Opportunities Open Online for Dealers, Cox Finds
Consumers' satisfaction with the experience of buying a vehicle is growing, and so is their interest in handling more parts of the process online, reports Automotive News. But retailers largely are not ready to meet customers' increasing digital demands, a new survey found, while changing consumer interest is creating more opportunities for dealerships to improve their digital retailing capabilities. Those are some of the takeaways from a Cox Automotive study being released today that explores customers' preferences around online retailing and the barriers to adoption that remain. "We're definitely heading in the right direction, and dealers say that they are committed to making changes to their processes to help get us there," Sonia Kher, manager of research, market intelligence and pricing for Cox Automotive, told Automotive News. The biggest gaps between what consumers want to do online and the steps they actually complete online are related to financing applications and approvals and choosing finance-and-insurance products. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
New Year Brings New Deals on New Cars, Trucks, and Utes
The Detroit Bureau reports that automakers are offering some good deals on selected cars, trucks and utility vehicles both for lower-priced leases as well as financing with their captive finance arms, according to TrueCar Inc. Overall, TrueCar noted that new vehicle prices were 7.2% less than the stick price across the board. “New vehicle incentives tend to soften a bit going into a new year, which means it’s even more important for car buyers to understand where the deals are,” said Nick Woolard, lead analyst for TrueCar. “It’s often hard to understand whether an advertised offer is a good one, and that’s where TrueCar can really help cut through the noise and help consumers compare real price offers with the same money down and terms.” According to the website, General Motors and Nissan were offering the best deals when it came to buying new vehicles. Read more here (Source: The Detroit Bureau).
Dealers Call on Nissan to Revive Xterra
Automotive News reports that stoked by the market frenzy now greeting the return of long-dormant SUVs such as the Ford Bronco and Land Rover Defender, some wishful Nissan dealers are calling for the return of their own long-absent model — the funky Xterra SUV. And according to dealers, the automaker is now listening. The pickup-based sport-ute, once referred to as "the car that saved Nissan" for bringing an infusion of sales to the then-struggling brand in 1999, was discontinued after the 2015 model year, a casualty of new safety regulations and a consumer pivot from truck-based utility vehicles to lighter unibody crossovers. Given the sales success of the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner, Nissan is leaving money on the table, said Tyler Slade, operating partner at Tim Dahle Nissan Southtowne in suburban Salt Lake City. "The rugged body-on-frame utility segment is on fire, and we're missing out on key business for the brand," Slade said. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Despite Production Cuts to Chip Shortages, Vehicle Inventory Remains Stable
Despite the threat of computer chip shortage hovering over the industry, the supply new vehicles remained stable at 3 million units in December, according to a new report from Cox Automotive. According to The Detroit Bureau, Cox reported it was the first time that supply hit 3 million vehicles since last May when sales dropped dramatically after the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Inventory levels appear to be stabilizing over recent weeks as days’ supply has been nearly unchanged since late November,” said Charlie Chesbrough, Cox Automotive senior economist. “Available supply has been rising, but so have sales. The combination keeps days supply stable.” The days supply stood at 70, down from 75 the month earlier and well off the 85 days supply of a year ago. Luxury vehicles were lower than the industry average at 65 days supply. Japanese luxury brand Lexus, and Germany’s BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been running with low inventory levels for months. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry has been sitting at 71 days supply. The Cox Automotive days supply figure is based on the daily sales rate for the most recent 30-day period. Read more here (Source: The Detroit Bureau).
Biden to Sign Buy American Order for Government Procurement
President Biden will sign an executive order Monday imposing tougher rules on government procurement practices to increase purchases of products made in the U.S., a step toward fulfilling his Buy American campaign pledge to strengthen domestic manufacturing, reports The Wall Street Journal. The new policies will include tightening the government procurement rules to make it harder for federal agencies to purchase imported products, revising the definition of American-made products, and raising local-content requirements. The executive order also ensures that small and midsize businesses will have better access to information needed to bid for government contracts. While their styles are different, Mr. Biden’s Buy American initiative has similarities to Mr. Trump’s domestic preference policy, which was part of his America First policy that featured tariff wars with China and other trading partners. Read more here (Source: The Wall Street Journal).
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