Dec. 21, 2018
Car Dealers Can Capitalize on Holiday-Shopping Lift All Year
Gifts are top of mind this time of year, and many dealerships are hoping to receive a big one – exceeding sales goals – as we wrap up 2018. According to Wards, initial shopping indicators are positive this year. Dealertrack data showed a 53 percent uptick in auto-credit application volume on the most recent Black Friday compared with prior Fridays in November. Dealer.com data showed a 4 percent increase in vehicle-detail-page views and a 7 percent increase for mobile visits on this year’s Black Friday compared with other Fridays in November. This increased activity is great news for dealerships trying to close sales in 2018. With a few simple and smart actions, though, the spike in car shopping can continue to provide good tidings well into 2019. To carry the holiday shopping lift into next year, dealers and their teams need the right customer-relationship-management and data practices to make meaningful connections with car shoppers that can be converted into sales next year. They need to make sure customer leads – gifts waiting to be opened in 2019 – aren’t squandered because of poor data management. For more on what dealers can do, click here.
Chairman's Blog: The Gift of Advocacy
The holidays are fast approaching, and if you’re like me, writes AIADA Chairman and Utah dealer Brad Strong, that means a challenging balancing act of all the fun family and social events that accompany this time of year, along with all of the not-so fun end of year business that comes with running a dealership. Your days may be busy, and long, but there’s one thing you can’t forget while making your list and checking it twice. It’s registering for AIADA’s 49th Annual Meeting and Luncheon in San Francisco next month. Take five minutes and check registration off your list now. I promise – it’s painless and you’ll feel better knowing you remembered to get yourself one critical gift for the New Year. The Gift of Advocacy. By attending the luncheon, you get more than just an opportunity to watch me pass the Chairman’s Gavel to California dealer Howard Hakes and hear from our keynote speaker, Toyota’s Bob Carter. You also get a seat at the table where AIADA is doing real and substantial advocacy work for you and your business. For the full blog post, click here.
The Global Auto Industry Is Likely in First Recession Since 2009
The global auto industry is poised for its first sustained production drop since the financial crisis, according to RBC Capital Markets. Worldwide light-vehicle output fell 2.9 percent in the third quarter and probably will decline about 4 percent in the fourth quarter, analyst Joe Spak wrote in a report Wednesday. Click here to see a chart. According to Bloomberg, this will be the first back-to-back industrywide drop since 2009. Automakers probably will produce about 94.6 million vehicles this year, down 0.6 percent from 2017, according to RBC’s estimates. The analysts are projecting output will drop again by 0.4 percent in 2019, with tempered growth resuming in the following years. For more on the global automotive market outlook, click here.
After-Christmas Car Shopping: 9 Best Deals for the New Year
Ahhh, the stretch between Christmas and New Year's — when extended family are still around but planned activities are not. The holiday food means loosened belts and, if you're not careful, loose-lipped bellyaching about your weeklong housemates. If car shopping was on your to-do list, it might prove just the right excuse to dodge the family drama. According to Cars.com, overall new-car incentives are still waning versus a spike in recent years, but the end of the calendar year remains a historically good time for discounts. Tyson Jominy, head of J.D. Power and Associates' data consultancy, says the week between Christmas and New Year's has seen the highest new-car incentives of the year for four of the past five years. And two days in particular, December 29 and 30, should see a lot of activity in 2018. For six brands in particular, more than 45 percent of new inventory remains 2018s. They are Mazda, Audi, Dodge, Ford, Mitsubishi, and Jeep. Want to know which cars in particular have the highest cash discounts? Click here.
Carlos Ghosn Rearrested on Suspicion of Shifting Personal Losses to Nissan
Nissan Motor Co.’s former Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s chances of bail were derailed Friday when prosecutors cited new suspicions that he shifted personal losses to Nissan, in a move that keeps him behind bars longer. The Wall Street Journal reports that prosecutors suspected that in October 2008, in the midst of the global financial crisis, Mr. Ghosn temporarily forced Nissan to take over a personal derivative contract that was sitting on $16.6 million in losses at the time. Mr. Ghosn later took back the contract onto his personal books and received help from an unidentified person in submitting a statement backing up his credit to the bank on the other side of the contract, prosecutors said in a statement outlining their suspicions. Then, between 2009 and 2012, Mr. Ghosn had a Nissan subsidiary transfer a total of $14.7 million into an account controlled by that person, the statement said. Those suspicions, if proven, would constitute “special breach of trust,” a criminal violation under Japan’s company law that signifies an executive has abused his position for personal gain, prosecutors said. For more, click here.
Around the Web
2019 Nissan Murano First Drive [TTAC]
Toyota recalls 2019 Corolla Hatchbacks for CVT problems [CNet]
The Biggest Letdowns We Drove in 2018 [Jalopnik]
Here's What Automakers Would Build If They Loved Their Customers [MSN]
