CBT automotive newscast: March 12, 2021

Featured Interview:

Grow and retain your dealership’s customer base with these digital retailing strategies – Jonathan Dawson
Today on CBT News, host Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by automotive sales consultant Jonathan Dawson. Dawson is the President and CEO of Sellchology and host of the CBT show Mind Your Own Business. He has made a tremendous impact on the automotive industry, working with dealers all across the country to improve their sales and digital retailing experience. Watch the full segment here.

Top Headlines:

Congress has approved the final version of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. The bill, known as the American Rescue Plan Act, passed by a vote of 220 to 211. The bill passed just 49 days into Biden’s presidency and could prove to be the defining domestic policy accomplishment of his term.

New vehicle inventory and prices climbed last month. According to vAuto available inventory data, the total U.S. supply of available unsold new vehicles stood at 2.82 million at the end of February. This marked the highest inventory so far in 2021, rising from 2.79 million in January. The average list price of new vehicles remained high at $40,178.

This week, electric vehicle startup Canoo said that it will introduce an American-built, pod-like electric pickup truck in 2023. The Los Angeles-based company will enter one of the most popular sectors of the EV market as competitors like Rivian and Tesla are preparing to launch their own pickup models. Canoo will begin taking pre-orders in the second quarter of 2021.

Jeep’s push to enter the luxury market comes with a hefty price tag. The Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are set to return to showrooms after a three-decade hiatus. The Wagoneer model will start at $57,996, while the Grand Wagoneer will start at $86,995 with options and features that push that number up to $111,000. Deliveries of the 2022 models will begin in the second half of this year.

News & Opinion:

Georgia dealers rally against EV direct-to-consumer sales
Auto dealers in Georgia are pushing back against a bill introduced to the General Assembly that would allow electric car manufacturers to sell their vehicles directly to the public. The bill, HB 460, amends limitations to the previous legislation that limited direct-to-consumer sales by EV carmakers to just five locations, and lifts the clause that only allows for grandfathered businesses. At the heart of the bill is the expansion of EV sales in the state that skirt the traditional auto retail model. Bill HB 460 was introduced by Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, who also sponsored the previous bill. In 2015, Tesla received an exemption to the dealership model, but with a limit of just five locations. Read more

Experian report highlights intriguing Q4 2020 automotive financing data
2020 shook up many expectations regarding automotive sales and affordability. With consumers facing job losses due to the pandemic, much felt up in the air. Nevertheless, new findings by Experian are showing that the actual results of last year are not as dismal as they may have appeared, particularly when it comes to the sale of new vehicles. In Experian’s Q4 2020 State of the Automotive Finance Report, the consumer credit reporting company revealed some intriguing data about how much consumers were willing to spend and overall pricing patterns. Here are a few notable takeaways from the report…Read more