The Automotive Troublemaker: Hyundai Up 120%

Wednesday’s here! We’ve got Michael Cirillo joining the show to talk about the first look at August sales numbers, what’s happening on the chipmaker front in automotive and whether Canva’s new price strategy will backfire.

The auto industry is poised to post its highest sales volume of the year in August, projected to rise by 7-8%, thanks to strong demand for crossovers and hybrids, as well as Labor Day discounts and extra selling days.

• Hyundai sales surged 22%, led by an 81% increase in hybrid models, with the Santa Fe up 120% and Tucson up 97%. Kia’s sales grew 4.3%

• Day supply is at 68 days, up from 54 a year ago.

• Average incentives are $3,035 per vehicle, up 60% from 2023. Only 13% of vehicles were projected to sell above sticker last month.

• Average transaction prices landed at $44,039, down $1,895 (4.1%) from August 2023

• Industry analysts forecast a SAAR of 15.2 million to 15.4 million vehicles for August, in line with last year but down from July's pace.

• "New vehicle affordability remains the biggest obstacle," said Chris Hopson of S&P Global Mobility, citing high interest rates and slow vehicle price reductions.

As cars evolve into rolling supercomputers, chipmakers Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Mobileye are at the forefront, competing to supply the technology that will drive the next generation of vehicles.

• Qualcomm's automotive revenue surged 87% to $811M in Q2, thanks to its focus on connectivity and its "digital chassis" platform that supports in-cabin tech and driver-assist functions.

• Nvidia reported $346M in automotive-specific revenue, a 37% year-over-year increase, though still less than half of Qualcomm’s growth rate.

• Mobileye, known for its driver-assist and computer vision technology, posted $439 million in Q2 automotive revenue, a 3% decline from the same period in 2023, citing challenges in the Chinese market.

• Qualcomm’s automotive pipeline is valued at $45 billion, based on customizable systems for automakers like GM, BMW, and Volvo.

• While Nvidia focuses on autonomous driving, Qualcomm is capitalizing on the growing demand for in-cabin experiences.

• Nakul Duggal, general manager for Qualcomm's automotive, industrial and cloud businesses said, "It's exciting in some ways, but.. [w]e're doing what we said we'd do."

Canva’s aggressive integration of generative AI tools is driving up prices for its Canva Teams subscription by over 300%, leaving many users facing significant cost increases as the platform expands its offerings.

• Canva Teams users in the U.S. report prices jumping from $120 to $500 annually, while Australian users are seeing a 68% price hike.

• The price increases follow the rollout of AI tools like Magic Media and Magic Expand, which Canva claims add value to the platform's "expanded product experience."

• The new pricing has angered many users, some of whom are considering switching to Adobe or other alternatives.

• The changes come as Canva prepares for a potential public listing in 2026, following its acquisition of Affinity’s creative software suite.

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