines:

Electrify America’s is offering 250 kWh of free charging for the new 2022 Volvo XC40 Recharge and the upcoming 2022 C40 Recharge buyers. The offer only applies to the first owners of the vehicle. Once owners have gone through their free allowance, they will be eligible for Electrify America’s Pass Plus, offering lower rates and a membership paid by the company for a year. Anders Gustafsson said, “Increasing access to fast and reliable charging is critical to the adoption of battery electric vehicles.”

In other EV news, GMC is getting its own, non-Hummer electric full-size pickup truck. Duncan Aldred, VP of Global Buick and GMC, declined to say whether the pickup would share the ‘Sierra’ nameplate. Chevrolet will build an electric Silverado, powered by GM’s Ultium battery, at GM’s Detroit plant. General Motors declined to provide production details, but expects both to go on sale in 2023.

Volkswagen is ending its production and sales of the Passat midsize sedan. The automaker plans to use the production space to build EVs. Honoring its debut year, the company plans to produce 1,973 2022 “limited edition” models, with Chattanooga-inspired details; as Passats sold in the U.S. are built at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Pricing on the limited edition model starts at $30,295, and will feature seat tags reading “1 of 1973” on one side and “Chattanooga 2011” on the other.

Due to rising COVID cases, assembly workers at the General Motors Missouri plant will have to mask up, again. This move comes just after the automaker agreed to let fully vaccinated employees ditch masks starting July 12. The mask mandate will go into effect beginning July 20. On Monday, the state of Missouri reported 1,020 new cases of COVID-19, a 7-day average high since January 29.

Former Goldman Sachs partner and auto dealer Jonathan Sobel has added on to his portfolio, acquiring 3 luxury dealerships, a service center, and a used-only dealership in Pennsylvania. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Sobel will keep the names of the dealerships and service center. With the latest additions, Sobel expects his business to generate more than $1 billion in annual sales, with more than 20,000 new and used vehicles sold per year.

News & Opinion:

GM says a third electric pickup truck is coming
The GMC Hummer is being rebirthed as an iconic pickup truck that’s completely electric. Chevrolet has announced an all-electric Silverado. And on July 19^th, General Motors has indicated that a third EV pickup truck will be coming from the automaker, under the GMC banner. Read more

Get your new hires productive in the sales arena quickly
In 2016, the average turnover rate for salespeople at franchised car dealerships was a staggering 67% every year. 40% of new hires would last just 90 days or less, accounting for massive training costs and lost sales from burned opportunities. While metrics through the pandemic become much harder to track, it’s evident that dealers as a whole have improved on employee retention over the past five years. Read more