CBT automotive newscast: October 8, 2020

Today’s Featured Interview:

Is digital retailing here to stay in the automotive industry? – Chad Collier, CarSaver
While it’s uncertain how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last, one certainty is that digital retailing is here to stay. eCommerce is taking center stage for all industries as consumers look to avoid close contact in public spaces. Chad Collier is the CEO of CarSaver, an online car-buying interface that connects car-shoppers to low priced vehicles. Collier joins us on CBT today to discuss how digital retailing is changing the car-buying experience. Watch the full segment here.

Top Headlines:

Toyota Motor Company’s luxury brand topped its German rivals in the latest quarter. Toyota’s Lexus brand outsold both Mercedes and BMW in the third quarter as the German brands continue to face the dilemma of an inventory shortage. Lexus finds itself at the top of U.S. luxury sales for the first time in over a decade. The brand saw an increase of 2% in the third quarter while Daimler declined 9.4% and BMW fell 16%. While the Q3 results showcase how well Lexus has navigated the pandemic, the brand is still trailing Mercedes in year-to-date sales by a wide margin.

Ford Motor Company is finishing up production of the 2020 Ford F-150 and is starting to transition its focus to the all-new 2021 truck model. The best-selling pickup is undergoing its first redesign since 2015 and is already drawing heavy attention from car buyers. Ford’s Missouri plant will begin production of the new F-150 on October 26, and the company plans to launch the revamped truck into its showrooms before the end of the year.

Wholesale used-vehicle prices are cooling off after three months of record highs. According to a Cox Automotive report, wholesale-used vehicle prices dropped 1.58% month over month in September, the first month-over-month drop in wholesale values since May. On a year-over-year basis, all major market segments saw seasonally adjusted price increases in the month of September, with luxury cars and pickup trucks outperforming the rest of the market.

A group of auto dealers in the Philadelphia region are teaming up to keep kids warm during the winter months. This week, thousands of coats filled the parking lot of the auto dealers Caring for Kids Foundation. The group is made up of 171 dealerships who donated time and resources to ensure kids in need received a new coat. The group is in its thirteenth year of its “drive away the cold” campaign. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic changing normal operations, the group of auto dealers was still able to distribute a record 53,000 coats this year. In a year with so many challenges for thousands of families, the group of dealers say they want to do anything they can to help those families in need.

News Stories & Opinion:

Marketing during COVID-19: Five examples of advertising to customers
Today, your typical customers are not only thinking about the automobiles they want to buy, but they are also considering their overall finances amid a public health crisis. However, even in this new reality, some dealerships have figured out how to stay relevant and provide messaging that consumers need. Here are five great examples of dealerships who are successfully advertising during COVID-19. Read More

Average selling price up YoY, holding steady on low inventory
The average selling price of a new light vehicle in the United States was $38,723 in September 2020. According to Kelley Blue Book valuation analysts, that represents a 2.5% increase from September 2019 where the average selling price was $37,783, or $940 more than the same month last year. Compared to August 2020, the average transaction price held almost perfectly steady, increasing by one-tenth of a percentage.