Through our Dealers Do Good campaign, AIADA is recognizing dealers for the good things they do for the communities they serve. If you’re a dealer doing good, let us know here, tag us on Facebook or Twitter, or join the conversation with the #DealersDoGood hashtag.
For the month of October, Bergstrom Automotive hosted Drive for A Cure at all of their locations to support breast cancer research programs in Wisconsin. For every test drive taken, Bergstrom donated $5. Bergstrom also donated $5 for every new fan on their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn social sites. With these initiatives, the event raised $35,000 this year. This brings their Drive for A Cure grand total to more than $586,000 donated for breast cancer research in Wisconsin. Click here for a picture.
Meanwhile, Gold Rush Subaru in California donated $10,000 to pay for an injured dog’s back surgery. Ralphie, a 3-year-old shih tzu and support animal for a young girl, was able to undergo surgery late last month for a fall which had paralyzed him, thanks to the generosity of Susan and Scott Taylor, co-owners of Gold Rush Subaru in Auburn. Taylor said that October is “Subaru Loves Pets” month, a nationwide effort during which individual dealerships donate to a charity local to them within the month’s theme. When Taylor saw Ralphie’s story, she said she saw him as the “underdog” represented in the this year’s pet-adoption initiative and thought, “This is the perfect opportunity for us to do something more.” Click here for the full story.
Sen. Joe Manchin Calls Union-Built EV Tax Credit 'Wrong'
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announce yesterday that he opposes a planned provision to grant an extra $4,500 federal tax credit for union-made electric vehicles. Manchin, speaking at an event in Buffalo, WV, that announced Toyota Motor North America’s $240 million investment in the automaker’s West Virginia components plant, called the provision backed by Michigan’s congressional delegation “wrong” and “not American.” “When I heard about this, what they were putting in the bill, I went right to the sponsor [Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.] and I said, ‘This is wrong. This can’t happen. It’s not who we are as a country. It’s not how we built this country, and the product should speak for itself,” Manchin told Automotive News. “We shouldn’t use everyone’s tax dollars to pick winners and losers. If you’re a capitalist economy that we are in society then you let the product speak for itself, and hopefully, we’ll get that, that’ll be corrected.” For Sen. Stabenow’s response, and more, 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.
Subaru Unveils First All-Electric Car, Developed with Toyota
Japan's Subaru Corp on Thursday unveiled its first all-electric vehicle, the Solterra, the result of a two-year joint development project with its biggest shareholder, Toyota Motor Corp. Click here to see it. According to Reuters, the sports utility vehicle launch comes amid accelerating demand for EVs as nations around the world tighten environmental regulation to cut carbon emissions. Toyota last month announced its version of a battery electric vehicle, the bZ4X. The technological shift away from internal combustion engines poses a challenge for smaller carmakers, such as Subaru, that are less able to fund expensive development of EVs. At the same time, it is an opportunity for top-tier automakers, such as Toyota, to draw smaller rivals closer. "The EV market is not mature yet, so we will respond to it by deepening our cooperation with Toyota," Subaru CEO Tomomi Nakamura said during a launch event. For more on their partnership, and the result, click here.
Auto Loan, Lease Values Up in Q3 Despite Sales Slump
The value of U.S. auto finance originations, including loans and leases for new and used vehicles, was $198.8 billion for the third quarter, a substantial increase of 18.2 percent vs. a year ago, and the second-highest quarterly total on record. That’s according to the third-quarter 2021 Household Debt and Credit Report from the New York Federal Reserve, published Nov. 9. The record is $201.9 billion, for the second quarter of 2021, the report says. “This really reflects auto prices are quite high right now…rather than an increase in the number of loans originated,” researchers for the New York Fed say in a conference call. The researchers say they can’t share volume numbers for finance contracts in the third quarter, but the volume number is inevitably down vs. a year ago, even though the dollar amount is up. According to Wards, new-vehicle sales were down 13.4 percent for the third quarter, to about 3.4 million cars and trucks combined. That’s due to an industrywide new-vehicle shortage driven by a shortage of computer chips. Used-vehicle prices are also up, analysts say. For the full story, click here.
Average Dealership Profit on Pace to Shatter 2020 Record
With vehicle prices rising amid inventory shortages, profits for the average U.S. auto dealership nine months into 2021 are on pace to soar past the annual record set last year. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the average U.S. dealership recorded net pretax profit of $3 million through September. That was more than double the $1.3 million in net pretax profit reported for the first nine months of 2020. And it's already well above the $2.1 million in net pretax profit recorded for the average dealership for all of 2020, which itself was an all-time record annual profit. Last year's record profitability was driven by unique market conditions that made both new and used vehicles scarce, NADA Chief Economist Patrick Manzi told Automotive News. Manzi said in February that he expected the high profit levels to cool this year and go back to "more of a return to normal," but so far that hasn't happened. For more on why dealer profits are breaking records, click here.
Around the Web
'New' Electric Hyundai Grandeur Luxury Sedan is 35 Years Old [Fox News]
There May Be a Steep Privacy Cost if You Park at This Trader Joe’s [LA Times]
Six Major Automakers Agree to End Gas Car Sales Globally by 2040 [Car&Driver]
