#457 - 🔌 The Charging Hook Up

TOGETHER WITH

Today, we have history to thank us for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. Crazy what you can find out on the internet these days!?

In other news, Wednesday is as good a day as ever to find someone at the dealership you haven’t talked to for a while and simply check in on them. Might surprise you what you find out!

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

Wisconsin Dealers Go To Camp

🚗 The folks at Wisconsin Automotive and Truck Dealers Association (WATDA) and the Don Johnson Auto Group have partnered to bring the Northwood Technical College summer camp to young people aspiring to careers in automotive. ⛺️

👩‍🎓 Nitro-X Middle School Summer Camps will see a new batch of eager students each week for nearly eight months. Students will get a front-row look at work going on every day in the service drives and collision centers that make the industry one that customers trust again and again. 🥽

🥇Of course, the WATDA's commitment to education doesn't stop when school starts back up. Brent Kindred, VP of the association's foundation, shared that they have awarded 257 students with scholarships totaling $1.92M in the last three years. 📓

Telling it like it is — All kids come back from camp with stories, but some kids come back from camp and rotate the tires on the family van.

AUTOMOTIVE

Charging Changes

If you’re like us, a bit dizzy from all of the latest EV charging updates, you are not alone. Let’s break it down.

📖 Terminology:

• NACS = North American Charging Standard, aka Tesla chargers

• CCS = Combined Charging System

💡 Here’s What We Know:

• Multiple charging ports, such as NACS and CCS, have developed alongside the evolution of EVs resulting in inconsistencies and confusion for drivers and potential buyers.

• November 2022, Tesla invited fellow EV makers to adopt its once-proprietary NACS charging connector by making design and specification files available worldwide.

• Tesla’s charging network is not only extensive, with more than 12K Supercharger connections across the US and Canada, but also considered the gold standard of charging experiences.

• To unify the standard in favor of Tesla’s vast and reliable network, several automakers have announced future NACS integration, including Ford, GM, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, and Mercedes-Benz.

😡 What the heck? Many manufacturers compelled dealers to install costly charging stations with CCS-standard connectors, but they are already abandoning it for NACS chargers.

🔌🔌 Better safe than sorry. Until everyone can settle on just one charging standard, ensure the hardware you buy has two cables and two connectors so you’re covered.

📞 Get your manufacturer rep on the horn to discuss plans to retrofit any existing charging ports.

🤓 Continued education. Dealers and staff should understand the basics of EV charging in order to convey information and answer customer questions effectively. The “basics” are still evolving, so staying up to date with the latest industry news will be important (that’s what we’re here for!).

Telling it like it is – It’s taken over 100 years to get us to today’s modern gas pumps, so perfecting EV chargers may be a while...

TOGETHER WITH VELOCITY

Work Smart, Rest Easy

The average human attention span is officially shorter than that of a goldfish. So, it tracks the delays that kill deals.

It’s time to make every moment count!

Velocity’s ever-evolving software solutions streamline operations and transform how you share information with customers.

Work Smarter. Speed up trade-ins, vehicle reconditioning, and implement the right customer management tools for your needs.

Rest Easy. Velocity is committed to unparalleled service and support, so every dealer receives VIP service tailored to their unique store.

Delays are the enemy. Velocity is your ally!

AUTOMOTIVE

Motor Morsels: Rivian, GM, Geely/Renault, Toyota, Tesla

🚗➕🏪=🇨🇦❓

Rivian is opening a showroom in a Canadian shopping mall. The first of its "Spaces" showrooms will open on July 28th and let customers visualize their new ride in augmented reality. Just don't try to kick the virtual tires; people will think you're a lousy dancer.

💰➕✂️=📈

GM is making cars people can afford, like actually. Two new 2024 model crossovers from the Chevy and Buick brands will start at just $23K and $20K. It ain't 2018 affordable, but it also ain't 2022 "affordable" either.

🇨🇳➕🇫🇷=⛽️

China's Geely and French Renault announced a joint venture to produce new ICE and hybrid models. The $8B investment will employ 19K people across 22 locations and expects to supply other automakers, such as Volvo, Nissan, and Mitsubishi, at launch.

💧➕🔥=🏎️

Toyota's shifting some attention from EVs in North America to hydrogen fuel cells in Europa and China. After under 4K fuel-cell sales worldwide in 2022, the company split its hydrogen division earlier this month and set a goal of 200K sales by 2030. A leap for some automakers and a warm-up routine compared to the roughly 10M sales Toyota reports annually.

🤖➕🗽=🤷

Tesla stores in North America are receiving Optimus robot display units for showrooms. The non-functioning robot can already be seen in NYC and has drawn attention, which the company hopes to redirect onto its cars. We aren't sure many people will leave their homes to look at a robot and then be convinced to buy a car, but weirder things have happened.

TL; DR – Rivian is opening a showroom, GM is inching closer to affordable, Geely and Renault are partnering for ICE vehicles, Toyota is going hydrogen in the EU and China, and Tesla’s showing off robots.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Join us today at 2 PM ET for an exclusive webinar with Upstart Auto Retail, where we discuss creating a connected online and in-store car-buying experience for shoppers with the help of a digital retailing partner.

Quick Hits

• They’re bringing Wonka back (yeah). These Oompa Loompa don’t know how to act. 🍫

• Bank of America fought the law, and the law fined them $150M. 👨‍⚖️

• Have you ever seen titanium rain? Scientists looking at one planet have.☔️

History

• 1916: A GMC loaded with milk leaves Seattle on the first transcontinental trucking delivery. 🚛

• 1962: The Rolling Stones perform for the first time at London's Marquee Club. 🤘

• 1995: Chinese seismologists successfully predict the 1995 Myanmar–China earthquake, reducing casualties to 11. 👩‍🔬