Winners of the 2023 Kelley Blue Book Best Resale Value Awards Have Been Announced
Though most car buyers understand the value of their car will depreciate, they may not be entirely aware of how much this loss can vary from one model to the next or to what extent. To help new-car buyers shop smart, Kelly Blue Book and Cox Automotive have revealed the 2023 model year brand, category, and top 10 winners of the 21st annual Best Resale Value Awards, which honors vehicles for their predicted retained value over the first five years of ownership. Most new car buyers are unaware that depreciation is frequently the biggest expense owners have during the first five years of ownership, reports CBT News. After five years of ownership, the average 2023 model-year car would only be worth around 45 percent of what it cost to buy it, which means that a $45,000 new car today will only be worth about $20,250. Comparatively, after the first five years of ownership, every car in Kelley Blue Book’s Top 10 for Best Resale Value in 2023 is anticipated to hold onto 60 percent or more of its MSRP. Click here to find out the winners.
Dealers Say No Easy Solution to EV Charger Installation
Installing electric vehicle chargers at dealerships is proving to be complicated and costly. There are problems with utilities and city planning departments. There are different types and numbers of chargers to install. Dealers are finding there is no one-size-fits-all solution. "The more we dig into this whole shift, it's becoming more and more apparent that it's not cheap. And it's complicated. And it's time-consuming," said Rinaldi Halim, president of Sierra Automotive Group. While dealers have extensive experience with facility upgrades, the technical nature of installing chargers at commercial scale is often beyond their expertise. Depending on the age of the building, the proximity and capacity of their current transformer and other factors, dealers must develop custom solutions to meet their brands' requirements, reports Automotive News. Most automakers have outlined EV plans that require dealers to install various numbers of Level 2 and Level 3 chargers at their stores over the next few years. Dealers are spending $400,000 to $750,000 to install infrastructure for Level 3 chargers. They are adding transformers, switchgears and panels, a process that typically involves drilling through parking lot pavement or even through a public road or alley, consultants and dealers said. Click here for the full story.
Kia Program Helps Dealers Lock Down Elusive Parts
Dealership-to-dealership parts supply programs are now more important than ever to ensure parts departments get what they need to get their customers back on the road. The pandemic-induced supply chain tangles and the microchip shortage resulted in a lack of auto parts to build new vehicles, repair damaged ones, and maintain those brought into service departments. Despite signs of improvement, a shortage of some critical parts remains. A team at Kia worked with software-as-a-service provider OEConnection to develop a system to keep parts flowing into service departments. Kia's D2D Express program locates and moves hard-to-find and sometimes back-ordered parts from one dealership to another that's in desperate need of it. Kia launched the D2D program with OEConnection in July with 100 percent dealership enrollment. Greg Rivera, OEConnection's chief product officer, told Automotive News that all automakers have some way to manage back-ordered parts. "Sometimes it is a highly integrated and automated system, and sometimes it may be a large or small team dedicated to scouring the dealer network for the back-ordered parts," Rivera said. "With Kia, we helped augment and automate their process to expand the reach and impact of their back-order fulfillment program." Click here for the full story.
Lexus RZ Customers Can Rent Other Vehicles Free for 30 Days
America’s charging infrastructure continues to improve, but long-distance travel can still be a headache – at least for those who don’t purchase or lease a Lexus RZ 450e. To make owning an EV as easy as possible, the RZ 450e comes with access to the Lexus Reserve program that gives customers 30 days of complimentary rentals which can be used over the course of three years, report. Carscoops reports, the program is dealer-based and owners can use the Lexus app to make reservations. The program is designed to make long distance travel worry-free, and it also helps to overcome the RZ’s relatively short range of up to 220 miles. However, Lexus advises customers to be aware of possible mileage limitations and to inform the dealer if they intend to take their rental out of state. Rentals can be driven anywhere in the United States or Canada “as long as it is returned to the same dealership you picked up from.” Lexus forbids taking rentals to Mexico and warns against taking them off-road as they’ll be “notified” and “additional charges may be incurred. Click here for the full story.
A Workforce Ready to Service, Repair BEVs and Autonomous Cars
Attention, U.S. automotive businesses that are dragging their feet about upskilling staff to repair and service electric and autonomous vehicles: Please read on and consider the case for change. Though battery-electric-vehicle running costs in the long term are lower, the lifetime service and repair costs are significantly more than those for an internal-combustion-powered car. If your workshop accommodates BEVs, that means more money for your business. For example, a BEV with front-end damage will cost more than $4,000 to fix compared to just under $3,000 for a non-BEV, reports Wards. This year more BEVs will be on the road, with the U.S. market hitting a record 1 million in sales. The push for more BEV sales is gaining traction, with more than 18 states moving to ban sales of gas-powered vehicles. Last year, California decreed that only electricity- or hydrogen-powered new cars, trucks and SUVs could be sold in the state beginning in 2035. Also, by then, the U.S. Government will no longer buy gas-powered vehicles for its fleet. Meanwhile, Wyoming wants to phase out BEV sales by 2035, claiming it will hinder trade across its borders. Click here for the full story.
Around the Web
30 Years Later, Mercedes-Benz Revisits First-Ever V8-Powered G-Class [Carbuzz]
VW: These Are the 10 New EVs Coming By 2026 [Carscoops]
Why There's a Global Race to Boost EV Range in Cold Weather [Autoblog]
Rolls-Royce Phantom Syntopia Takes Haute Couture to Crazy Levels [Car and Driver]
