Dealers Raise Concerns About How Scout, Sony Honda Mobility Will Sell Vehicles
A group of state dealer associations is pressing Honda Motor Co. and Volkswagen Group not to sell planned electric vehicles from Scout and Sony Honda Mobility outside of the country's franchised dealer system. The Automotive Trade Association Executives, in perhaps the most public display of frustration yet, addressed the issue in a full-page ad in the April 15 issue of Automotive News, calling out both automakers as well as Scout, a brand formed by Volkswagen Group, and Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between Sony and Honda that is developing electric vehicles under the Afeela brand. Scout plans to start production of an electric body-on-frame utility vehicle and pickup in 2026. Afeela will start production of a sedan in 2025 with U.S. sales starting in 2026. Selling vehicles direct to consumers has been a pain point for franchised dealers since Tesla disrupted the legacy model. EV makers Rivian and Lucid have followed suit. All three have faced fierce opposition from dealer trade groups and state legislators. Click here for the full story.
Buy-Sell Activity Continues to Surge
Fear of missing out – or FOMO, in text-message shorthand – is likely motivating some dealers to sell out this year while dealership values are still elevated. “There could be an increase in sellers ready to cash in,” says Erin Kerrigan, founder and managing director of dealership buy-sell firm Kerrigan Advisors, Irvine, Calif. “They’re ready to cash in on generations of hard work, as they suspect the automotive retail game may be changing,” Kerrigan says during a recent webinar hosted AIADA. Increased new-vehicle inventory, after supplies cratered in 2021 and 2022, is the biggest change in the market. Higher inventory means a return to more-normal dealership profits and a more-normal level of competition. The big question that’s still unanswered is whether there’s a “new normal” – and at what level of profitability – or whether dealership profits will decline all the way back to pre-pandemic levels, reports Wards. That’s according to recent dealership buy-sell reports on the fourth quarter of 2023 and full-year 2023 from Kerrigan Advisors and a couple of its competitors: Presidio Group, and Haig Partners. Click here for the full story.
Suburban Areas Expected to House Majority of EVs by 2030
The electrification of vehicles is progressing at varying rates depending on their (rural, urban, suburban) location, resulting in a noticeable difference in the use of electric cars in the United States. A report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, highlighted by the DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office, suggests that most EVs will be found in suburban areas. It is predicted that suburban regions will house almost 60 percent of the 33 million vehicles expected by 2030, which is equivalent to about 20 million EVs. The remaining 40 percent of EVs will be distributed between rural (20 percent) and urban (20 percent) areas, reports CBT News. If this prediction holds true, it means that the majority of EV buyers will require a vehicle for daily use. Suburban houses typically come with private parking spaces and home charging capabilities, making them an excellent market for EVs. However, potential buyers in urban areas may lack a home charging station, and the shorter driving distances in cities may not make the higher cost of an electric vehicle worthwhile. This is despite the zero-emission feature being highly valued in urban areas. Click here for the full story.
Subaru's EyeSight Gets AI Infusion with Advanced Chips from Advanced Micro Devices for Smarter, Safer Driving
New versions of Subaru's trademark EyeSight driver-assist system will be a whole lot smarter and safer thanks to powerful new chips that harness artificial intelligence. According to Automotive News, advanced system-on-chip circuits from U.S. semiconductor giant Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will enable EyeSight to deliver autonomous driving and auto parking when the next-generation setups arrive, starting from 2025. Subaru Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices announced the partnership on Friday, saying the new system-on-chip circuits integrate stereo camera recognition with AI inferences. This enables better computer judgment by EyeSight, which Subaru has been improving on for more than a decade. The companies said the goal is better AI inference performance, faster speed, and lower cost. "We have selected a chip that is optimized for our needs. This is a big technological challenge for us," said Eiji Shibata, Subaru's chief digital car officer. "The automotive industry is experiencing a big transitional period where automobiles and information technology are increasingly being merged." Click here for the full story.
Audi Hopes to Gain the Public’s Trust with New Automated Driving Systems
The public’s trust in self-driving technologies has taken a hit in recent months after a spate of high-profile incidents in the U.S. but a new partnership between Audi and Applied Intuition aims to address key safety issues with such systems for use on future vehicles. While you may not have heard of Applied Intuition before, the company works with over a dozen major car manufacturers and is partnering with Audi to build a unified solution to support the development, validation, type approval, and deployment of automated driving systems for future Audi vehicles, reports Carscoops. The two companies will look to accelerate the process of developing automated driving functions while also reducing costs by using Applied’s end-to-end simulation and data management solutions. This framework will also use Audi’s scenario-based systems engineering experience to support all current and future regulatory requirements. “Ensuring safety is critical as we’re making progress on autonomous driving technology,” Applied Intuition co-founder and chief executive Qasar Younis said. Click here for the full story.
Around the Web
VW Workers Vote to Join UAW in Historic Southern Win for Union [The Wall Street Journal]
The 10 Car Brands Cheapest to Maintain Over 10 Years [Autoblog]
Kia Gives $7,500 Incentive for EV9 Sales Until Production Moves to U.S. [Automotive News]
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Receive Useful Upgrades [Carbuzz]
