CBT automotive newscast: March 28, 2022

Inside Automotive:

Piping hot buy/sell market signals strong year ahead – Ryan Kerrigan | Kerrigan Advisors
On today’s edition of Inside Automotive, Ryan Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors, gives an update on the buy/sell market and breaks down some of the auto industry’s most interesting headlines. In part one of this conversation, Kerrigan and anchor Jim Fitzpatrick discuss the unprecedented levels of M&A activity and electric vehicle adoption. Watch the complete segment here.

Headlines:

Volkswagen announced Friday that the launch of its ID.5 electric vehicle will be delayed until May due to the situation in Ukraine. The automaker said it could not obtain enough wire harnesses to roll out the vehicles to all of its sales partners and would be postponing the launch to ensure fairness. The conflict in Ukraine also forced the Germany-based plant the vehicles are being manufactured at to temporarily shut last week.

Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Flake told reporters last week that the automaker has “rebranded and repositioned” its so-called “Ford next” unit. Ford’s autonomous driving unit has been made a part of “Ford next,” and the unit is also maintaining investments in other important firms such as ADT Security and self-driving technology developer “Argo A.I.” The announcement comes after Ford also recently split its internal combustion vehicle and electric vehicle businesses with the goals of improving efficiency and boosting profits.

J.D. Power and LMC Automotive have released their most recent sales forecast, which projects an 18.4% decrease in new-vehicle sales for the first quarter of 2022 compared to Q1 of 2021. While the average retail price of new vehicles remains high at slightly under $44,000, incentive spending is at record lows and is over 30% lower than March of last year. Trucks and SUVs may make up over 80% of all sales, while fleet sales could drop more than 35% year-over-year. Inventory also remains tight, and the seasonally adjusted annual rate for the month of March is expected to drop to 12.7 million.

General Motors began accepting orders for the 2023 Corvette Stingray last week, but not before increasing the price of the vehicle. The starting price of the sports car will be slightly under $62,000, which is over $1,000 more than the 2021 model. The 2023 model will have new customization options for a higher price, including various finishes and more interior choices like its fully-red option. The 2023 model will come with an LT2 6.2-liter V8 engine and offer around 490 horsepower.

News & Opinion:

Stellantis shows efficiency isn’t all-electric with revival of inline 6 engine
It’s been more than 15 years since the 4.0L engine made popular in the Jeep lineup was discontinued. That was effectively the end of their inline-six motors. While it was one of the most reliable engines, it struggled to meet fuel efficiency and emissions standards. But Stellantis is reviving the inline-six engine, announced officially on Friday after years of rumors that it was on its way. Read More

Busting five myths about external BDCs
Everyone is struggling to hire right now. Simply having enough staff to pick up ringing phones is a challenge. Outbound calls are on the back burner. When calls are not getting made, it’s time to consider outsourcing to a BDC. I hear what you’re thinking: “External BDCs won’t take care of my customers,” or “I’ll lose control over the lead process.” I believe BDC myths like this are hindering market adoption, and that’s hurting your business. The sooner we bust these myths, the sooner your dealership can get on board with a solution to enhance your customer experience and boost your bottom line. So, let’s get started. Read more