#744 - 🚗 Summertime Blues

TOGETHER WITH

Tuesday again, Friend!

Most news has been focused on, in, or around the White House lately, but we still managed to glean some useful things. Chinese brand ZEEKR broke into the Mexican market, GM and Tesla are talking about tech dreams, and we break down some helpful data from a trusted source.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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BUSINESS

News: ZEEKR in Mexico, GM’s Drone, and Tesla’s Robot

ZEEKR Enters North America

Remember all that talk of Chinese brands making waves in the North American auto market with $15K cars? Well, it's half a step closer. Ehh…maybe a quarter of a step.

Chinese EV brand ZEEKR, owned by Geely, has launched its first models in Mexico, marking its formal entry into North America. The ZEEKR 001 shooting brake and X SUV are now available, with prices starting at $54,850 and $44,350, respectively.

ZEEKR is closer to the U.S. market, but with prices still comparable to American-made EVs that some are still holding at arm's length, it may not matter much to us.

GM's Drone-Based Off-Road Navigation System

Luke Skywalker had his robot, R2-D. Harry Potter had his owl, Hedwig. And Perseus had his robot owl, Bubo (bet you weren't expecting a Clash of the Titans deep cut today, huh?).

Now you, too, can have a flying robot friend to help on your quests. GM is also flirting with in-car drones, and once GM is on something, the other legacy auto brands are sure to come along soon.

General Motors is developing a drone-based system to help drivers navigate off-road terrains. The drone scouts ahead, using radar and lidar to map the route and relay real-time recommendations to the driver. This system aims to provide a more accurate and dynamic navigation solution compared to traditional in-vehicle maps. Rivian is also working on a similar drone system for off-roading and short-range obstacle spotting.

Tesla's Humanoid Robots

Open auto industry news at any moment, and you'll find some Tesla headlines. Tesla is up, Tesla is down, Tesla is upside down, etc.

While the company is a dominant force in the EV world, it is also hitting the home energy sector and talking up its eventual offering for home robotics. Like butlers in space suits, these robots could make day-to-day life easier. But also like butlers in space suits, they could be the beginning of a sci-fi comedy of errors crossed over with a murder mystery. Excited yet?

Tesla plans to produce humanoid robots, called Optimus, for internal use next year, with broader production expected by 2026. These robots are designed for factory tasks and reflect Tesla's shift towards AI and automation technologies, complementing its EV production.

Don't get me wrong, my Roomba is really helpful, and its drawbacks are manageable in proportion to its ability. But, if it had hands, who knows what sort of mischief it could get into!

TOGETHER WITH DIGITAL DEALER SYSTEM

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MORE THAN CARS MOMENTS

Lookin’ Good, Fellas

Our friends Daniel Able and Andrew Hobdy tagged us from Paris (the one in France) to show off their More than Cars swag!

Thanks for the tag, friends. Keep up the good work!

Do you have any swag selfies of your own? Tag us, and let’s celebrate “Love People More Than You Love Cars” as more than a catchphrase.

BUSINESS CONT’D

July Used-Vehicle Market Overview for U.S. Auto Dealers

July is almost done, and the used car market has felt every day of it. Are we experiencing summertime blues?

• Inventory decreased while day supply increased

• Avg list price dipped

• And, of course, the CDK Global outage brought sales down across the industry.

Here are some details to move forward on:

• Used-Vehicle Inventory:

  • Total Units: 2.08M units at the start of July, down from 2.25M units at the start of June.

  • Comparison to Previous Year: Inventory levels are unchanged from a year ago.

• Days' Supply:

  • Current Days' Supply: 53 days, an increase of seven days from the beginning of June.

  • Year-over-Year Comparison: Up four days compared to last year.

• Average Listing Price:

  • Current Average Price: $25,251, down from $25,642 at the start of June.

  • Year-over-Year Comparison: Decreased by 7%, reaching levels last seen in the summer of 2021.

What does it mean for us?

1. Used-Vehicle Market Metrics:

   • Sales Decline: Used vehicle sales were down 14% month over month and over 6% year over year.

   • Average Mileage: 70,202 miles on average for used vehicles.

2. Affordability and Supply:

   • Challenges: Affordability remains an issue with constrained supply at lower price points.

   • Lower Price Points: Used cars below $15K have only 39 days' supply, 35% less than the industry average.

3. Top Sellers:

   • The top five sellers in July were Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.

   • Those brands accounted for 49% of all used vehicles sold.

   • The average price for these top sellers was $23,833 (about 6% below the overall average listing price).

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

More Than Cars @ Mohawk Chevrolet

Our friends at Mohawk Chevrolet are enjoying some much-deserved viral attention for their parody of “The Office.”

Check out these behind-the-scenes moments we captured at the creative dealership while filming Episode 4 of More Than Cars (releasing soon!).

Quick Hits

• Alphabet, Google’s owner, reported double-digit growth in Q2. 📈 

• Workers at Bethesda Game Studios (Skyrim, Fallout, Starfield) have unionized. ✊ 

• Brendan Frasier (The Whale, George of the Jungle, The Mummy) will play Dwight D Eisenhower in an upcoming movie “Pressure” about the D-Day Normandy landing. 🪖 

History

• 1829: In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the typographer (a precursor to the typewriter). ⌨️ 

• 2006: The Cougar Ace car carrier vessel lists causing 4,703 Mazdas to be crushed. 🚢 

• 2007: The 6,000,000th North American-built Honda Civic is produced. 🌎️ 

Thanks for reading, friend! Remember, today will have plenty of challenges. They may not be as bad as a ship carrying 4,703 of your cars tipping over in the ocean, but they are still challenges, and we believe in your ability to rise to the occasion. Maybe just don’t put 4,703 of your cars on a ship in the ocean… that’s a good starting point.