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TOGETHER WITH
About a week from today most of the ASOTU team will be traveling, packing, or already on the ground in Hanover, MD.
Are you ready to tell the noise, the nonsense, and the naysayers that retail auto is a lot more than “car lots?”
ASOTU CON 2025 is not an event to come and consume. It’s a project that isn’t done until it has all our fingerprints on it.
Get a ticket. Prepare to receive. Plan to contribute.
Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi
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Stack Em Up, Trucks Soar, and CA Dealers Vs Sony Honda
Direct Sales Under Fire in California
California dealers are already challenging Scout’s DTC approach, and now they’re investigating Sony Honda Mobility’s online-only launch of the Afeela 1. Because Honda co-owns the brand and will build the vehicle, the California New Car Dealers Association says it may violate state franchise law. The big question: If one brand can sidestep the rules, who’s next?
Stellantis Turns Up the Volume
Big news from Stellantis: its “Employee Pricing for All” deal now stacks with select factory incentives through June 2. That means real savings — like $20K off Ram 1500s at some CDJR stores — and a rare opportunity to move new units with serious value stories. Just note: not all trims are eligible, and fleet buyers are excluded.
VW’s EV Sales Surge… and So Do the Losses
Volkswagen’s Q1 EV deliveries jumped, especially in Europe and the U.S., but profits fell over 40%. The reason? EVs still carry thinner margins, dragging VW’s overall operating margin to just 3.7%. Margin parity with gas cars now isn’t expected until 2026, despite earlier promises.
Ford’s April: Big on Trucks, Light on EVs
Ford’s total U.S. sales were up 16%, with F-Series and Maverick trucks up 23%. But EV sales dropped sharply — down 40% for the Mach-E and 17% for the Lightning. Supply constraints and model changeovers are to blame. Meanwhile, hybrid sales jumped 30%.
China's EV Giants Keep Climbing
BYD delivered 372K vehicles in April, with Xpeng and Leapmotor not far behind. These brands are growing fast — and putting global pressure on pricing, tech expectations, and used EV values across the board.
➕ More
We’ve got more on each of these stories in our daily digest on Linkedin. Check it out, subscribe to it if you want. You decide. I’m not your boss.
Learn From Your Peers: How to Label Your CTAs Better
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Vehicle affordability will continue to remain a top concern for car buyers. How should your website help buyers with that?
By not confusing your buyers with mislabeled call-to-action buttons.
The 95% of people visiting your site that just want a quick payment estimate? Call that "Calculate Your Payment". The 5% looking to start a transaction? Call that "Buy Now" or "Build My Deal".
TradePending showcases how these three dealers are doing it right.
When you get it wrong, and surprise the quick shoppers with a lengthy process, they're gonna split, and no one wins then. No one.
🥊 Quick Hits
AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE
How Dealers Actually Sell Cars
Let’s be honest…
Dealers don’t need another tool.
They need a better way to actually sell cars. Enter Space Auto: the unified platform that wraps your website, digital retail, and CRM into one sleek, lightning-fast package. Fewer plugins, more deals, happier customers. It’s giving ease, speed, and control, and it’s giving dealers their time back (like, 2.3 hours per day).
We’re hyped to have Nick Askew, John Sukowaty, and Michael Wood joining the “SEO to GEO” panel at ASOTU CON 2025 to break down what really drives traffic and conversions.
This ain’t theory. It’s what’s next.
🔁 Today in History
1866 – Memorial Day was first celebrated in the United States at Waterloo, New York. 🇺🇸
1914 – Erwin “Cannonball” Baker starts his first cross-country run 🏀
1973 – Secretariat wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:59.4, an as-yet-unbeaten record. 🐎
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