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DEALERS
Bridging Gaps with Santosh Viswanathan
Santosh Viswanathan is a Delaware dealer and the state's Auto Dealer Association chairman. He spoke to us about his work bridging the gap between consumer well-being, market demand, and regulatory action.
ICE Phase Out. Santosh spoke about Delaware's decision to follow California's guidance on a 2035 ban on the sale of gas-powered vehicles. Using Hybrids as an example, he said the adoption of new technology comes from market forces and not deadlines set by regulatory bodies.
Infrastructure and Affordability. Santosh also shared the Association is centering the conversation on the needs of Delaware's citizens. He said the number one thing that needs to happen is the public needs to be engaged in the conversation by letting state lawmakers know their thoughts.
Look for the full conversation with Santosh on Auto Collabs soon, or catch up on episodes featuring other voices from the industry now!
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AUTOMOTIVE
Monthly Payments Hit New Record
😓📈 The number of new car buyers paying more than $1000 monthly jumped to a record high in Q4 2022.
🔺🗓️ Monthly. Over 15% of buyers in Q4 are paying over $1000, a ~4.5% increase year-over-year.
😳💰 Total. The average price paid in December also set a record at $46,382. Accounting for a 2.5% increase from 2021, despite signs of the market cooling.
🏦😑 Interest. New car loan rates hit 6.5%, up from 4.1% last year. More interest rate hikes are expected as inflation persists.
Telling it like it is - Not every dealer story is a big giveaway or community engagement event. We know you are serving your community amid and despite these unprecedented times and we want to share how. Hit reply and let us share your story.
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AUTOMOTIVE
BYD Claims EV Crown (Kinda)
BYD has surpassed Tesla to become the world's largest EV maker.
The company sold more vehicles than Tesla in 2022, but only when counting EVs (911K sold) and Plug-In hybrids (946K sold).
Tesla ended the year with 1.3M fully electric vehicle sales. They released no specific data for China, where competition with BYD is the fiercest.
BYD has seen an uptick in interest for its simple and affordable all-electric vehicles and its batteries, of which even Tesla is a customer. So 2023 is anybody's game.
Telling it like it is - Design the most advanced smartphone in the world (Tesla) and somebody will still want a cheap, simple, endlessly replaceable flip-phone (BYD)
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TOGETHER WITH UVEYE
Mindblowing Technology
Good technology makes selling easier.
Great technology makes buying more enjoyable.
Technology that does both would be mindblowing...
UVeye gives you a detailed look at a vehicle's underbody, tires, and exterior within seconds so you can confidently service or appraise cars. No more choosing between saving time and and ensuring accuracy. So with UVeye's automated system, dealers can get both! 🤯
By leveraging technology to build trust and transparency, you can focus on delivering a superior customer experience that will keep them coming back for years.
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AUTOMOTIVE
Another Metaverse Showroom
Fiat quietly joined the metaverse back in December. The store was designed in collaboration with Touchcast and Microsoft in an attempt to provide a cloud-based, stress-free Fiat buying process.
🥽 The digital showroom will allow customers to customize their vehicles and buy them on the spot. The initial launch was only in Italy, but it will expand to other parts of Europe this year and the US in 2024. 🇺🇸
Telling it like it is - You don't even need a VR headset… So this feels less metaverse and more PlayStation 2.
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AUTOMOTIVE
And Another Charging Network
Mercedes announced a partnership with ChargePoint involving billions of dollars and 10,000 fast-charging points in North America, Europe, and China.
Don’t spend it all in one place. Four hundred stations containing 2,500 chargers will be active in the US and Canada by 2026. Adding to an already existing and impossible-to-keep-up-with patchwork of charging networks, other automakers are gung-ho about building.
Telling it like it is - There is a reason “Kill one bird with 400 stones” isn’t a common expression.
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