Carmakers Get Inventive as Global Chip Crisis Bites

First Up 11/30/21

Dealership Ditched the Script, Started Talking to Customers ‘Like a Human Being' and Found Success

Germain Toyota of Naples had figured out how to conduct vehicle sales digitally in early 2020. But the achievement raised a new challenge for the Florida dealership: Traditional word tracks were no longer relevant. So the dealership empowered staff to approach sales organically, discarding a rigid process in favor of having a conversation with the customer and addressing the question or shopping step on the consumer's mind at the time. "We just roll with them," General Manager Brian Kramer told Automotive News. As a result, finance-and-insurance sales have increased, boosting per-vehicle profitability, Kramer said. After initial reluctance, sales employees now prefer the revamped approach. Dave O'Brien, president of Quantum5, a training company that worked with the dealership to address the issue, gave the example of a customer who wanted to jump straight to buying a car without a test drive. "COVID really kind of finalized blowing up steps and processes and scripts," O'Brien said. For the full story, click here.

What to Watch as Senate Takes up Reconciliation Bill

Now that the bipartisan infrastructure bill is law and the House has passed a $1.7 trillion budget reconciliation package, the Democrats’ agenda is squarely in the Senate’s hands, with Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema playing deciding roles. E&E News reports that the House’s inclusion of a $4,500 bonus credit for cars and trucks assembled within the U.S. by union workers remains a notable sticking point. Manchin, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has questioned the union bonus. His home state of West Virginia is home to a manufacturing facility owned by Toyota Motor Corp., which opposes the bonus for union-made EVs. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), who helped write the union provision, said that while talks are ongoing, Manchin is not “in a position where he gets to have everything.” Kildee declined to discuss what a potential compromise would look like. “We have some ideas,” he said. “I’d like to hear if he’s open to some of them.” For more, including international opposition to union-only EV credits, click here.
 

Dealers and their employees should contact their Members of Congress and urge them to oppose this proposal that will divide American workers and play politics with car sales. Click here to learn more about the issue and to contact your legislators. 

Carmakers Get Inventive as Global Chip Crisis Bites

Whether buying computer chips directly from manufacturers, reconfiguring cars, or producing them with parts missing, automakers are having to get creative to cope with the global shortage of semiconductors. According to Reuters, the shortage, due to supply problems and a surge in demand for consumer electricals during the pandemic, has hit the auto industry hard, with millions of vehicles worldwide not being produced because important parts are missing. With the problem lasting longer than initially expected, manufacturers including Daimler and Volkswagen have had to rethink production strategies. Chip suppliers need to be treated differently given their strategic importance to the industry, said Stefan Bratzel from the Center for Automotive Management. "You have seen the problems that arise when you treat the chip companies like other suppliers and stop the calls," he said. For more on what that could mean for automakers, click here.

Newcomers on Parade: Debuts from Brands That Are Not Household Names

Between the Los Angeles Auto Show and the Guangzhou auto show in China, this month has seen dozens of vehicle debuts — but many came from companies the U.S. industry barely knows. Not yet, anyway. According to Automotive News, unfamiliar brands are emerging for a shot at global automaking, hoping that consumers have a new willingness to look at electric vehicles and advanced technologies regardless of whether they come from established manufacturers or startups. For example., Vancouver-based ElectraMeccanica says it marries "bold ideas with elegant design to create thrilling new ways to move people." Its L.A. show debut, a tiny car called the Solo, is a one-seat EV that starts at just $18,500, has a 100-mile range and is aimed at both consumers and commercial customers. Click here to see it. Another EV startup, L.A.-based INDI EV, showed an electric crossover called the INDI One, and according to the automaker's website it will have a production version on sale in less than two years. For the full list, and pictures, of concept cars from unfamiliar brands, click here.

2023 Kia Niro First Look: Bye Bye, Boring

The idea of Kia's Niro was probably as appealing as the vehicle itself when the hybrid hatchback debuted for 2017. Its somewhat generic tall-hatchback styling housed a pleasantly roomy cabin and a platform that also would come to play host to plug-in hybrid (Niro PHEV) and full-electric (Niro EV) powertrain options. Arriving for 2023, Motor Trend says the second-generation Kia Niro is anything but generic. Click here to see it. Don't just call the Niro interesting-looking "for a hybrid." This is a genuinely compelling small crossover, with angular new headlights, a broad hood, and chunky sculpting around its wheel wells and lower body. There are clear parallels to the HabaNiro concept in the contrast-color panel slicing up each side of the body behind each rear door, and Kia also mined that show car for those V-shaped LED headlight accents and the vertical taillights that frame the rear hatch. For more on the Niro, including pricing, click here.

 

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