CBT automotive newscast: June 21, 2022

Inside Automotive:

Bentley Atlanta GM Greg Mabry shares his journey through the auto retail industry
The earnings potential drives many professionals to the auto retail industry, but that’s not all the business has to offer. Today on Inside Automotive, we’re pleased to welcome Greg Mabry, the General Manager of Bentley Atlanta and NADA Academy graduate. In this segment, Mabry shares his journey through the industry and why he decided to attend the NADA Academy. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines:

Volkswagen AG’s Chief U.S. Executive Scott Keogh has commented on the possible problems the U.S. could encounter with the mass production of electric vehicle batteries. At a recent Automotive News forum, Keogh said that infrastructure, labor, and investment will be the determining factors for U.S. battery production. Keogh asserts that in addition to finding skilled workers, mining enough materials, and battling the supply chain, the U.S. overall needs to boost manufacturing capacity.

General Motors is joining the growing list of automotive manufacturers raising the prices of their electric cars due to high commodity and shipping costs. GM increased the price of its GMC Hummer EV pickups and SUVs by $6,250. The reservations already made will not be affected by this sudden price increase, Reuters reports.

According to the Kerrigan advisor’s recently released Blue Sky Report®, the automotive buy/sell market is off to a strong start in the first quarter of 2022, outperforming the first quarter of 2021. 72 buy/sell transactions were reported in the first quarter, a 9.1% increase over Q1 2021. Average dealership blue sky values soared to a new high of $11.5 million during the quarter, up 4.6% from the end of 2021, due largely to the growth of quarterly dealership earnings.

Elon Musk is making headlines again as the CEO of Tesla continues to endorse Dogecoin despite a lawsuit brought against him last week. The suit alleges Musk is purposefully manipulating the price of the cryptocurrency and engaging in a “Crypto Pyramid Scheme” by inflating the price of something with no intrinsic value. The complaint seeks $258 billion in both compensatory and treble damages.

News & Opinion:

Most young consumers think purchasing a car is basic. Here’s how the auto industry can increase appeal to this generation of buyers post-COVID
Consumer preferences, behaviors, and buying habits are unique by generation. Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Generation Z have all been raised in different worlds and the events that have impacted their lives and beliefs drive their buying habits. Today’s younger generations in particular were raised in a digitally-native world – with characteristics defined by financial mindedness, inclination towards sustainable products, and value for brands that they can relate to. These preferences are creating new opportunities for businesses and product manufacturers across industries. Read More

Keep it simple – time to consider a smaller F&I menu
The top complaint of most car buyers is the time it takes to make their purchase and drive off the lot. It takes too long even when the lot has plenty of inventory. Now add the F&I experience and the paperwork, selling, etc. and you have plenty of exhausted and frustrated car shoppers who would rather do anything than ever go back and do it again. F&I menu selling was supposed to alleviate that frustration and help streamline the process of getting through F&I and while many may argue that it has helped, consumers may say otherwise. One of the things that could be hanging up the time taken to complete this process could be the very thing invented to help it – a bloated menu. Read More