On her first day working at an auto dealership, Carol Kitts sold four cars. “I was so excited, so pumped,” Kitts said. Then her general manager, who had recruited her for the job, pulled her aside. “He took me to the back lot and said, ‘I want to let you know, these guys are going…
Experian registration data for January to May reflects the more difficult climate, especially for EV brands that grew rapidly last year but have failed to maintain the momentum. Because not all automakers report their EV sales by model and region, including Tesla, the new registration data serves as a reliable proxy to compare brands and…
BCMEA, which represents a range of port employers, including terminal operating companies and shipping agents, said the notice was a “regrettable development” after months of talks. The previous collective agreement between the labor union and employer expired March 31. BCMEA said it would remain engaged with the union through the federal mediation process “with the…
Matt Siman, area growth leader at Ally Financial, discusses ways dealerships can increase F&I product penetration and maintain F&I margins even as the affordability squeeze gets tighter. advertisement: With nearly 5,000 specialists dedicated to supporting dealer financial services, Ally has the expertise to help you with your retail finance, F&I, and remarketing needs. We’re all…
Today, it seems as if the prices on just above everything (food, gas, rent) are going up–and glass is no exception. Unfortunately, maybe not all that surprisingly, the cost of automobile glass materials has been rising every month. . . and continues to do so. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index…
On the CEO question, Musk said he wanted to oversee the automaker’s development of artificial intelligence and artificial general intelligence that would enable Tesla vehicles to operate as robotaxis. Humanoid robots that could sell in the billions are another application for the software, he said. Tesla calls its robot under development Optimus. It showed video…
BMW was the No.1 German premium brand by unit sales in the first quarter. Its China sales fell 6.6 percent to 195,100 vehicles. Mercedes-Benz sales increased to about 190,000 from 186,000 in the same quarter last year. Audi’s Chinese deliveries slumped by 16 percent to 137,315. Zipse said BMW sold “significantly more electric vehicles in…
Lucid is still in the early stages of raising brand awareness and converting EV shoppers to Air owners. “We’re still early on in our customer growth stage of innovators and early adopters,” Rawlinson said. New marketing efforts will draw in larger segments of shoppers and fuel sales growth. Lucid said it expects to present its…
Kia’s upbeat outlook comes amid increasing enthusiasm for EVs across the industry as automakers from Japan to Europe and the US raise sales expectations amid stronger customer interest and government regulations and subsidies that promote the technology. The shift to electrification will also help Kia move its upmarket brand image, Song added. “In 2021, Kia…
Now, startups need other banks to take on SVB’s role. “With [SVB] going away and not being available when the next startup needs capital, there’s less competition and less availability, and that’s not good,” said Steve Greenfield, CEO of Automotive Ventures in Georgia. A March 14 analysis from investor website PitchBook referred to SVB as…