Tag: Auto

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Pandemic validates telecommuting options for some auto dealerships

About fifty percent of this year’s profitable dealerships stated they supply telecommuting as a typical follow. And more than 50 percent of the suppliers on the listing stated their telecommuting fees elevated soon after the start off of the pandemic in early 2020, with some reporting that half or much more of workers were being doing work from household, in accordance to a study by Most effective Organizations Team, which compiled the Best Dealerships To Do the job For listing. Individuals premiums have given that moderated, nevertheless almost a quarter of the successful dealerships documented that staffers are continue to telecommuting at levels bigger than ahead of the pandemic commenced.

At Faulkner Subaru, BDC reaction time to customers’ queries is now 5 to 10 minutes, down from up to 30 minutes pre-pandemic, Jones mentioned, citing knowledge from the store’s customer connection management program.

The top secret sauce? Utilizing the Slack communication platform allows staff members to promptly ship messages even when they are active. In advance of, BDC brokers had been pressured to wait for, say, a sales supervisor to get off a phone contact or complete a assembly right before having issues answered, Jones explained.

Outside of the BDC, two place of work staff stored doing work remotely, this means about 10 percent of the store’s 4 dozen employees now telecommute, up from zero right before the pandemic, Jones said.

Also, the remote staff feel to communicate more than standard to compensate for not getting in a position to speak experience-to-encounter with colleagues.

Kim Stanley, an region human resources manager for Penske, reported telecommuting can aid catch the attention of and keep staff members.

“We consider we will have to go on to look for these sorts of options in purchase to attract and keep group members shifting forward,” Stanley wrote in response to a survey of winners executed by Automotive News.

Diana Kennedy, standard manager of Volvo Cars Marin in San Rafael, Calif., owned by Price Simms Relatives Dealerships, mentioned, “I can unquestionably see us performing much more of this as we mature, but there are boundaries.”

Two of the Volvo store’s staff members — a marketing manager and a BDC agent — now operate from household. Those careers are suited for remote do the job mainly because they you should not involve continual face-to-deal with interaction with fellow employees, consumers or vendors, Kennedy explained.

“Our internet marketing manager is just as productive as just before, if not additional,” she stated. “She enjoys getting the flexibility to composition her day as necessary and suggests it assists a good deal when she can prevent and get a walk to mentally regroup. Which is tough to do in the shop, where by you are often getting interrupted by curveballs.”

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Nutson”s Weekly Auto News Wrap-Up October 31, 2021


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AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO – October 31, 2021: Every Sunday Larry Nutson, The Chicago Car Guy and Executive Producer, with able assistance from senior editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, compile The Auto Channel’s
“take” on this past week’s automotive news, condensed into easy to digest news Nuggets.

LEARN MORE: Full versions of today’s news nuggets along with almost a million pages of the past 25 year’s automotive content, news, articles, reviews and archived relevant stories residing in
The Auto Channel Automotive News Library can be found by just copying a headline and then inserting into any Site Search Box.

Nutson’s Automotive News Wrap-up – Week Ending October 30, 2021 ; Below are the past week’s important, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as
expertly crafted easy-to-digest news nuggets.

* Quote of the week is from Joe White writing for Reuters. “At a high level, the investor community has slammed down the gavel on the debate over the future of combustion engine vehicles in the world’s major markets. The verdict: It’s over. Electric vehicles are the winners, and Tesla is so far and away the leader in EVs that it will take all the market share it can handle – like GM in the 1950s and 1960s, except moreso.”

* GM is planning to install 40,000 electric vehicle chargers across the U.S. and Canada as part of a new community charging program. The program, set to start next year, will work with its dealers to have charging stations in locations including workplaces, multi-unit dwellings, sports and entertainment venues and colleges and universities. Nearly 90{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a GM dealer. The EV chargers will be available to anyone with an electric vehicle regardless of brand.

* From a Detroit Free press story we learn a new report details costs to “fill-up” an electric vehicle compared with a gasoline car. Anderson Economic released the report “Comparison: Real World Cost of Fueling EVs and ICE Vehicles.” The study has four major findings regarding additional costs to powering EVs beyond electricity: cost of a home charger, commercial charging, the EV tax and “deadhead” miles. For now, EVs cost more to power than gasoline costs to fuel an internal combustion car that gets reasonable gas mileage. Charging costs vary more widely than gasoline prices. There are significant time costs to finding reliable public chargers — and then a charger could take 30 minutes to go from 20{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} to an 80{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} charge.

* Hertz announced it has ordered 100,000 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles for its car-rental fleets in the U.S. and Europe and 50,000 for Uber partnership. Hertz will have access to the Tesla Supercharger network. Hertz also plans to build its own charging network with 3,000 chargers in 65 locations by the end of 2022 and 4,000 by the end of 2023. Hertz will provide Uber drivers with up to 50,000 rented Teslas – a deal that fleshes out the rationale for Hertz’s order of 100,000 Teslas. Former Ford CEO Mark Fields is the interim Hertz CEO.

* Record high used car prices over the past 15 months as a result of the microchip shortage have slowed down the average depreciation rate across all vehicles. The latest iSeeCars study found that the average depreciation of a five-year-old vehicle has slowed to 40.1 percent in 2021, compared to 49.1 percent in 2020. Jeep Wrangler tops the list of vehicles with the lowest depreciation, at 9.2 percent over five years. Nissan LEAF depreciates the most, losing 65.1 percent of its value, amounting to a $23,666 drop in value over five years. Trucks and truck-based SUVs hold their value the best, while EVs and luxury sedans see the most depreciation. See how your vehicle is doing HERE

* Land Rover unveiled the new 2022 Range Rover. The first redesign in a decade. It’s due to go into production next year as only the fifth generation of the large off-road luxury SUV since the model line was introduced in 1970. There will be a V8 as well as a mild-hybrid inline 6 engine. A pure battery electric version is coming in 2024. The New Range Rover is available to order now, priced from $104,000 in the U.S., with deliveries beginning spring 2022.

* The 2023 Kia Sportage made its premiere in the United States. The new Sportage grows in size compared to the previous model. The overall length is 7.1 inches longer, and the wheelbase increases by 3.4 inches.The fifth generation of the crossover arrives in America in the first quarter of 2022.

*Small SUV Crash Results From The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is introducing a new, tougher side crash test to address higher-speed crashes that continue to cause fatalities. In the first tests of 2020-21 vehicles, only one out of 20 small SUVs, the 2021 Mazda CX-5, earns a good rating. Nine vehicles earn acceptable ratings: the Audi Q3, Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax, Honda CR-V, Nissan Rogue, Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Venza and Volvo XC40. Eight others — the Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Escape, GMC Terrain, Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Compass, Jeep Renegade, Kia Sportage and Lincoln Corsair — earn marginal ratings. Two more, the Honda HR-V and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, receive poor ratings. To address higher-speed crashes, the updated side test uses a heavier barrier traveling at a higher speed to simulate the striking vehicle. The new barrier weighs 4,180 pounds — close to the weight of today’s midsize SUVs — and strikes the test vehicle at 37 mph, compared with a 3,300-pound barrier traveling at 31 mph in the original evaluation.

* Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5 has won a 2022 German Car of the Year (GCOTY) award in the “New Energy” category. As a class winner, the automaker’s full-electric midsize CUV will automatically take part in the final round of the GCOTY. IONIQ 5 will compete against the winners of the “Compact”, “Premium”, “Luxury” and “Performance” categories. The overall winner will be announced on November 25, 2021.

* The Lucid Air sedan went into production about a month ago in Casa Grande, Arizona. Lucid plans to deliver its first customer cars on Saturday, October 30, marking an important milestone for company. The first examples scheduled to be handed over to owners are the Dream Edition Range with a 520-mile EPA driving range estimate and the Dream Edition Performance with a 1111-hp output rating.

* Honda At 2021 SEMA: Honda will demonstrate its diverse paths to fun and performance at the 2021 SEMA Show in Las Vegas Nov. 2-5, showcasing seven vehicles, including the debut of two all-new Civic Si race cars and a pair of rugged Honda light trucks custom-built for extreme overlanding adventures. Honda Performance Development (HPD) will showcase a prototype of its next-generation turn-key Civic Si race car. Designed for Touring Car competition, it will be displayed alongside the new Team Honda Research West (THR-W) Civic Si race car, which will compete in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race December 3-5.

* The Dodge brand is doubling down on its role as a pure performance brand with a sneak peek at one of two new performance-based programs set to be announced in early November. National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag-racing superstars Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett helped kick off the launch sequence by carrying special “Direct Connection” graphics on their respective race cars at the Dodge//SRT NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, scheduled the weekend October 29-31 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Tune” in for the virtual announcement of the Dodge brand’s two new performance initiatives on November 8 at Dodge.com.

* The winner was not a driver but an algorithm last Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the top car clocked an average speed of 135 mph, ushering autonomous vehicles into a new era. Setting the record pace over two laps, a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) won a $1 million prize in the first Indy Autonomous Challenge, an event dedicated to self-driving cars. Each autonomous car relies on sensors, cameras, radar, but above all GPS, without which no controlled motion is possible, to the point that some have two onboard. The Dallara IL-15, used by every team, resembles a Formula One car but is smaller and comes with a price tag of $230,000. However, the technology on board makes each car worth more than $1 million, according to event organizers.

Stay safe. Be Well.

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AutoVitals Introduces WebVitals, an Analytics Dashboard for Auto Repair Shops

Financial commitment in a shop’s on the web existence and related digital marketing resources helps unbiased stores attract prospects, make manufacturer recognition, increase purchaser retention, and in the long run generate financially rewarding growth. With the ability to track and regulate their web-site performance through the WebVitals dashboard, store owners can attain info insights to attain profits plans and evaluate general shop accomplishment.  

“Updating to a present day, cleanse web page is just the get started with AutoVitals,” said Robert Allen, Senior Product or service Manager at AutoVitals. “The World wide web.X alternative connects to our sophisticated appointment ask for program so interaction across provider advisors, professionals, and prospects are seamless. In addition, the launch of our new WebVitals dashboard additional streamlines our interconnected instruments and answers, so shop homeowners can expend a lot less time taking care of multiple platforms and distributors.”

The WebVitals dashboard allows store staff members to see true-time alterations to their digital existence and marketing and advertising initiatives. The adhering to sections are crafted for facts at-a-glance and reporting: 

  • Important Vitals: includes web site visitors and the amount of website appointments, calls and contact us variety submissions
  • Shop Profits: shows ARO and full income from all website and new world-wide-web shoppers
  • Insights: provides at-a-look overviews of web page visits, visitors resources, and other vital essential functionality indicators (KPIs)
  • Google My Business: tracks listing views and mobile phone calls designed from Google lookups
  • Google Lighthouse: scores your site in conditions of efficiency, accessibility, and greatest practices
  • Google Adverts: monitors analytics these as cost-for every-simply click, conversion prices, and impressions

The custom web sites that AutoVitals design and style and build for their consumers continually ace the Google Lighthouse Efficiency test with around-best scores for Search engine marketing, overall performance, and customer accessibility straight from Google itself.

“Google is the electronic king these times and we’ve purposefully made WebVitals to assist our shop operator clients retain monitor of how they complete and stack up in the digital place,” reported Steve Noone, Internet Structure and Advancement Supervisor at AutoVitals. “We are dedicated to delivering alternatives that give our clients a ‘complete seem underneath the hood’ of their shop’s digital operations and a 360 perspective of their small business.”

The WebVitals dashboard and the new reporting capabilities are obtainable to AutoVitals shoppers straight away at no excess price. 

To find out a lot more about Internet.X and the hugely-reviewed suite of instruments for automated workflow, digital inspections, on-line promoting, benefits, and motorist engagement, check out www.autovitals.com. 

About AutoVitals 

AutoVitals is driving lucrative growth for the impartial car fix store proprietor. Lots of auto store management application vendors supply digital auto inspections (DVI), but AutoVitals is the only entire electronic Shop Accomplishment Option with robust workflow administration, CRM, and web-site and electronic advertising and marketing add-ons that are verified to enhance your normal maintenance get (ARO), improve the utilization of your team and bays, and eventually travel larger profitability for your shop. For far more information and facts, pay a visit to www.autovitals.com. 

Press Contact:

Tara Bohnert
(866) 949-2848
https://www.autovitals.com

Supply AutoVitals

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AutoMobility LA Faces Dire State Of Auto Shows With Sunny Expectations

Soon after a two-year hiatus, the Los Angeles Car Show is returning in November to the Los Angeles Conference Heart, promising the form of world-wide product or service reveals, press announcements and consumer tire-kicking that has characterised classic automobile reveals over the final few many years.

It’ll be intriguing to see regardless of whether the show now named AutoMobility LA-LA Vehicle Clearly show regains some lost traction for this really threatened sort of automotive marketing and advertising — or underscores why automobile exhibits have grow to be so endangered, on the brink of getting irrelevant and even extinct.

The L.A. clearly show is placing on a sport face in advance, promising to deliver to America’s leading auto-buying market information bulletins by “legacy” automakers together with Hyundai, Kia, Porsche and Subaru as effectively as by all-new, Southern California-based mostly manufacturers Fisker and Mullen Automotive. The exhibit also declared that Vietnam’s 1st global automaker, VinFast, will launch its brand and goods there.

After a two-working day interval of news conferences and push reveals, the L.A. demonstrate will open up its 1 million sq. toes of indoor and out of doors space to the basic community, with the hope that local buyers have been champing at the little bit to be equipped to slam doorways and glance under the hoods of true in its place of virtual sheetmetal. Also, electrical-vehicle would make and the general battery-powered proposition will have a shot at wowing opportunity consumers in America’s prime EV market.

“Our admirers are eager to get back again out in-human being and reignite what is turn into a November custom in Los Angeles,” explained Terri Toennies, president of AutoMobility LA and the LA Auto Display, in a press release.

But the L.A. show in fact will be combating uphill in opposition to a latest deterioration in the primary charm of regular auto exhibitions — not so considerably to individuals, but to the automakers and suppliers who for numerous many years have shelled out thousands and thousands of pounds to invest in the shows’ unmatched platforms for press interest in advance of the admittance of the car or truck-buying public.

Lethal level of competition has arrive to automobile demonstrates like the U.S. marquee events in L.A., Detroit, New York and Chicago in two forms. Very first, as an adjunct to Silicon Valley’s invasion of the automobile by way of EVs and autonomous automobiles, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas boldly elbowed into automobile shows’ house by amping up its concentrate on automobile-associated technologies above the final several decades. Afflicted but unbowed by the pandemic and arranging a ton of vehicle-connected announcements and articles, the annual CES will be staged all over again in early January, 2022.

At the similar time, car brand names have been reacting to the end of the industry’s quite a few-12 months sturdy run of escalating gross sales and wringing their fingers about advertising and marketing expenditures. Increasingly, they can stage their possess in-individual reveals with a handpicked audience of influencers — or just start new products on the internet and by using social media and prevent the substantial expense of staging an extravaganza at L.A. or other car displays.

The Detroit auto present, regarded as the North American Global Vehicle Exhibit, appears to have gotten the worst of this flip of events, which of course also has included the stultifying results of covid. The past classic NAIAS, yearly staged in January, was in early 2019. Demonstrate officials noticed the creating on the wall for 2020 and prepared to move NAIAS to the summer months, capitalizing on improved weather and using benefit of vehicle-relevant venues and pursuits all close to metro Detroit instead of just in the downtown conference centre.

The pandemic scotched people strategies, and NAIAS ultimately finished up scheduling a vastly scaled-down outdoors party for previous September called Motor Bella, in Pontiac, Michigan. Torrential rains for two times ruined that function.

But even prior to thunderstorms doused Motor Bella, Toyota’s internet marketing prepare about the important launch of its all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra spoke volumes about the fate of today’s auto shows. Rather of picking to get the wraps off the product at Motor Bella, the L.A. show or any other bodily car exhibition, Toyota figuratively unveiled the new Tundra to the American general public on September 19 throughout a telecast of the Countrywide Soccer League’s Sunday Night time Football, with a 60-second industrial titled “Born from Invincible.” Only a number of times later was Tundra scheduled to make its “auto-demonstrate debut” in Michigan at Motor Bella.

“This place served as our reveal option, in the absence of a classic automobile clearly show because of to covid,” Lisa Materazzo, head of advertising for Toyota, explained to me. “Like several other OEMs, we’re thinking of how we introduce new vehicles to the marketplace. It gave us the chance to be artistic [in the ad] as effectively.

“The second we’re pulling the silk off a vehicle and revealing it to the planet was distinct this yr, and it really built for a exceptional and ground breaking and engaging way.”

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2021 Georgia National Antique Agriculture Show, Perry Georgia Auto Fair

Release:

The 32 nd Once-a-year Georgia National Truthful could have ended, but there is 12 months-round spouse and children entertaining to be experienced at the Ga Nationwide Fairgrounds and Agricenter. November 11th, 12th, and 13th, the Perry Georgia Car Good and the Georgia Nationwide Antique Agriculture Demonstrate are teaming up to provide an educational and fun
expertise to readers of all ages.

The events kick of Thursday, November 11th at 12pm and go on by means of Saturday from 8am-6pm each individual working day.

Mark Baker, Organizer of the Perry Georgia Vehicle Truthful, suggests this will be the 1st yr this group has been set together and the 1st Annual Perry Georgia Automobile Fair. He spoke about what to assume at the Auto Good, commenting, “We will have a motor vehicle corral space, auto merchandise and collectibles swap meet, as well as the vehicle show which will take spot Saturday early morning from 8am-2pm.”

The display involves vans, vehicles, and bikes and winners can make up to $500 in cash prizes.

The Antique Agriculture Exhibit is celebrating its’ 3rd once-a-year display. The party attributes agriculture applications and procedures employed all over the early 1900’s and gives reside demonstrations these types of as peanut thrashing, corn & cane grinding, mini-tractor pulling, and indoor and outdoor plowing. There will also be about 200 exhibits displaying antique tractors, farm machinery, toys, and house items.

Hamilton Halford, Organizer and Founder of the Georgia Nationwide Antique Agriculture Show, is energized for the future present and suggests the function promotes tourisms in Perry. “We have folks arrive to show and check out from all about the country. The first year we had 197 reveals, and previous calendar year we grew to about 260 reveals.”

One particular exhibitor experienced this to say about his working experience collaborating in the Antique Agriculture Show the earlier two several years “We gather and show antique tractors, but it’s actually about the friendships and camaraderie we share with our fellow exhibitors and visitors.” The exhibitor went on to say, “The exhibit has developed a lot given that the initial 12 months. We glance ahead to coming to the event each and every year and encourage other exhibitors and readers to occur out as very well. It’s going to be superb!”

The Perry Georgia Automobile fair will be held along the Midway and the Antique Agriculture Exhibit will just take put in the course of the Fairgrounds. Admission to attend this dual party is $5 and only cash will be recognized. Fairgrounds officials observe that all readers ought to enter by the West Gate.

Additional facts about the Automobile Reasonable can be discovered at the group’s website, www.perrygaswapmeet.com, or Fb web page, @PerryGAF. And for info on the Antique Agriculture Present check out www.gnfa.com/p/about/ga-countrywide-antique-agriculture-display or come across them on Facebook, @GaNationalAntiqueAgShow.

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Veoneer Q3 Net Sales Up 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} To US$391m – Just Auto

Veoneer has recorded third-quarter net sales up 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} to US$391m.

Business Highlights:

  • Entered into a definitive merger agreement, under which SSW and Qualcomm will acquire Veoneer, terminated merger agreement with Magna International
  • Organic Sales growth outperformed the global LVP by ~23pp during Q3, 21
  • Semiconductor supply chain shortages continue to create industry production, delivery and cost challenges
  • Temporary inventory build-up negatively impacted cash flow, expect the effect to reverse in fourth quarter
  • ADAS and AD software unit Arriver performed first public demonstration running on the Snapdragon Ride platform, at IAA, Munich with positive feedback and reviews
  • Veoneer announced as key active safety contributor to Mercedes S-Class with 4th generation Vision and Perception software, enabling Level 3 self-driving
  • Order intake over the Last Twelve Months (LTM) was more than US$500m of average annual sales at the end of Q3, 21

“Veoneer showed strong operational performance during the third quarter,” said Veoneer chairman, president and CEO, Jan Carlson. “Despite a sequential drop in the light vehicle production of 12{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, our net sales were essentially flat, sequentially. Through our market adjustment initiatives, we also managed to improve our gross profit and reduce our operating loss sequentially and year-over-year.

“The global underlying demand for all of our products remains very strong, but as is true for many industries and companies today, semiconductor shortages and supply chain constraints continue to hamper our growth. We are managing this situation daily and are doing our utmost to support our customers through this difficult situation.

“The gradual weakening of the LVP during the quarter was especially challenging where we saw a temporary build-up of inventory, which is reflected in our working capital and cash flow. We have taken initiatives to rectify the situation and I view this as another sign of our discipline and executional strength as the full year 2021 LVP expectation eroded from a 14{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} growth in the beginning of the year, to virtually flat growth from the depressed COVID-19 pandemic levels in 2020.

“Following the end of the quarter, we announced we signed a merger agreement with SSW and Qualcomm for the acquisition of Veoneer by SSW and subsequent transfer of Arriver to Qualcomm. The board of directors determined the $37 per share, all cash transaction offered by SSW and Qualcomm was superior to the previous transaction agreement with Magna International.

“The proposed transaction with SSW and subsequent SSW-Qualcomm transaction are pending and subject to various conditions and we will provide updates as appropriate.”

https://www.veoneer.com/en/press-releases

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