Auto Industry CEOs Urge Congress to Quickly Pass Chips Funding
Major automakers and industry suppliers on Wednesday urged Congress to move quickly to pass $52 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production, according to a letter seen by Reuters. A persistent shortage of chips has disrupted the automotive and electronics industries, forcing some firms to scale back production. The chief executives of General Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler-parent Stellantis, Rivian Automotive, Magna International, NXP Semiconductors, and senior U.S. leaders of Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Hyundai Motor, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Nissan urged Congress to act soon. "If the U.S. is to remain a leader in automotive innovation, we must make the strategic, forward-looking investments today necessary to enhance the capacity and resilience of our domestic and regional semiconductor supply chains," the letter said. The letter warned "currently, the auto industry is facing substantial production losses stemming from capacity challenges across the global semiconductor supply chain" and added "numerous automakers have been forced to halt production and cancel shifts in the United States, with serious consequences for their workers and the communities in which they operate." Click here to learn more about the letter to Congress.
With Michigan, Texas Plugged in, Digital License Plates Gain Traction
We live in a digital world — and the next car you see may prove the point if the owner has swapped out a traditional metal license plate for a digital one. Just like the video signboards popping up along American roadsides, digital license plates are gaining traction on the road itself, with Michigan and Texas becoming the third and fourth state to approve the technology. And “more than 10 additional U.S. states” are now in the approval process, according to California-based Reviver, the company marketing the technology. The technology isn’t cheap — costing as much as $1,200 over a four-year period if you opt for the RPlate Pro system reports The Detroit Bureau. And just how many motorists would be willing to shell out that sort of cash to have a more visible license plate on their vehicle is a long-term question. But Reviver claims that the technology does offer numerous advantages over conventional plates. Click here to learn more about digital license plates.
NHTSA Wants Automakers to Collect More 'Black Box' Crash Data
U.S. auto regulators said they want to require automakers to collect more crash data from event data recorders — more commonly known as "black boxes." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed requiring black boxes to collect 20 seconds of pre-crash data at a higher frequency rate to help better understand the actions that lead to a crash. NHTSA currently requires five seconds of pre-crash data at a slower collection rate for vehicles with EDRs. Automotive News reports the agency had studied adopting the regulation for more than three years — as required by Congress under a 2015 law. NHTSA was supposed to have finalized the new data collection rules by 2020. Black box data is a key tool for NHTSA investigations, including crashes where advanced driver assistance systems are suspected as a factor. NHTSA says the data provides a "comprehensive snapshot" of driver actions before a crash and can help "improve future vehicle designs and more effective safety regulations." In 2019, under former President Donald Trump, NHTSA withdrew a 2012 proposal to require EDRs in all new cars because it said automakers had voluntarily installed the devices in nearly all vehicles. Click here for the full story.
New Technology Making Vehicle Cabins Safer
In-cabin monitoring is a core focus of automotive safety bodies and regulators. Many recent major changes to Euro NCAP standards concern in-car features, while NHTSA has announced its first occupant protection safety standards for vehicles with automated driving systems, covering everything from seatbelt reminders to advanced airbags. This shift presents OEMs and suppliers with significant development and commercial challenges. Automakers must achieve compliance with new requirements for a wide range of in-cabin applications, steering clear of the pitfalls of increased complexity and higher costs, and future-proofing their systems to meet the demands of emerging regulations. The legacy approach to new in-cabin regulations focuses on additional single-function sensors to support each requirement. Wards reports with electronics expected to represent about 50 percent of vehicle cost by 2030, there’s a clear need for a smarter, more streamlined strategy. Automakers, therefore, are leveraging the platform model for its scalability potential. Click here to learn more about new technology that is making vehicle cabins safer.
The Pros and Cons of an External BDC for Car Dealerships
Inbound phone calls are still your best low-funnel leads, so they must be handled properly. Many dealers believe their sales team should be able to handle all those incoming calls, but the fact is up to 16 percent of calls are never answered reports CBT News. And for many shoppers, having a call go to voicemail means moving on to the next dealership. When phones aren’t getting picked up, it’s time to consider outsourcing to an external BDC. Market conditions today make an external BDC even more relevant. Labor shortages have employees spread thin. When faced between a belly-to-belly customer and one on the phone, the caller always comes second. Outbound call campaigns are often pushed off altogether. An external BDC can also handle service calls and campaigns – especially important now when the majority of shops are jam-packed yet customers keep calling. Proactive campaigns where agents reach out and schedule customers due for service in a few weeks, instead of waiting for customers to call and disappointing them with long wait times, is the kind of customer service that will keep customers coming back to your shop. Click here for the full story.
One in Five U.S. Vehicles Still Has an Unfixed Safety Issue
Even after years of heightened warnings about car safety recalls, new CARFAX data shows more than 50 million vehicles on U.S. roads today are being driven with a known issue that should be repaired.
CARFAX data shows in 2022, sedans and SUVs are the vehicles most likely to have unfixed recalls. Here are the Top 10 states with the most vehicles with open recalls:
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California: 5.6 million
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Texas: 5.1 million
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Florida: 3.1 million
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New York: 1.9 million
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Pennsylvania: 1.8 million
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Ohio: 1.8 million
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Georgia: 1.7 million
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North Carolina: 1.6 million
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Illinois: 1.6 million
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Michigan: 1.4 million
Identifying vehicles with an open recall can make an important difference in your business, and that’s a simple job for CARFAX Advantage® dealers.
Join the program and you can quickly check any car’s recall status by running a Vehicle History Report. Also, when you’re an Advantage member, CARFAX automatically monitors the recall status of every vehicle on your lot.
You can get the CARFAX Advantage for your dealership by calling 833-807-8899 or visiting the CARFAX for Dealers website.
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