Google mentioned Friday it will lay off 12,000 people from its workforce, adding to the slew of major U.S. tech firms reducing work opportunities amid fears of an oncoming economic downturn.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and guardian organization Alphabet, claimed in an e mail sent to the company’s workers Friday that the agency will get started creating layoffs in the U.S. promptly. In other countries, the method “will take extended thanks to neighborhood regulations and tactics,” he claimed. CNBC documented in November that Google workforce experienced been fearing layoffs as its counterparts manufactured cuts and as employees observed variations to the company’s performance scores method.
The web search and video sharing big will provide U.S.-based workforce 16 weeks of severance pay moreover two weeks for every added year they have worked at Google, Pichai extra.
Google shares shut up far more than 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} soon after the news.
Tech companies are going through a selection of worries at the second, not least rising fascination charges and inflation around the past yr that have clobbered technology shares and compelled advertisers to slice again on on-line advertisement expending.
Hikes to fascination prices from the U.S. Federal Reserve in certain have led to souring appetite for American tech shares. The gloomy macroeconomic climate has in turn piled tension on individuals corporations to make deep cuts to their workforces.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 09: Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a panel at the CEO Summit of the Americas hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on June 09, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. The CEO Summit entered its second day of situations with a formal signing for the “Worldwide Coalition to Connect Maritime Protected Parts” and a speech from U.S. President Joe Biden. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Visuals)
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Photos Information | Getty Photos
On Wednesday, Amazon commenced a new wave of job cuts influencing a lot more than 18,000 men and women. That identical day, Microsoft announced strategies to lay off 10,000 workers.
Twitter, underneath the management of Elon Musk, has also created redundancies, slashing about half of the company’s headcount given that getting about as CEO in October.
The layoff move from Google on Friday comes following CNBC claimed Thursday that the organization was deferring a portion of employees’ 12 months-close reward checks till March or April alternatively of spending them in whole in January.
Read the comprehensive memo Pichai despatched out to personnel on Friday:
Googlers,
I have some tricky information to share. We’ve decided to reduce our workforce by close to 12,000 roles. We have presently despatched a individual e-mail to staff in the US who are afflicted. In other countries, this procedure will choose for a longer period thanks to neighborhood legislation and tactics.
This will imply stating goodbye to some extremely gifted individuals we worked tough to hire and have liked doing the job with. I’m deeply sorry for that. The fact that these alterations will effect the lives of Googlers weighs closely on me, and I take complete obligation for the choices that led us right here.
About the past two years we have seen intervals of extraordinary growth. To match and gasoline that expansion, we employed for a diverse economic actuality than the just one we encounter today.
I am confident about the substantial chance in entrance of us many thanks to the energy of our mission, the worth of our goods and expert services, and our early investments in AI. To absolutely capture it, we will need to make challenging decisions. So, we’ve carried out a rigorous review across solution parts and capabilities to guarantee that our folks and roles are aligned with our best priorities as a corporation. The roles we are getting rid of reflect the result of that evaluate. They slice throughout Alphabet, merchandise spots, functions, degrees and regions.
To the Googlers who are leaving us: Thank you for performing so really hard to enable people and firms in all places. Your contributions have been invaluable and we are grateful for them.
When this changeover will not be uncomplicated, we are heading to aid staff members as they glimpse for their next option.
In the US:
We will spend staff throughout the entire notification interval (minimum amount 60 times).
We are going to also provide a severance package deal starting at 16 weeks wage moreover two weeks for each and every supplemental calendar year at Google, and accelerate at the very least 16 weeks of GSU vesting.
We will pay back 2022 bonuses and remaining trip time.
We’ll be presenting 6 months of health care, position placement services, and immigration assist for people influenced.
Exterior the US, we are going to guidance staff in line with neighborhood procedures.
As an practically 25-yr-old organization, we’re bound to go as a result of complicated financial cycles. These are crucial times to sharpen our aim, reengineer our expense base, and direct our expertise and cash to our maximum priorities.
Remaining constrained in some spots makes it possible for us to guess major on other people. Pivoting the company to be AI-initially many years back led to groundbreaking advancements across our businesses and the complete market.
Many thanks to those early investments, Google’s solutions are superior than at any time. And we’re acquiring all set to share some totally new activities for end users, builders and businesses, far too. We have a considerable possibility in front of us with AI across our items and are ready to strategy it boldly and responsibly.
All this operate is a continuation of the “healthier disregard for the unachievable” that’s been core to our tradition from the beginning. When I seem all over Google right now, I see that exact spirit and energy driving our attempts. That’s why I remain optimistic about our potential to provide on our mission, even on our toughest times. Now is unquestionably a single of them.
I am certain you have lots of thoughts about how we will move ahead. We’ll be arranging a town hall on Monday. Examine your calendar for information. Right up until then, make sure you choose very good care of yourselves as you soak up this difficult news. As element of that, if you are just starting your perform day, remember to sense free of charge to do the job from home these days.
The thought of EV retrofits is not new. One specialized niche participant, EV West in California, sells conversion kits for a handful of traditional cars beneath the Volkswagen Group umbrella ranging from the 1955-1974 Karmann Ghia ($8,734) to the 1965-1986 Porsche 911 ($11,594) to the 1971-1979 VW Super Beetle ($18,695).
Legacy automakers are also in on the action. For case in point, Ford Motor Co. in 2021 debuted the Ford F-100 Eluminator notion, a pickup styled like a 1978 F-100 and outfitted with two 2021 Mustang Mach-E GT Effectiveness Version motors. Alongside the principle, Ford introduced that clients could invest in an Eluminator Mach-E electric powered motor online or as a result of a dealership. It is really shown at $4,340.
And Toyoda, although unveiling his vision at the Tokyo Automobile Salon, showed off a pair of carbon-absolutely free ideas derived from Toyota AE86 compact athletics autos, one particular with an EV battery and the other with a hydrogen-combustion program.
These are neat ideas for hobbyists with economic implies, but I am obtaining a tough time observing this work on a significant scale.
For starters, seeing how cautious quite a few folks are of brand name-new EVs with modern day systems and design, how considerably shopper attraction is there in getting an ageing Corolla or Land Cruiser and making it an EV? Confident, a handful of people may possibly dig it, but not the masses.
If I am interpreting effectively what Toyoda claimed — he did not give a timeline or prices — earning a major effect on air high quality would necessarily mean changing a large chunk of the about 1.5 billion automobiles on Earth.
That would also necessarily mean figuring out how to do these conversions at a scale that helps make it economically viable for retrofitters and buyers. With present day battery chemistries, getting batteries alone would be an enormously difficult and costly proposition. Increase in the installation charges, and will it be cost-effective for buyers?
With passenger automobiles coming in all styles and dimensions, how several variations of conversion kits would be necessary? Would the vehicles’ bodies and frames need to have to be in pristine problem for a retrofit, or would they will need to be fixed, including additional expenditure?
A different thing to consider is that EV conversions could significantly alter a vehicle’s bodily constitution and driving dynamics. If these kinds of automobiles confirmed any assure of turning out to be a important part of visitors, would automakers, dealership assistance departments, physique shops and other retrofitters welcome a heavier regulatory hand from authorities in the U.S. and overseas?
Most likely this could be a possible new profits stream for dealerships seeking to substitute routine servicing affiliated with ICE cars. But will there be ample small business to justify the time and expense wanted to coach technicians? And would all those dealerships or other retrofitters be uncovered to liability if a little something goes haywire with a customer’s motor vehicle?
RICHMOND, Va. – Guiding a profession night from freshman Maggie Doogan, the College of Richmond Women’s Basketball group won a key A-10 struggle, 73-58, towards George Mason Saturday night inside the Robins Centre. With the acquire, the Spiders snap a two-recreation dropping skid and boost to 12-6 general and 2-3 in the A-10 even though the Patriots fell to 10-10 in general and 3-4 in meeting play.
“I think the hustle was there now,” stated Head Mentor Aaron Roussell. “The physicality was a great deal better in present-day sport. Our crew has talked a lot about what is functioning for us, and the way we were able to get a double-digit win above a crew who shot the ball really effectively states a good deal about our group.”
Doogan, with a back-to-back double-double and her first vocation start off, led the crew with a job-superior 18 factors and 12 rebounds in addition to a few blocks and an help. She also recorded a profession-high 5 industry goals, a vocation-higher two three-pointers, a career-significant six totally free throws and a job-superior three blocks. Junior Addie Budnik recorded 14 factors on 4 of 8 from the area, although junior Siobhan Ryan was the third Spider in double figures, recording 13 points in addition to an support.
As a workforce, the Spiders shot 24 of 47 (51.1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) from the discipline, 7 of 18 (38.9{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) from deep and 18 of 24 (75{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) from the line. The team also set up 45 rebounds, which include 7 offensive, 13 helps, a few steals and 9 blocks.
The Patriots shot 19 of 60 (31.7{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) from the discipline, 6 of 24 (25{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) from deep and 14 of 22 (63.6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) from the line. George Mason was led by Taylor Jameson with 16 factors whilst Nekhu Mitchell experienced a group-large 6 rebounds.
Budnik started out the scoring campaign for UR, putting up a swift 2nd-chance layup 35 second into the video game. Doogan followed the perform with one more layup to give UR an early 4- guide. Later on, a huge trey from Doogan gave the Spiders a six-point guide with 4:25 remaining in the quarter. Graduate Emilija Krista Grava finished the very first quarter with a jumper for the Spiders to enable UR to guide 20-8 at the split.
Through the to start with 10 minutes, the Spiders were being paced by Doogan, who place up 8 points while four other Spiders chipped in two details. Junior Grace Townsend dropped two dimes in the quarter though Doogan and Budnik each and every recorded a block.
In the second quarter, Hill commenced the scoring endeavours as the Patriots went on a 4- operate. With 4:06 still left in the half, junior Siobhan Ryan recorded a substantial trey courtesy of sophomore Katie Hill and then adopted up the enjoy with a different a few-pointer to thrust the lead to 42-19 in favor of the Spiders. George Mason got a single past shot off with 1:02 left in the 50 {cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} to deliver the Spiders into the locker room major 42-21.
By means of the initially half, Doogan continued to lead the Spider offense with 10 details, shooting 4 of 7 from the area, 2 of 4 from deep and additional five rebounds and two blocks. Ryan included 8 details via the initial 20 minutes and also dropped a dime though Budnik and Hill each individual chipped in five details.
As a staff, the Spiders shot 17 of 26 from the industry (65.4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}), 6 of 12 from deep (50{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) and a great 2 of 2 from the no cost toss line. UR recorded 5 factors off eight Patriot turnovers as the Spider bench also chipped in 10 details at the fifty percent.
In the third quarter, UR recorded five totally free throws from Hill and Doogan to maintain a 20-level direct, 47-27 before the Patriots began to scratch back at the guide and minimize the deficit to 47-36 with 4:38 left. Two minutes later on, Doogan recorded the hoop-and-harm to press the Spider direct to 56-42 and Budnik ongoing to maintain the 14-level guide, 60-47, with a pair of no cost throws to conclude the quarter.
In the closing 10 minutes, the teams exchanged factors all over the first five minutes as UR preserved a 16-stage direct from efforts by Budnik and Ryan. Soon after Budnik recorded a pair of free throws, George Mason responded with two cost-free throws of its own, but the Spiders walked absent with a double-digit get, 73-58.
The Spiders are back again in motion on Wednesday, taking on Fordham on the street at 7 p.m. just before actively playing host to Saint Joseph’s on Jan. 29 for the Engage in4Kay / National Women and Women in Athletics Day Celebration Introduced by CarMax match slated for 4 p.m. within the Robins Heart.
Share on PinterestPsychological health may have a bigger impact on dementia risk than previously thought. SolStock/Getty Images
Researchers followed 67,688 individuals over an average period of 25 years to better understand the link between symptoms of dementia and psychological distress (stress, depressive mood, exhaustion, and nervousness).
The researchers found that psychological distress symptoms are associated with an increased risk of dementia.
A better understanding of dementia risk factors may pave the way for dementia prevention.
According to the World Health Organization, there are currently 55 million people worldwide living with dementia, with nearly 10 million new cases being diagnosed each year. To lower the risk of dementia in a population, researchers must understand what causes dementia.
Several studies have looked at the association between psychological distress—an umbrella term that encompasses symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress—and dementia. However, the link between the two remains unclear.
Now, a new study published in JAMA Network Openexplores this link between psychological distress and dementia.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the University of Helsinki, and the University of Eastern Finland.
Previous studies, such as one published in 2022, concluded that individuals with depression levels that were increasingly severe, chronically high, or chronically low had a higher likelihood of developing dementia compared to individuals without depression or with decreasing depression symptoms.
On the other hand, a 28-year follow-up study on the relationship between depression and dementia found that depression was mostly caused by dementia rather than dementia being caused by depression.
Since psychological distress is common in the early stages of dementia, risk-determining studies must have a sufficiently long gap between the measurement of psychological distress and the incidence of dementia for the result to be considered reliable.
Studies with an elderly population and short follow-up periods fail to separate the early (prodromal) symptoms of dementia from causal risk factors.
Another factor to keep in mind in studies on psychological distress and dementia is the competing risk of death. According to some authors, studies should take into account whether people with mental health problems tend to die at younger ages and thus may not live long enough to show dementia.
“We could clarify that connection using one of the largest population data sets, long follow-up, and careful modeling of death [from] other causes,” Dr. Sonja Sulkava, principal investigator for the study and postdoctoral researcher in Professor Tiina Paunio’s group, told Medical News Today.
The study included 67,688 individuals, ages 25–74, who participated in the National FINRISK Study surveys between 1972 and 2007.
FINRISK was a large Finnish population study on risk factors in chronic, noncommunicable diseases that was carried out for 40 years, and its surveys included questions on symptoms of psychological distress.
Dementia and mortality data for each participant until December 31, 2017, was obtained from the Finnish Health Register.
“Dr. Sulkava’s report adds to the new evidence that people who have mental health problems in early life tend to develop dementia in later life. This opens a promising window for dementia prevention.” — Dr. Terrie E. Moffitt, Nannerl O. Keohane professor of psychology at Duke University, and professor of social development at King’s College London, who was not involved in the study
Taking into account the competing risk of death and other factors that affect the risk of dementia, the researchers found that symptoms of psychological distress were associated with a 17-24{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} increased risk of dementia in an etiological Poisson model and with an 8-12{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} increase in the incidence of dementia in the Fine-Gray model.
“Our study suggests that symptoms of psychological distress, e.g., exhaustion, depressive mood, and experience of stress, are risk factors for dementia, and not only prodromal symptoms of underlying dementia disorder. [However], [w]e cannot prove causality.” — Dr. Sonja Sulkava
Dr. Moffitt expressed confidence in the findings of this study, noting that the results converge with those of a New Zealand population study.
“In 2022, my team also reported that mental health is an early factor in later dementia. We followed 1.7 million New Zealanders for 30 years in national medical records and found that early-life mental disorder predicted 4 times greater risk of later-life dementia,” he said,
Like the Finland population study, the New Zealand study also controlled for the competing risk of death.
Dr. Linda Ernstsen, associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who was not involved in the study, told MNT:
“The take-home message from this study is that mental health issues and feeling of distress are associated with premature death and dementia. These findings illustrate the need to focus on mental health at all ages and to identify causes and triggers.”
In their paper, the researchers note that individuals who did not participate in the FINRISK survey or had missing information also had more risk factors and increased risk of dementia and mortality, and this selective participation and non-responsiveness may skew the study results.
The researchers also acknowledged that their measurement of psychological distress was not based on a validated multi-item questionnaire but on several single-item measures for different symptoms of psychological distress. However, these measures correlate significantly and show a consistent pattern of association with dementia.
Moreover, the researchers acknowledged that there was no available information about traumatic brain injury, hearing impairment, and low social contact—three established risk factors for dementia.
Dr. Sulkava added that study participants were asked to report their current symptoms of psychological distress only once, and this leads to a lack of “longitudinal perspective” for the symptoms.
Dr. Ernstsen pointed out that information about social isolation or marital status was not included. Research has found that being married protects against dementia.
“We also know that cardiovascular disease is associated with both mental health and dementia risk, but it was only the presence of diabetes that was adjusted for in the present study,” Dr. Ernstsen added.
Dr. Archana Singh-Manoux, research professor and director at the French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), who was not involved in the study, told MNT that the major limitation of this study relates to reverse causation.
In one of the models used to calculate dementia risk, when the researchers excluded individuals with a follow-up of fewer than 10 years, the sensitivity analyses showed no significant associations between psychological distress and dementia.
“These findings suggest that the main results of the paper are due to dementia events occurring soon after the measure of psychological distress. This is a perfect demonstration of reverse causation, i.e., psychological distress in the preclinical phase of dementia rather than psychological distress ‘causing’ dementia.” — Dr. Archana Singh-Manoux
When asked about the next research steps, Dr. Sulkava told MNT that larger studies and longer follow-ups will be needed.
“Stress, exhaustion, and depressive symptoms are tightly linked to sleep problems, which are suggested to be risk factors for dementia too. However, most epidemiological studies lack large enough sample[s] or long follow-up,” she said.
“Our next step is to study sleep problems and sleep length and dementia risk using the large Finnish cohorts,” she added.
Pedestrians exterior Twitter headquarters in San Francisco on Oct. 6, 2022.
David Paul | Bloomberg | Getty Visuals
Twitter’s whole-time headcount has dwindled to roughly 1,300 lively, working staff, including fewer than 550 entire-time engineers by title, in accordance to inside documents considered by CNBC. About 75 of the firm’s 1,300 employees are on go away including about 40 engineers.
The firm’s belief and security workforce, which tends to make coverage recommendations, design and style and merchandise improvements with the goal of maintaining all of Twitter’s users risk-free, is down to much less than 20 full-time staff.
Internal documents reveal that there are also about 1,400 non-working workforce of Twitter who are still currently being paid out, but are no more time expected to fulfill their aged tasks at the social media firm. A lot of of them resigned when CEO Elon Musk despatched out a “pledge” asking them to dedicate to “hardcore” perform at Twitter 2. which includes very long several hours.
Musk has contradicted the internal data obtained by CNBC in a sequence of tweets, and claimed that Twitter now has about 2,300 comprehensive-time performing workers and 1000’s of contractors. CNBC contacted Twitter for clarification and comment but did not immediately listen to back again.
Below Musk’s administration, Twitter has slashed headcount by means of mass layoffs, other terminations and alterations that compelled several to resign, together with the conclude of a function-from-house endlessly policy that had been place in place below previous CEO Jack Dorsey.
Before Musk led a $44 billion leveraged buyout of Twitter final yr, Twitter’s headcount stood at about 7,500 workers. Layoffs had been rumored internally and envisioned to acquire position whether or not Musk’s takeover went through or not. Nevertheless, Musk has lower Twitter personnel significantly extra than a lot of expected — or by about 80{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} according to the internal information and two current workers who spoke with CNBC.
In accordance to an engineer who resigned from the organization, the reduction of personnel and lowered headcount will make it more difficult to retain the company reliably although however developing new capabilities.
This person, who asked to stay unnamed though discussing a prior employer, defined that the company’s code base is substantial, and it demands know-how of distinctive platforms and programming languages to maintain distinctive areas of Twitter — advertising and marketing services as opposed to the main timeline, for instance. Engineers’ ability sets, they mentioned, are not essentially transferrable across all of these. And it will be hard to practice engineers just after losing so substantially institutional awareness, this particular person extra.
In addition to all over 1,300 total-time working employees, Musk also has approved about 130 folks from his other organizations, which include Tesla, SpaceX and The Tedious Enterprise, as perfectly as expertise from undertaking cash and other corporations, to get the job done at Twitter.
Considering that having above Twitter, Musk has confronted a shareholder backlash at Tesla for staying distracted, for stirring up political controversy with his method at Twitter, and for advertising billions of pounds truly worth of his Tesla shares to finance his Twitter takeover.
Clarification: This story has been up-to-date to notice that the 1,300 persons are active, working staff at Twitter. A further 1,400 people are non-functioning, but paid workers of Twitter.
Cox Automotive will be the largest exhibitor at the annual dealer convention.
Team will showcase new products and solutions focused on improving retail transactions, solving inventory issues, and preparing for EV growth.
Dealerships deploying multiple Cox Automotive solutions are averaging 23{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} higher close rates, 63{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} more leads, and $187,000 per month more in profit.
ATLANTA, Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — When the National Automobile Dealers Association’s annual gathering gets underway later this month, Cox Automotive will be showcasing a collection of new services and solutions to help the industry cope with a slowing market and consumers increasingly expecting a more digital, connected vehicle-buying experience. Cox Automotive, the world’s largest automotive services and solutions provider, will be the largest exhibitor at the show, held for the first time at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.
The Cox Automotive display will cover more than 27,000 square feet of expo space and include the Power Up live stage, more than 200 demonstration stations, and 30 private meeting rooms. Lined up end-to-end, the LED display screens throughout the space would stretch across half a football field. The stand at NADA 2023 is Cox Automotive’s largest ever.
“With a challenging market ahead, we think it is more important than ever to be showcasing the many smart solutions we offer that can help dealers successfully grow their profitability and deliver the omnichannel experience consumers expect,” said Cox Automotive President Steve Rowley. “Now is the time for our industry partners to invest in the solutions that help make car buying more efficient for everyone.”
Smart Solutions to Make Car Buying Better
Recent research from Cox Automotive indicates that satisfaction with the car buying process declined in 2022 for the second straight year. Satisfaction with the car buying process peaked in 2020, due in part to widespread adoption of digital and remote car buying tools. High prices and limited inventory, however, have resulted in more frustration with both the market and the process.
“Cox Automotive continues to pursue new and innovative ways to help clients and consumers thrive in the age of digital transformation,” said Cox Automotive’s Chief Product Officer Marianne Johnson. “And our portfolio of smart solutions is backed by the industry’s most powerful consumer intelligence, vehicle intelligence and market intelligence.”
In 2023, Cox Automotive will be launching more than 20 new products and will improve existing products with more than 70 integrations to help provide better outcomes for clients who utilize multiple Cox Automotive solutions. Through the pursuit of continual improvement, the engineering teams at Cox Automotive plan to deploy more than 12,000 new features and product enhancements in the coming year.
At the center of the company’s broad portfolio of new and improved products is an expansive data intelligence engine that powers Cox Automotive’s broad ability to deliver valuable business insights, services and solutions to the company’s many clients and to the auto industry as a whole. DRiVEQ is the Cox Automotive data intelligence capability that is fueled by the largest breadth of first-party data in the automotive ecosystem – more than 2.3 billion online interactions a year. Working with 80 million leads and 20 million transactions annually, Cox Automotive works to build better products and actionable intelligence that drives better business outcomes.
At NADA, Cox Automotive will be showcasing new products and capabilities across three operational disciplines that are critical to client success. Those three focus areas are:
Transforming the Transaction
Optimizing Inventory Channels
Building EV Readiness
“With 200 demonstration stations available across our display space at NADA this year,” added Chief Product Officer Marianne Johnson, “I think we are more than ready to showcase how Cox Automotive products and solutions can help our clients thrive in any business environment.”
Transforming the Transaction
At NADA 2023, Cox Automotive will be showcasing an industry-first solution that will help make retail transactions faster, more personalized, more accurate and more consistent for everyone involved. Retail360 is rooted in the concept of the Power of One—one view of the consumer and car deal from one partner, creating more satisfying experiences for both car buyers and dealership personnel.
Retail360 provides a complete, personalized view of the car buyer’s journey and one deal workflow. It is a premium, upgraded retail experience that includes Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book and VinSolutions, guided by Cox Automotive’s first-party data insights and industry-leading capabilities. Dealerships who deploy multiple Cox Automotive solutions are averaging 23{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} higher close rates, 63{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} more leads, and $187,000 per month more in profit.
“Today’s automotive marketplace is more competitive than ever, where dealers are faced with scarce inventory, increasing rates, and buyers or trade-ins that are harder than ever to find,” said Lori Wittman, president of retail solutions at Cox Automotive. “Retail360 transcends this disruption so dealers can predict, reach, and convert potential buyers ahead of their competition and deliver less frustrating and more satisfying car buying experiences.”
Beta tests of the new Retail360 solution reveal dealers now can:
Know their customers better with real-time exclusive insights and deal intelligence
Get one view of the consumer, their past purchases, service history, lifetime spend, and current stage in their buying journey
See one view of the deal to manage profitability and streamline deal workflows to enhance the car buying experience
Stay on the same page with consumers with to-the-penny pricing, and one consistent experience
“Our individual brands have been delivering exceptional results for dealers for decades,” added Tracy Fred, senior vice president of dealer solutions at Cox Automotive. “Retail360 packages the power of these brands in a whole new way and comes to dealerships just in time to ease the business headwinds they face, as part of Cox Automotive’s promise to transform the retail transaction.”
Optimizing Inventory Channels
For much of the past year, ‘limited Inventory’ was identified as the top factor holding back business by auto dealers across the U.S. In the face of this challenge, Cox Automotive has been particularly focused on developing innovative solutions to help make inventory acquisition more efficient, especially as digital transactions continue to rise.
“First and foremost, our top priority continues to be making certain that the digital buying experience is as good as being there in person, as 75{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of Manheim’s transactions went to a digital buyer in 2022,” said Grace Huang, president of Cox Automotive Inventory Solutions. “Our journey toward the industry’s best vehicle information accelerated with the acquisition of Fyusion and continues with even more enhancements that deliver clients the most comprehensive view of the vehicle in the industry.”
At NADA 2023, Cox Automotive and Manheim will showcase more advanced imaging capability with new Fyusion-powered fixed imaging tunnels (formerly known as gantries), as well as undercarriage imaging, which Manheim deployed at 39 locations in 2022. The undercarriage images are unmatched in quality, enabling clients to zoom in and pan across to visually inspect even the tiniest of details like the serial number on a muffler or even a small oil leak. Together, these imaging technologies will continue to elevate trust and transparency in the wholesale marketplace for each and every buyer.
At NADA, Cox Automotive will also be confirming new markets for the company’s Upside Direct sales model. Upside, a new approach to wholesale, has delivered more than $3 million in profit sharing back to clients since it launched in 2022. The new approach continues to demonstrate that dealers can generate revenue on every vehicle by leaning into the Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer and Upside process.
Recognizing that dealers will need a new playbook in 2023, vAuto will also be demonstrating at NADA fresh enhancements to the company’s flagship solution, ProfitTime GPS. The new features and capabilities will help dealers evaluate and price inventory more effectively and ultimately help them execute a “Variable Inventory Management” strategy to ensure profitability.
The goal of vAuto’s Variable Inventory Management is to use Cox Automotive’s vast data to help strategically price each vehicle in inventory to optimize its ROI. Ultimately, by executing the strategy, dealers can make better inventory acquisition and pricing decisions and keep their inventory levels in check, which is particularly important in this unpredictable market. Using vAuto’s Variable Inventory Management strategy, dealers are able to understand each vehicle’s inherent investment value at the point of acquisition and ensure they are capturing all the profits they can, and should, with each vehicle sale.
“We’ve come to realize that a one-size-fits-all approach to a dealer’s used-vehicle inventory is not the ideal approach in today’s market; dealers are selling some cars too fast and too cheap, and holding on to other vehicles for profits that will never come,” noted Dale Pollak, founder of vAuto. “Thanks to better data science and market insights, we can now recognize each vehicle in a dealer’s inventory for its unique, individual potential to create a return on investment. That’s the core of the Variable Inventory Management strategy.”
Building EV Readiness
In 2022, battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) sales were a highlight in a mostly down market, growing year over year by more than 65{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. In the year ahead, Cox Automotive is forecasting a milestone for the U.S. auto industry: One million EVs sold. New models with more range, faster charging times, and more appeal than ever are fueling EV sales growth in the U.S.
As the vehicle market shifts and evolves with more EVs on road, Cox Automotive will continue to invest in EV readiness. At NADA, Cox Automotive will be showcasing the next phase of its pioneering approach to EV Battery Health scoring and diagnostics that will set the foundation for the industry standard in EV battery inspection and valuation with the company’s VIN-specific battery grading system, built in partnership with Spiers New Technologies (SNT). The pilot of Cox Automotive’s new EV Battery Health mobile app and Bluetooth® dongle will launch at 10 Manheim locations across the U.S. in 2023.
“We take pride in our EV battery diagnostic tool and grading system,” said Lea Malloy, AVP of EV Battery Solutions, Cox Automotive Mobility. “Our independent, third-party standard for EV battery health diagnostics is unmatched in the industry.”
Unlike the grading systems of other EV battery diagnostic tools, which provide a general battery estimate based on make and model, Cox Automotive’s mobile Battery Health tool directly evaluates each car and provides VIN-specific information, which is vital in capturing accurate information around the health of the battery. The easy-to-use tool measures current battery condition, historical data (times, temperatures and types of charges) and performance, which the company’s patented health algorithm then uses to produce a VIN-specific battery score ranging from 1-5. That score, along with information on the battery’s current estimated range, is all included in the EV Battery Health Report.
“To meet the future growth of EVs at our Manheim locations, we’ve been investing in infrastructure and technology to service and support our clients’ future EV battery needs,” said Huang. “Creating a trusted battery health score supports our efforts to build an industry standard for battery health while delivering the type of vehicle information clients require.”
Cox Automotive is committed to being the world’s best battery health innovator and end-to-end EV battery lifecycle services provider, offering efficient and sustainable solutions that enable the extension of battery first lives and end-of-life reuse and pre-treatment recycling. The company’s global EV battery service network, operated in collaboration with Spiers New Technologies, has dedicated locations across the U.S. and Europe.
Cox Automotive and SNT’s breadth of experience and depth of knowledge is second to none in the advanced automotive battery pack services industry. Current clients include Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan North America, Porsche Cars North America, Stellantis, Subaru of America, Toyota Motors North America, Volkswagen Group of America and others. SNT currently works with more than 25 different vehicle battery types, which encompasses most global battery manufacturers, including LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Bosch, CATL, A123, Johnson Controls, and Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC).
Cox Automotive is the world’s largest automotive services and technology provider. Fueled by the largest breadth of first-party data fed by 2.3 billion online interactions a year, Cox Automotive tailors leading solutions for car shoppers, automakers, dealers, retailers, lenders and fleet owners. The company has 25,000+ employees on five continents and a family of trusted brands that includes Autotrader®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital™ and vAuto®. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with $21 billion in revenue. Visit coxautoinc.com or connect via @CoxAutomotive on Twitter, CoxAutoInc on Facebook or Cox-Automotive-Inc on LinkedIn.
