#447 - 🔮 Future-Proofing for Success

TOGETHER WITH

Don’t let “Community” become a buzzword in your world.

It means that when you work, you contribute to something greater than yourself and that when your partners, peers, collaborators, and comrades give their all, you grow from their work too.

ASOTU may make emails, podcasts, or TV shows, but together with you and the rest of the industry, we are building a community.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

Slam Dunk In Oregon

In 2020, Brian Sanders joined forces with NBA hotshot, Damian Lillard, to establish Damian Lillard Toyota in the heart of McMinnville, Oregon. 🏀

⛹️‍♂️ More recently, Lillard shared what he gleaned from his dealership co-owner journey. "The thing that I've learned most is it's important to create a community." He said, "I think a lot of times we try to sell things to people, and you try to convince people, and you try to persuade them, and you're competing against the competition. But I think, ultimately, people want a safe place. People want a home. They want an environment where they can go and connect. They want things that are authentic." 💪

Basketball + Community = ? In a LinkedIn post, Brian Sanders proudly unveiled the dealership's latest initiative to enrich community engagement - a basketball court! 📸

Sanders elaborated on the dealership's broader mission, stating that the basketball court will join an already vibrant mix of activities such as ping-pong, cornhole, an oversized Connect Four game, and the comforting staples of coffee and donuts. Adding up to a strong picture of their drive to make Damian Lillard Toyota the most customer-centric Toyota dealership in the country.

Telling it like it is – “What are you doing today?” “Oh, not much. Going to play some basketball, have coffee, and maybe buy a RAV4. We’ll see.”

/Positivity

🕊️ Do you have a story highlighting the positive impact of car dealerships? 💌 Share it with us here! 💌

AUTOMOTIVE

Maximizing EV Readiness

According to the latest research by Cox Automotive, the buzz around EVs is growing but there's still a major gap between consumer interest and actual purchases.

🌟 Here's what they say dealers need to know:

📊 EV Consideration vs. Sales:

• A record-breaking 1M new EVs are projected to be sold in the US this year thanks to Tesla's expansion and a surge of new models hitting the market.

• While 51% of consumers are considering a new or used EV, the transition to sales is lagging.

• EVs are projected to account for less than 8% of new-vehicle sales in 2023 and approximately 1% of the used-vehicle market.

• Affordability remains a top obstacle, with 43% of potential buyers citing high costs, but barriers like charging station availability are decreasing.

🌉 Bridging the Divide:

• Consumers are racing ahead with 53% believing EVs will dominate, while only 31% of dealers share this view.

• 45% of dealers feel EVs still need to prove themselves in the marketplace, revealing a readiness gap between dealers and consumers.

• Although 82% of dealers are required by their OEMs to invest in EVs, further support and guidance are necessary for dealerships to meet the needs of EV buyers effectively. For example, many dealers need more technical knowledge, including battery health and overall EV servicing.

🛠️ Equipping Dealerships for Success:

• Many dealerships recognize the importance of EVs for their growth in sales (55%) and servicing (57%) but feel they still need more support and training from automakers, which are their preferred sources of EV information.

• Existing and future EV owners are still likely to rely heavily on dealerships for servicing and maintenance.

We wanna know – How is your dealership preparing for the influx of EVs? 🤔

TOGETHER WITH CALLREVU x ASOTU

The 411 of GA4

Join us today at 2 pm ET for an exclusive webinar! 🧑‍💻

With our friends at CallRevu and Relevant Dealer, we delve into the world of Google Analytics 4 and explore its massive potential for retail automotive.

The GA4 update will change the way the industry does business. Come learn how you can be ready for the change when it lands on July 1st.

AUTOMOTIVE

Motor Morsels: Stellantis, Chevy, Lordstown

🔌⚡️👍

Stellantis is launching a 'Charging & Energy' unit to curb 'charging anxiety' and capitalize on the eco-mobility trend. They'll offer Free2move Charge, a platform granting access to over 500k charging points in Europe. Other services include both home charging facility installation and a global public charging network.

All these self-driving platforms are in the works, and nobody has a roadside-robo-recharge planned? Really?

🏋️‍♀️🪂🛻

Chevy's Silverado EV debuts with a mammoth 200+kWh battery, providing 450+ mile range. This makes it stand out, though the battery weight raises the truck to 8500 lbs. Despite this, driving dynamics remain impressive. The Silverado EV work truck beats Ford's F-150 Lightning and Rivian’s R1T with 50% more battery. Other notable features include off-board power and DC fast charging. However, it won't sell for under $40,000 as initially planned. The truck is slated for fleet availability in the coming weeks.

8500 lbs and a drag-racer-style parachute braking system (we assume).

😡👩‍⚖️💸

Lordstown Motors hit Chapter 11 bankruptcy and slammed Foxconn with a lawsuit, alleging the Taiwanese giant skimped on a promised $170 million. Foxconn, last year's purchaser of Lordstown's Ohio factory, counter-threatened with its own legal action, citing misleading public statements by the EV maker. Shares crashed 60% on the news.

The most important thing on a sinking ship is to figure out whose fault the sinking was, right?

TL; DR – Stellantis is taking on range anxiety, Chevy is taking on gravity and inertia, and Lordstown is taking on Foxconn.

TECHNOLOGY

Bots, Drones, and Cyborgs

Time is a terrible thing to waste. One delightful application of AI is an anti-scammer scammer-bot. Apate plays the role of a helpless victim for scammers to target. The bot destroys as much of the scammer's time as possible, which keeps them off the phone with other potential victims.

Got a fever of 103! A heat-resistant drone could map out areas in buildings or wildfires inaccessible to people. Since seconds matter, the drone could save countless lives by pinpointing the location of trapped people long before conventional means.

Having the time of your life. The JIZAI ARMS company begs the question, "Who can dance better than Spider-Man's old foe, Doctor Octopus?" Apparently, the answer is anybody with a set of Jizai's cyborg arms.

Telling it like it is – Like a new dad installing a car seat, robots and AI as fixtures of our future have become quite "apparent."

Quick Hits

• Nintendo’s new party game lets Switch owners play with up to 100 people. 🥳

• Italy is hunting for some tourists who scribbled graffiti on the wall of the Colosseum. ⚔️

• Consumer confidence is at a 17-month high as inflation and recession worries ease. 😊

History

• 1919: Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I. 🪶

• 1971: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is born. 🚀

• 2001: The final Plymouth ends 73 years of production. ✌️