Inside Automotive
How dealers can help fix the automotive industry gender gap — Suzannah Sarkahian | Audi Wynnewood
Historically, the automotive industry has been male-dominated. Even in 2023, women make up less than 25% of all employees in car dealerships, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics. On this episode of Inside Automotive, host Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by the general manager of Audi Wynnewood, Suzannah Sarkahian, to discuss her career journey and her insights on how dealers can change the industry’s unfortunate gender disparity. Watch the full segment here
Top stories
Ford has secured one of largest automotive industry subsidies in U.S. history to boost electric vehicle production, part of the Biden Administration’s efforts to compete with Chinese manufacturing. The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) awarded the $9.2 billion conditional loan to Ford on Thursday morning, June 22. Read More
During an interview with CNBC, CEO Jim Farley expressed his opportunistic outlook on the recent EV Charging partnership between Ford and Tesla. However, Farley also noted that he would like to keep some distance between Ford and Tesla moving forward. “When it comes to gaining an advantage over my customers, I have no problem being opportunistic,” Farley remarked. Read More
Electric vehicle maker Rivian plans to showcase the first R2 model in early 2024, two years before the car is scheduled to hit the market. Rivian CFO Claire McDonough revealed the timeline during a discussion with Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner. During their conversation, McDonough noted that the design of the SUV crossover was nearly complete. Read More
In the month of May, Texas-based Hall Buick GMC launched an initiative to raise funds for The Texas Wounded Warriors Foundation (TWWF), a non-profit that aims to commemorate and inspire Texas residents who have been injured in combat so that they can reintegrate into society after deployment. Read More
For Dealers
How ‘drip pricing’ impacts the psychology of automotive consumers
Welcome to another edition of The Future of Automotive, with Steve Greenfield, Founder, and CEO of Automotive Ventures, where I put recent automotive and mobility news items into context, in terms of the broader thematic areas that will potentially impact the industry. Read More
Weekly roundup: Ford CEO criticizes Tesla Cybertruck, Rivian joins EV charging alliance
Earlier this week: Tesla announced significant discounts to its dual motor and all-wheel drive versions of the Model X and Model S, in a bid to move remaining inventory before the close of Q2. Ford acquires significant DOE loan for EV production. Stellantis teases affordable EV coming in 2024 and more headlines to stay on top of this week in automotive industry news. Read More
