CBT automotive newscast: November 22, 2021

Inside Automotive:

Cox Automotive’s Charlie Chesbrough on how car dealers can remain successful in Q4
As we move through the final quarter of the year, you may be asking yourself what can you do to remain successful, despite the industry’s inventory and chip shortages? On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome back Charlie Chesbrough, Senior Economist and Senior Director of Industry Insights at Cox Automotive to walk us through his recommendations and predictions for Q4 and beyond. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines:

Apple is getting closer to entering the auto market, with plans to launch an electric car as soon as 2025. The company is rumored to be pushing for a fully self-driving vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals. The interior will be designed for hands-free driving. According to Reuters, Apple plans to create a passenger vehicle in 2024, which might contain its own breakthrough battery technology.

Ford has announced that it’s doubling its planned EV production capacity by 2023 to 600 thousand EVs per year. CEO Jim Farley predicts this would make the company the second-largest U.S.-based producer of EVs behind Tesla. General Motors plans to sell one million EVs globally by 2025. 600,000 EVs would be almost 10% of Ford’s entire production capacity, with aims for 40% of its sales to be all-electric by 2030.

Toyota responds to Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow’s comment that the Japanese automaker is not part of the “home team” because it’s not unionized. An internal memo called “fast facts” was sent to the automaker’s 38,000 employees, stating Senator Debbie Stabenow, “Directly attacked Toyota for countering her discriminatory proposal. This was an unprecedented attack, which included false and hypocritical accusations.” A spokesperson said the company had no further comment beyond what was said in the email.

Michigan regulators plan to fine Stellantis over air-quality violations at two metro Detroit plants. Monetary fines are also pending. According to their Air permits, each plant was found to not have pollution control equipment properly installed to capture VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Jodi Tinson, Stellantis spokeswoman says, “the automaker is working urgently to develop and implement a solution for the violations.”

Group 1 Automotive has finalized the purchase of 27 dealerships from Prime Automotive Group, almost one week before the scheduled date of the mega-deal expected to cost $880 million. Group 1 said the closing to date includes “substantially all assets”, including 27 of the 30 dealerships announced in the transaction, real estate, and three collision centers. At least one store won’t be sold to Group 1, and it wasn’t clear what happened to the other two dealerships, that were part of the original deal.

News & Opinion:

What should you look for when interviewing candidates for the dealership?
Over the last year, you’ve lost employees because of everything that surrounds the shutdowns. But now that business is back in most dealership areas, you probably now find yourself looking for employees. Although there may be a good number of people available, how do you find the right fit? Do you only use experience or seek people with character and desire to learn? First, let’s check out some qualities of a good candidate. Read more

How to improve email marketing effectiveness in 3 simple tips
When you mass email contacts with broad messages you ruin your database. Case in point, my dad recently bought a gently used Hyundai Sonata. One week after he bought it, he received an email about trading it in. I probably don’t have to tell you that he opted out of further email communications. Done right, email marketing delivers the highest ROI of all marketing channels with $42 back for every dollar spent. It remains one of the most powerful tools in your digital marketing strategy. Read more