CBT automotive newscast: June 18, 2021

Featured Interview:

Automotive retail consultant Laurie Foster on digital retailing, recruiting, and more
On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome Laurie Foster, Founder and CEO of Foster Strategies Group, an automotive retail consulting service for dealers, vendors and OEMs. Foster begins the conversation by discussing her take on the recent Digital Dealer conference. Although turnout for the conference was lower than usual, Foster says it was still a proactive and dynamic audience at Digital Dealer. Watch the complete segment here.

Top Headlines:

Mazda is the latest automaker to announce its commitment to producing electric vehicles. The brand currently plans to create 13 electric cars, including three hybrids, five plug-in hybrids, and three fully electric cars by next year. The company also plans to have a completely electric line of vehicles by 2030.

In other EV news, with the help of President Biden’s push for electric vehicles, Volkswagen is shaking things up with a ‘massive’ realignment. Volkswagen plans to launch almost 70 battery-powered vehicles by the year 2030. The automaker will make a final decision on its U.S. electric car strategy by the end of the year.

Ford Motor Company saw a significant increase in its second-quarter earnings, which exceeded expectations. Despite inventory shortages and supply chain woes, Ford is seeing improvement in the auto industry overall. The automaker predicts their yearly pretax earnings to be between 5.5 billion to 6.5 billion dollars.

Speaking of supply chain challenges, General Motors is considering longer-term supply contracts and partnerships with semiconductor manufacturers. This comes after the impact the company saw from global shortages, which forced GM and other automakers to reconsider their supply chain strategies. Despite this shortage, consumer demand for vehicles is still strong.

Recently, Lordstown Motors was questioned about its ability to stay in business. The company’s President stated they had no pre-orders over the first two years of production for its electric pickup truck. It remains to be seen if the company has enough working capital to stay in business over the year.

Stellantis and the National Business League have created a national program to create business opportunities for black suppliers in the marketplace. This partnership will support the development of over 2.9 million black businesses. This partnership aims to bridge the gap between public and private sectors within the Federal government. Over the next three years, Stellantis also plans to facilitate the launch of a virtual training and development portal.

News & Opinion:

3 ways car dealerships can compete for service customers
With nearly 50% of the dealership’s profits coming from the service and parts department, it is critical that you appeal to new customers on a regular basis. While earning new clients can be difficult, retaining them is just as challenging with the overly competitive market. Local aftermarket providers are working hard to take customers away from your dealership, but you can be proactive. We will look at some tactics you should be implementing to compete for service customers and retain the ones you currently have. Read more

Post-Pandemic mental health declining in employees – here’s how you can help
The effects of the pandemic are far from over, even for those who haven’t been infected by the coronavirus. The latest Mental Health Index: US Worker Edition by Total Brain reveals that the employees are demonstrating less focus in the workplace and are at higher risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Of workers aged 20 to 39, the data shows that “sustained attention has decreased 24% in April and is now 59% lower than pre-pandemic”. Read more