Through our Dealers Do Good campaign, AIADA is recognizing dealers for the positive impact they have in the communities they serve. If you’re a dealer doing good, let us know here, tag us on Facebook, LinkedIn, or X, or join the conversation with the #DealersDoGood hashtag.
The Tomes Auto Group in McKinney, Texas gives back to their community numerous times each year, so when a local charity reached out for help, the Tomes team jumped into action. The Baby Booties Diaper Banks a non-profit that gives free diapers to families that are in need twice a month. The diaper bank found themselves in desperate need because their inventory of diapers was very low. The Tomes Auto Group started collecting diapers and 30 days later the team presented Baby Booties with a gift of more than 56,000 diapers. This gift supplied free diapers to more than 500 families. Click here to learn more.
EV Leases Go as Low as $20 a Month to Help Dealers Clear Their Lots
Chris Hilbert used to think of leases as “scummy” and a waste of money. But now that he’s in the market for a cheap electric car, he says, “the prices are just hard to pass up.” Hilbert already owns a Tesla Model S sedan and a Rivian R1S SUV. He recently spotted an offer to lease a Hyundai Ioniq 5 SUV for just $259 a month. But he thinks he can do even better. “I need a smaller car for my son to drive,” Hilbert says. “I would be very interested in paying less than $200 a month.” Leases have emerged as a rare sign of optimism in an otherwise sluggish electric-vehicle market, in part because they can often be had at monthly costs that are far less than a new-car loan, reports Bloomberg. Affording a set of wheels right off the lot has become increasingly difficult, with the average new-car buyer in the U.S. paying $48,401 in July, according to vehicle price tracker Kelley Blue Book. Lease payments for battery-powered models have lately come at a relative discount because of cooling consumer demand for those vehicles. Click here for the full story.
U.S. Vehicle Inventory Hovers Below 3 million
New-vehicle inventory in the U.S. retreated slightly in August but continued to stay in the tight band below 3 million where it’s been since spring, according to Cox Automotive. According to Automotive News,inventory was 2.91 million in Cox’s latest estimate, down slightly from about 2.94 million vehicles a month earlier. Cox estimated days’ supply returning back to 72 days as dealer operations normalized after the cyberattacks on CDK Global Inc. caused a temporary jump. Inventory recovered to above 2.5 million in December and has stayed there since. A year earlier, inventory was about 914,000 vehicles lower, while supply was at 57 days, Cox said. Asian automakers continued to have the leanest supply levels, Cox said, while Ram, Lincoln, Dodge, Jeep and Mini have at least four months of supply on hand. Among the seven automakers reporting monthly sales and inventory, Ford Motor, Volvo, Toyota Motor North America and Hyundai-Kia saw days’ supply increases in August from the previous month, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center, while American Honda, Mazda and Subaru saw theirs shrink. Toyota remained the only automaker among the seven to report less than a one-month supply. Click here for the full story.
Volvo Ditches Vehicle Subscriptions as Alternative to Leasing
Volvo has deep-sixed a vehicle subscription program that was available in more than 40 states. Care by Volvo, launched in 2017, bundled vehicle use, road hazard coverage, maintenance and other services into a monthly payment.The automaker told Automotive News that it had suspended the program “for the foreseeable future.””This allows for concentrated focus on our core customer offers and the coming introduction of new products, [and an] increase in operational efficiencies,” spokesperson Russell Datz said.Volvo pitched the program as a tool to draw younger buyers into the luxury brand with a lower price point. More than 80 percent of subscription customers were new to the brand, the automaker said previously. “This program was designed to help us capture a new audience and introduce them to the safety, sustainability and technology benefits of driving a new Volvo car,” Volvo Car USA’s then-CEO, Anders Gustafsson, said in 2023. “The flexibility and all-inclusive offer conquests customers from other brands, but our vehicles are helping keep them with us.” Click here for the full story.
U.S. Locks in Steep China Tariff Hikes, Many to Start Sept. 27
The Biden administration on Friday locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports, including a 100 percent duty on electric vehicles, to strengthen protections for strategic domestic industries from China’s state-driven excess production capacity. The U.S. Trade Representative’s said that many of the tariffs, including a 100 percent duty on Chinese EVs, 50 percent on solar cells and 25 percent on steel, aluminum, EV batteries and key minerals, would go into effect on Sept. 27. The USTR determination, opens new tab, published on Friday but first reviewed by Reuters, showed a 50 percent duty on Chinese semiconductors, which now include two new categories – polysilicon used in solar panels and silicon wafers – are due to start in 2025. Adjustments to the punitive “Section 301” tariffs on $18 billion worth of goods announced in May by President Joe Biden were minimal and disregarded auto industry pleas for lower tariffs on graphite and critical minerals needed for EV battery production because they are still too dependent on Chinese supplies. Click here for the full story.
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