#516 -🐢 Slow But Steady

TOGETHER WITH

An old saying suggests, "You should meditate for 20 minutes a day unless you don't have time, then you should meditate for an hour a day."

And while the specifics of the quote may not apply evenly across our community, the framework it provides is certainly one to experiment with.

If you don't have time for the essentials: gratitude, quality, experimentation, compassion, etc, then something else has to go.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

TODAY’S LOT WALK

• DATA & INSIGHT: Auto industry adapts amid strike demonstrating economic resilience. 💪

• BUSINESS: UAW, Zeekr, Tesla, Honda 🗞

• CULTURE: What to Watch: Loki this week, Fraiser next week, and The End of the World in December. 🍿

Reading time: 4 mins

DATA & INSIGHT

Q3 Market Watch

As we move into the last quarter of the year (whaa? how??), John Ellis and The Automotive Advisor team review some of the major movements in the industry.

🐢 Slow but (Somewhat) Steady —

• GDP growth is nearly 1% higher than last year.

• Unemployment, though 1% higher YOY, remains stable.

• Earnings growth stands firm at 7.2%.

• Consumer confidence and sentiment declined in September, with plans to buy a vehicle following suit as consumers saw less favorable prices and rates.


🐝 New Car Buzz —

Reports from Cox Automotive predict September's new vehicle sales will climb to 15.5M (up from last year's 13.6M). Big gains from Honda, Nissan, and Tesla are further adding bees to the buzz.


📈 Used Car Spike —

High prices and interest rates are nudging consumers towards the used-car market. Sales are up 4.5% year-to-date, echoing this trend. While the used vehicle market is seeing a steady incline, dealers remain cautious.

😰 Wholesale Market Concerns —

The ongoing strike's impact continues to cast a shadow of uncertainty on the industry as a whole, with wholesale prices showing a slight dip. However, dealers should avoid rash wholesale buys. Continue to carefully analyze recent purchase/sales data to inform your acquisition plan and leverage local trends.

TOGETHER WITH CLARIVOY

Don’t Guess, Know

There are plenty of places to invest your marketing budget, and knowing which closes the most actual deals is the difference between a triumphant return on investment and an empty-handed return to the drawing board.

Our friends at Clarivoy have removed the guesswork from auto marketing and are helping dealers connect every marketing dollar to sales growth.

From Multi-Touch Sales Attribution to cutting-edge TV Analytics, their expert team connects the dots for you. 🎯 

Why guess when you can know?

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

ASOTU CON(tent) For You!

Keep an eye on our LinkedIn and YouTube feed for all the choice cuts of content from ASOTU CON 2023 over the next two weeks.

There in person? Dope! Consider this a great chance to catch the panels you missed, pass along your favorite parts to friends, or re-experience the thoughtfulness of the community and find something you can put into action today!

BUSINESS

UAW Update

• Ford & GM: Accusations fly about stalling EV battery plant discussions, resulting in expanded strikes.

• Q3 US Vehicle Sales: Rise, but UAW strikes might hinder future growth for Detroit's big three.

• Mack Trucks: Crisis averted with a tentative deal, as UAW echoes the US labor movement's goals in wage discussions.

The big three can A. Make a deal with the UAW and invest more money in their labor, or B. Avoid agreeing with the UAW and build/sell fewer cars, thus making less money to invest. Seems this conversation isn't about money since delaying could be the more costly option.

ZEEKR's West Mid-East Expansion

• New Markets: ZEEKR announces EV sales in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain.

• Global Presence: 100,000+ EVs produced in 18 months and planning EU expansion.

• Delivery News: Middle East deliveries to kick off in Q1 2024.

ICE vehicles in oil-producing regions make a ton of sense, but so do solar-backed electric cars in a place constantly bombarded by the sun.

Tesla's Latest News

• Cybertruck: Delayed beyond Q3 2023.

• Semi: Travels 1,000+ miles in one day, breaking long-haul electric trucking doubts.

• Model Y: The updated Model Y in China has enhanced features but the same price.

You just never know what Tesla will do next - break a record, release an update, open a factory, delay the Cybertruck (well, actually, we could guess that one).

Honda's N-Van e

• Specifications: 130-mile range, tailored for both business and personal.

• Features: Powers your home during emergencies and offers ample space.

• Launch: Debut in Japan scheduled for next spring.

It's cute of them to assume folks buying apartment-sized vans have houses they need a backup battery for. #VanLife

CULTURE

What's New on the Tube?

🌎🤖🤷‍♀️ Julia Roberts vs. Hacker Apocalypse. Netflix's "Leave the World Behind," a star-packed post-apocalyptic thriller, releases in select theaters on November 22nd and streams on December 8th. Directed by Sam Esmail, it explores a world collapsing from a cyberattack.

📻👂👔 Fraiser is back. But, in Boston! (no, not "Cheers"). October 12, Kelsey Grammer is back as Dr. Fraiser Crane. After all these years, the Paramount+ show will catch up on Dr. Crane and discover that he is still very much Fraiser.

🦹‍♂️🪄☠️ Loki Returns (again). Tom Hiddleston is back in Loki season 2. If you're keeping score, this is, like, the 4th time Loki has returned from the dead and the 2nd time he returned from a season break.  

Quick Hits

• All Onewheel electric skateboards are recalled following multiple fatalities. 🛹

• Sometimes, social media makes you feel like nobody is listening. But don’t worry, Meta confessed its AI 100% IS taking it all in for training. 🤖

• U2 played the first-ever show in the Las Vegas Sphere. It was great, except the whole “U2 was playing the whole time” bit. 😂

History

• 1789: George Washington proclaims Thursday, November 26, 1789, a Thanksgiving Day. 🦃

• 1935: Peugeot introduces the 402. 😎

• 1955: "The Mickey Mouse Club" begins on ABC. 📺