Automotive Weekly
AUTO TEAM AMERICA FORUM AND SUMMIT
Auto Team America's 30th Annual Dealer/CEO/CFO Forum and 11th Annual Buy-Sell Summit is happening Thursday, February 1, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Click the button below for details and to register!
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THE FASTEST SELLING NEW AND USED VEHICLES
"Used-car prices were initially driven up by a lack of new-car inventory," said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. "Now there are plenty of new cars on dealer lots, but consumers aren't rushing out to buy them. "The new-car average time-to-sale is down by more than 25% even as used cars are selling 6.1% faster. This shows buyers are continuing to seek value in the used-car market – despite a wide range of new-car options."
When value meets an eager buyer, autos tend to sell faster – and that's the case with the fastest-selling vehicles in the U.S., based on iSeeCars.com analytics. Here's a quick "fastest selling" list with new vehicles:
- Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid, an average of 9.2 days on the market.
- Land Rover Range Rover: 10.4 days
- Toyota Grand Highlander: 10.7 days
- GMC Yukon: 19.7 days
- Lexus NX 350h: 19.7 days
Here's a snapshot of the fastest-selling used U.S. cars, SUVs and trucks on a year-to-date basis.
- Honda HR-V, an average of 34.4 days on the market.
- Acura ILX: 35.3 days
- Toyota Highlander Hybrid: 36.6 days
- Acura RDX: 36.8 days
- Hyundai Venue: 38 days
Electric vehicles are taking moderately longer to sell so far in 2023, with the Tesla Model Y taking 47.6 days on average to find a buyer, followed by the Nissan Leaf (51 days) and the Tesla Model 3 (51.8) days.
Source: The Street
GM PAUSES PRODUCTION OF MOST PICKUP TRUCKS AMID PARTS SHORTAGE
General Motors will halt production of its popular pickup trucks due to parts shortages, but it is not specifying which parts it needs. The pause comes at an inconvenient time as industry experts note that GM and Stellantis have been increasing inventory in the last couple of months in preparation for a possible strike by the United Auto Workers. The UAW is in negotiations with GM, Stellantis and Ford Motor Co. as the contract the three have with the union will expire on Sept 14.
Source: Detroit Free Press
VINFAST'S STOCK SURGE IS A 'COIN TOSS' FOR INVESTORS
Boasting a higher market capitalization than General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. put together, loss-making VinFast Auto Ltd. raises a familiar question for EV investors: how long can it hold its stellar gains. Wild swings since its first day of trading as a public company recall cautionary tales when it comes to electric vehicle makers, with Rivian Automotive Inc. and Lucid Group Inc. among those now trading well below their peaks.
Source: Bloomberg
LABOUR NEWS
Hyundai Faces New Pressure Campaign from Southern Labor Groups
Hyundai Motor Co. is facing a pressure campaign from a coalition of labor groups and civil rights groups in Alabama and Georgia, the home of its new $5.5 billion electric vehicle assembly and battery complex. The groups are pressuring Hyundai to do more to ensure safe labor conditions throughout its supply chain after a Department of Labor investigation last year uncovered child labor violations at several Alabama companies supplying the Korean automaker.
Source: Bloomberg
Auto Union Boss Wants 46% Raise, 32-Hour Work Week in 'War' Against Detroit Carmakers
Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers union since March, has declared "war" on the Detroit Three automakers, with contract demands that even he calls "audacious," including proposals for a 46% raise, a return to traditional pensions and a 32-hour work week. Now the 54-year-old who began work as an electrician at a Chrysler casting plant in 1994, is threatening to take his 150,000 UAW members out on strike.
Source: Bloomberg
Unifor Targets Ford
Unifor has its sights set on Ford Motor Co. of Canada as it looks to set a pattern for this year's bargaining talks with the Detroit Three. Union President Lana Payne officially picked Ford as Unifor's target automaker Aug. 29, three weeks after hinting she was leaning toward focusing on the company that employs about 5,500 union members in Canada to lead off this year's contract talks.
Source: Automotive News
Strike Concerns already impacting used market
Last week, ADESA chief economist Tom Kontos discussed what might happen to the used-car market if a strike involving manufacturing plant workers who build new vehicles for the Big 3 OEMs happens next month. On Tuesday, Black Book noticed wholesale price implications already are starting to surface. For the first time this month, analysts said wholesale prices didn't drop by more than 1% in a single week. Black Book pegged last week's drop at 0.86%, as the estimated average weekly sales rate declined to 48%.
Source: Auto Remarketing
Auto Workers Want 40% Pay Increases. Analysts Worry That Will Drive Up Car Prices and Make It Harder for Ford, GM, and Stellantis to Compete with Tesla
Workers at Ford, GM, and Stellantis are fighting for 40% pay increases — but analysts worry that will drive up car prices and ultimately, make it harder for these auto giants to compete with Tesla. The United Auto Workers union fight with Detroit's Big Three carmakers is heating up. The union recently passed a strike authorization vote, and its looming deadline is September 14.
Source: Business Insider
HEAVIER EVS ARE CAUSING SAFETY AND POLLUTION PROBLEMS
EVs are posting eye-popping curb weights, wiping out the lightweighting progress automakers have made in the past decade. The heavy batteries required to provide hundreds of miles of range are the culprit. The battery pack in the GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV weighs 2,818 pounds — just 52 fewer pounds than the entire curb weight of the Chevrolet Cruze, the compact sedan that ended production in 2019. The weightiness of EVs has another consequence. Higher EV weights are causing sticker prices to increase because automakers are using more raw materials in the larger tires and bigger brakes, for example.
Source: Automotive News
DODGE MUSCLE CARS, 4 KIA MODELS AMONG MOST STOLEN VEHICLES
The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat muscle car is more than 60 times as likely to be stolen as the average 2020-22 model year vehicle, topping all other vehicles in a study released today by the Highway Loss Data Institute. Dodge Charger and Challenger models with large engines frequently top the group's annual list, but the rate at which the Charger SRT Hellcat is stolen is spiking. There were about 25 whole-vehicle theft claims per 1,000 vehicles for the 2020-22 model years, up from 18 for 2019-21 models.
Source: Automotive News
JUDGE REJECTS HYUNDAI, KIA CLASS-ACTION SETTLEMENT
A federal judge has denied Hyundai and Kia's $200 million settlement agreement in a multidistrict class action against the automakers following a car theft frenzy that targeted certain model years, ruling that the amount is not enough for some owners. The settlement had offered different awards based on the severity of financial loss, and it was reached by Hyundai and Kia as well as lawyers representing plaintiffs who claimed their vehicles are too easy to steal because they lack engine immobilizers, a crucial anti-theft device.
Source: Automotive News
USED EV PRICES HAVE PLUMMETED FROM A YEAR AGO...
But Will that Spark Greater Interest?
According to the latest CARFAX Used Car Price Index, prices on used hybrids and EVs were down 22.1% year-over-year in August. That's a $9,000 drop on the price tag in just a year, which CARFAX said is "far and away the biggest decrease" among the segments in its analysis. Used hybrid and EV prices dropped an average of $600 from July, which is tied with luxury SUVs for largest month-over-month decline in August, CARFAX said.
Source: Auto Remarketing
