TOGETHER WITH :
Howdy Fam!
We saw an interesting piece yesterday in Automotive News about using customer reviews to deliver better experiences for future guests.
It’s a pretty big topic, so we dug in, found data to back up the claim, and built an AI prompt to help pull all your reviews into an actionable list.
Check it out here or get a summary below.
We’re always looking for ways to bring the rubber to the road, so let us know what you think we should dig into next.
Keep Pushing Back,
- Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
Reading time: 4 mins
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Today’s Digest
The thread: Affordable EV competition is moving forward, while expensive or uncertain EV bets keep getting cut back.
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BYD pushes into Canada
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Yesterday on the Automotive State of the Union with Paul and Kyle, we shared news from BYD’s plans to open about 20 Canadian dealerships within its first year, following Canada’s move to cut tariffs on Chinese-built EVs from 100% to 6.1%.
Imports are still capped under a quota system, which could limit early volume. Even so, the expansion puts real pressure on the market, especially if BYD brings lower-priced EVs that fill a gap Canadian buyers have been waiting on.
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Afeela gets scrapped
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Sony Honda Mobility is canceling the Afeela 1 sedan and its second planned model after Honda reset its EV strategy. The shift left the joint venture without key tech and support it was counting on.
Reservation holders will be refunded. It’s another example of premium EV programs getting cut when the path to profit is unclear.
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Battery pivot to defense
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Sion Power is shifting focus from EV batteries to defense and aerospace, saying drone applications offer a faster route to market. Its lithium-metal tech is better suited to high-energy, low-cycle use cases like drones.
The move shows how softer EV demand is pushing suppliers to look elsewhere for growth.
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GM doubles down on Korea
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GM will invest $600 million in South Korea to upgrade plants and improve small SUV production. The move strengthens its global manufacturing base but stops short of outlining any new EV plans in the region.
Turn Their Shoppers Into Your Buyers
Relying on paid search to sell cars is getting more expensive (and less predictable).
Cars.com puts your inventory in front of 26 million monthly shoppers who are actively in-market. That’s why referrals from their site to yours convert at an 89% higher rate than traffic from Google Ads.
And here’s what most dealers miss: 64% of Cars.com shoppers don’t visit CarGurus and 69% skip AutoTrader. That’s incremental demand you can’t reach anywhere else.
Customers Are Telling Dealers Exactly What to Fix
Across recent industry studies, customers are pointing to the same service department problems again and again, and they’re doing it in public places that shape buying decisions: reviews, surveys, emails, texts, and call transcripts.
Full article and prompt here.
The pattern is not subtle
Customers keep coming back to the same friction points:
Missed updates
Unclear timelines
Poor handoffs
Lack of follow-through
On the positive side, they reward:
Professionalism
Product knowledge
Clear communication
This is not a mystery. It is a repeated pattern.
Satisfaction Looks Strong. Retention Tells the Truth
Dealer service satisfaction is still relatively healthy on paper, but loyalty is softer than it looks.
The cracks are easy to spot
Appointment wait times remain a frustration
Communication gaps continue to hurt the experience
12% of repairs are not fixed right the first time
Many of those customers do not return
The lesson is simple: a decent visit is not enough. Customers remember whether the store communicated clearly, followed through, and fixed the problem right.
Dealer service revenue may be growing, but dealer share of service visits has fallen as independent shops keep winning on convenience.
Customers are choosing the easier experience
Independent shops continue gaining ground on:
Convenience
Location
Cost perception
Customers are not choosing on brand alone. They are choosing on how easy the experience feels.
Reviews Now Work Like Word of Mouth at Scale
Customers are using reviews the way previous generations used referrals, only faster and in public.
What buyers are doing now
Reading both positive and negative feedback
Comparing multiple sources
Looking for consistency, not perfection
Judging stores by whether they respond
Silence does not feel neutral. It feels like indifference.
Communication Is the Experience
The same conclusion shows up again and again across the data: communication is not extra. It is central.
Customers may appreciate speed, but they remember:
Clear timelines
Honest pricing
Proactive updates
Confidence in the people helping them
Where rubber meets the road:
In the full article, we included a practical autoindustry.ai prompt that dealers can use right now to analyze reviews, texts, emails, surveys, and call transcripts, then turn that feedback into real operational action.
If fixed ops growth is on your radar this year, make sure you spend some time with TVI MarketPro3 at ASOTU CON this year.
They’re digging into the customers most stores overlook, the ones who slipped away, haven’t been seen in a while, or haven’t made the jump to your service lane yet, and helping dealers turn those missed opportunities into real RO growth.
They’ll also be hosting a mini keynote workshop, so you can see exactly how they’re doing it and where it’s working right now.
Grab your ticket, find them at the event, and come ready with questions. They’re ready for ya!
🤖 AI: Disney doesn’t want to be friends with OpenAI now that SORA isn’t a thing.
🛒 Retail: Weight-loss drugs are changing the “shape” of retail clothing.
🇺🇸 Policy: Airline wait times are at an all-time high. Plan accordingly.
💰 Economy: Recession odds are increasing on Wall Street.
👽 Weird: A guy has eaten 36,000 Big Macs and says the new McDonalds burger isn’t as good as them. Sometimes variety isn’t the thousand-island dressing of life.
1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends as the island is officially secured by American forces.
1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll. Yield: 11 megatons.
2008 – Ford sells Jaguar & Land Rover
Thanks for reading, Friend! The rest of the day is yours!
