🕸️ December 10: Amazon Car Buying, Battery Swaps & Stellantis Drama

The Gist

If you’re too busy juggling deals and listening to late-night OEM calls to read the full scoop, here’s your cheat sheet: India’s building a bajillion EV chargers—let’s hope that rubs off on US highways so your customers quit whining about range. Meanwhile, Amazon’s hawking Hyundais online, turning your lot into the last step instead of the first. Think of it as skipping foreplay and getting straight to the close.

Nio’s lightning-quick battery swaps are making charging about as stressful as refilling a coffee mug—maybe we’ll see that stateside before we all retire. Stellantis fired its CEO and brought back Kuniskis to pump life into Ram trucks and treat dealers more like partners, less like expendable minions.

GM’s reshuffling battery ventures, hoping for cheaper cells and fewer awkward “no EVs yet” calls to customers. Europe’s battery dreams are fizzling, meaning the supply chain funhouse never ends. Welcome to the new automotive normal.

Fuel for Thought

• 🇮🇳🛒 Global EV Watch: Indian Infrastructure & Am …

  • Charging Across Borders & Browsing from the Couch

  • A Pair of Trends to Watch:

  • Is Amazon going to steal all our customers?

  • But doesn’t this kill the old sales dance?

• 🔋 Battery Swap Magic

• 👑⚡ Stellantis Shakedown: Trucks, Turmoil, and Tur …

  • A Royal Return & a Boardroom Soap Opera

  • So, Tavares got canned—do we break out the champag …

  • Is Stellantis done with bean-counter madness?

  • The Big Stellantis Moves:

• 🤝 LG Takes the Wheel: GM’s Battery Pivot

• 🇪🇺 European Battery Blues: Asia’s Gain, Europe’s …

🇮🇳🛒 Global EV Watch: Indian Infrastructure & American Clicks

Charging Across Borders & Browsing from the Couch

Hyundai plans nearly 600 public EV fast chargers in India by 2030. Meanwhile, Amazon just launched its car-shopping platform with Hyundai in 48 US cities. For dealerships, these two seemingly distant efforts share a core message: infrastructure and digital access breed buyer confidence.

A Pair of Trends to Watch:

• Highway Hustle in India: Long-distance chargers for EV travelers make road trips routine. More infrastructure abroad could inspire U.S. stateside action.

• “Add to Cart” for Cars in the U.S.: Amazon’s platform funnels leads to local dealerships, not bypassing them. The result? Tech-savvy customers arrive pre-informed and ready to close.

“We’re bringing the simplicity and ease customers expect from Amazon to car shopping,” says Fran Jin of Amazon Autos. Sounds like the future is blending “Deal of the Day” with “Deal of the Decade.”

Is Amazon going to steal all our customers?

Relax, they’re not shipping hatchbacks via drone (yet). The online giant’s just letting buyers do digital legwork. When they show up in your showroom, they’ll be pre-warmed prospects—less tire-kickers, more actual buyers.

But doesn’t this kill the old sales dance?

It might trim a few steps. As a dealership manager, I’m thinking: “Huh, less time spent haggling and explaining basics means more time closing deals and sipping my lukewarm coffee in peace.”

🔋 Battery Swap Magic

Nio’s lightning-fast battery swaps—three to six minutes, top—could convert EV skeptics. This slick model might hint at a future where EV charging is as quick and predictable as pumping gas, making dealerships’ EV pitches smoother than ever.

• 57+ Million Swaps: Hard data proves drivers crave speed. EV inconvenience? Poof, gone.

• One Swap Every 30 Seconds in China: Efficiency overload. Imagine if U.S. EV customers could “refuel” that fast.

• 3-6 Minutes to a Full Battery: Faster than a coffee order—now that’s something you can mention to hesitant buyers.

• Batteries-as-a-Service (BaaS): Lower sticker shock by leasing the battery. From a dealer’s perspective: “Hey, cheaper upfront cost means I look like a hero for your wallet.”

• Compatibility Galore: Standardized packs fit multiple models—like one-size-fits-all sneakers for EVs, but actually comfortable. This could streamline inventory and service operations down the road.

👑⚡ Stellantis Shakedown: Trucks, Turmoil, and Turnaround

Check out more on Stellantis on The Automotive Troublemaker!

A Royal Return & a Boardroom Soap Opera

Tim Kuniskis—the mastermind who gave Dodge its swagger—is back at Ram. Stellantis needs a reboot after ex-CEO Carlos Tavares’s “arrogant” approach left dealers feeling like extras in a corporate drama. Suppliers revolted. U.S. production stumbled. Now, Stellantis aims to rebuild bridges with dealers and workers, promising less micromanagement and more local-market smarts.

So, Tavares got canned—do we break out the champagne?

Look, I won’t dance on anyone’s career grave, but if this means fewer midnight conference calls and more stable supply lines, I might chuckle quietly to myself.

Is Stellantis done with bean-counter madness?

They say they’re focused on trust and product flow. As a dealership manager, my trust grows when I’ve got full inventory and fewer “Sorry, that model’s delayed again” excuses.

The Big Stellantis Moves:

• Kuniskis at Ram: More personality, more brand mojo, and hopefully a return to big-truck swagger. Dealers might actually grin again when talking full-size pickups.

• Supplier & UAW Relations: Stellantis knows it can’t starve the ecosystem that feeds its profits. Suppliers want fair deals; workers want respect. The company can’t sell cars without parts or labor.

• LFP Battery Venture in Spain: Stellantis teams with CATL for cheaper, more stable batteries. Long-term, this could smooth out EV production woes, making sure we have something to sell that doesn’t break the bank.

“We were arrogant. No excuse,” Tavares once admitted. It’s rare honesty, but a bit late. Now, under new leadership, the brand needs less chest-thumping and more dealer-friendly decisions.

“I’d love to see Stellantis follow through on their promises—less drama, more deliverables. I’m tired of apologizing to customers for stuff I can’t control.”

🤝 LG Takes the Wheel: GM’s Battery Pivot

GM sells its Lansing Ultium plant stake to LG Energy Solutions, refocusing on tried-and-true domestic battery sites. The end goal? Cheaper, simpler EV production. This could mean:

• Prismatic Batteries on the Horizon: Easier to build, stronger range potential.

• IRA Benefits: Domestic production equals tax breaks and fatter margins. Good for GM, good for your dealership’s pipeline stability.

• Enhanced Reliability: As a dealer, I’m psyched—fewer random delays mean fewer awkward calls: “Yeah, that EV you wanted? Maybe next month.”

🇪🇺 European Battery Blues: Asia’s Gain, Europe’s Loss

Europe dreamt of homegrown EV batteries; most dreams fizzled. As Northvolt wavers, Chinese giants swoop in. A cautionary tale:

• Quote: “The failure to establish domestic battery manufacturing ... threatens the very existence of the automotive industry in Europe,” says Andy Palmer, ex-Aston Martin CEO. Ouch.

• Why Dealers Should Care: If Europe’s supply chain flops, global players (like China’s CATL) fill the gap. That could mean shifting costs and tech dependencies affect what ends up in your U.S. lot.

• “Guess what? More global reliance on a single supplier isn’t great for stability. I’d rather see balanced supply so I’m not left explaining that our EVs are delayed because some European startup tanked.”

In other words, infrastructure and supply chain woes abroad may echo here. Keep an eye on who’s powering the EV world—because those battery deals might shape tomorrow’s showroom successes or frustrations.

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