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- 🚗 Toyota Has Doubts
🚗 Toyota Has Doubts
🚙 Tips from Kain, NADA Approaches, and Easy Peasy
TOGETHER WITH
Welcome to Wednesday, Friend!
Did you get the new AutoIndustry.AI email yesterday?
Our friend and industry veteran, David Kain, shared some tips all dealers should give a read, and we wrote them up.
Check out “💡 10 Takeaways from David Kain on Leveraging Tech and AI”
Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi
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Reading time: 3 min
🫏 Tesla's ASS, Toyota's Prediction, and Volvo's Ups and Slumps
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🚗 Toyota: Big Dreams, Bold Moves
Toyota’s $10B Woven City blends tech, mobility, and heart at Mount Fuji, inviting 2,000 innovators to develop AI, autonomous vehicles, and more. Meanwhile, Toyota’s chairman dismisses Nissan merger talks but welcomes the Honda-Nissan union as "exciting competition."
🫏 Tesla’s ASS Scrutiny
NHTSA is investigating Tesla’s “Actually Smart Summon” (ASS) feature after 16 crashes with 2.6M vehicles potentially affected. The feature’s camera-only navigation raises safety and political concerns as Elon Musk’s ties to Trump’s administration loom.
🔋 Volvo: Global Gains, U.S. Pains
Globally, Volvo EVs and PHEVs hit record sales, accounting for 46% of 2024’s total. But U.S. EV sales plunged 59% due to EX30 delays and tariffs, while PHEVs surged 70%, keeping Volvo competitive stateside.
Read the Full Digest
Get the full scoop on these stories and more. Dive into the latest trends shaping the auto industry—read here!
NADA Show 2025 Is Nearly Here
The NADA Show in New Orleans is just two weeks away!
Here’s why you need to be there:
5 Spotlight Series covering the latest industry trends.
4 Days of Nonstop Networking with industry pros and innovators.
3 Days to Explore the Expo—where cutting-edge tech and tools await.
2 Super Sessions packed with insights from top leaders.
1 Incredible Event in the heart of Louisiana.
Who Should Attend?
From sales and service to HR and finance, NADA Show 2025 has something for everyone. Bring your team and see how every department can gain fresh strategies, actionable takeaways, and connections that drive success.
Don’t delay—booking your hotel with NADA's discounted rate ends TODAY at 5pm ET.
Register now!
Strong Supply Helps Speed Up Sales
Tenor
Despite a high overall Ease of Purchase rating of 88% in December, several key steps in the buying process showed noticeable declines compared to November.
Shoppers were more likely to complete their purchases at a single dealership, but frustrations around price and trade-in negotiations crept back in, signaling areas where dealers can improve in early 2025.
CDK Global
Dealers saw a strong close to the year with buyers finding plenty of options on the lot—though not always their top pick. While fewer buyers walked away with their exact first choice compared to November, an impressive number still found alternatives in stock or in transit.
In-stock options dipped from 62% in November to 54% in December, reflecting some softening in supply but still showing plenty of available inventory to work with.
More vehicles in transit and alternate options helped make up the difference, with in-transit inventory increasing to 17% and alternate selections rising to 12%.
Factory orders ticked up slightly suggesting that more buyers were willing to wait for exactly what they want.
Single-dealer purchases rose, with nearly half of buyers (49%) finding everything they needed at one store, compared to just 36% last December.
CDK Global
AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE
🗓️ Coming Soon
📝 January 30th— Public Policy Day with WANADA and the Washington, D.C. Auto Show.
🦀 May 13-16th— ASOTU CON in Baltimore, Maryland.
🥊 Quick Hits
Goodyear’s new smart tires can sense poor weather conditions for improved emergency braking. 🛞
Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful is making moves to acquire TikTok before it’s ban on the 19th. 🦈
Meta announced that it will end its fact-checking program in order to combat censorship. 🤨
🔁 Today in History
1790: U.S. President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address. 🇺🇸
1816: Sophie Germain is the first woman to win a prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences for her paper on elasticity. 👩🔬
2006: The Dodge Challenger concept debuts at the North American International Auto Show. 🥇
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