More service opportunities

There’s ample room for auto dealers to grow their service drive business, based on recently measured consumer demand and pain points. A CDK survey of over 2,000 vehicle owners shows that dealers are leaving things to be desired in some service categories, including communication and convenience, particularly among the youngest consumers. The trends are particularly significant since the poll found nearly a third of consumers are “doing everything possible to keep their car running.” While dealers excel on tire rotations and cabin filter replacements, they score behind competitors in most other categories, the research found. Appointment booking is one of the biggest areas dealers could improve in.

Source: F&I and Showroom

Ford Motor executives are in active discussions about scrapping the electric version of its F-150 pickup, according to people familiar with the matter, which would make the money-losing truck America’s first major EV casualty. The Lightning, once described by Ford as a modern Model T for its importance to the company, fell far short of expectations as American truck buyers skipped the electric version of the top-selling truck. Ford has racked up $13 billion in EV losses since 2023. Overall EV sales, already falling short of expectations, are expected to plummet in the absence of government support. And big, electric pickups and SUVs are the most vulnerable.

Source: Wall Street Journal

It’s show-and-tell season for automotive suppliers. That typically means teasing the “next big thing” ahead of a splashy showcase at CES in Las Vegas in January. There, reps unveil futuristic wares to woo automakers vying for electric and autonomous vehicle supremacy. The prototypes are rich in spectacle and ambition. But in Detroit, the buyer-seller discussion has come back down to earth. Electric vehicle sales have stalled, driverless cars are still in testing phase and auto executives are staring down a more urgent issue: Maintaining profits on core vehicles as tariffs and onshoring drive up the price of moving metal.

Source: Crains Detroit via Automotive News

Used-vehicle prices in the United States have climbed to their highest point in 18 months, with the average model now selling for just under $25,000, according to new data from CARFAX. The price gap between some new and used vehicles has narrowed to within about 10%, an uncommon trend that’s giving both buyers and dealers pause. Typically, a three-year-old vehicle would lose around 40% of its value. But Carfax reports that some 2023 models, including the Honda Civic, Ford Bronco, Kia Seltos and Toyota Corolla Cross, are now priced within roughly 10% of their 2025 counterparts.

Source: Canadian Auto Dealer

Honda’s downgrade to its full-year profit outlook underscores the immediate pressure from U.S. tariffs and global chip shortages - but the deeper, longer-term challenge lies in intensifying competition from Chinese electric vehicle makers. Japan's second-largest automaker cut its full-year outlook by a fifth after the market closed on Friday, citing one-off EV costs and a shortage of components using chips from Netherlands-based Nexperia. The Dutch government took control of the company, owned by China's Wingtech on September 30.

Source: Reuters

Hyundai AutoEver America (HAEA), a digital subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, has begun alerting vehicle owners to a data breach that may have exposed names, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license details. The company, which manages software systems for Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles, said hackers accessed its systems between February and March. The intrusion went undetected for nine days, potentially allowing access to customer data. HAEA serves more than 2.7 million users, but a spokesperson told Kelley Blue Book the breach affected about 2,000 individuals. State filings in Maine and Massachusetts confirm a limited number of residents were impacted.

Source: CBT News

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD aims to sell up to 1.6 million vehicles abroad next year, doubling down on overseas expansions with high double-digit growth from 2025, Citi said in a report on Tuesday. Overseas sales guidance of 1.5-1.6 million vehicles is up from an expected 900,000 to 1 million vehicles sold outside China in 2025, "with growth driven by new model launches," the Citi note said, citing a meeting with BYD management on Tuesday.

Source: Reuters

A list of the least expensive automotive brands and vehicle types to insure comes with a couple of surprises. Consumer Reports compiled the listing based on data from insurance comparison shopping website Insurify that shows sedans come with the highest insurance premiums of all vehicle types. The report didn't indicate the reasons, but smaller autos can be more vulnerable in crashes with bigger vehicles, and the segment also includes sports cars that tend to invite faster driving. The average pickup truck, meanwhile, is 16% less expensive to insure, though trucks make up some of the most expensive models on the road. In fact, pickups’ premiums are lower than both sedans and SUVs.

Source: Auto Dealer Today

Toyota Motor announced Wednesday that it has started production at its $13.9 billion battery facility in North Carolina and plans to invest an additional $10 billion in the United States over the next five years. These investments bring Toyota’s total U.S. investment to $60 billion over the past 70 years. “Today’s launch of Toyota’s first U.S. battery plant and additional U.S. investment up to $10 billion marks a pivotal moment in our company’s history,” said Ted Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America (TMNA).

Source: CBT News

Vancouver has quietly hit pause on a policy that would have expanded the municipality’s network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers. The city had planned to impose a $10,000 annual business licence fee on gas stations and large commercial parking lots that failed to install EV chargers.

The policy was first approved by the Vancouver city council in 2022, but has now been shelved.
In an email statement to Electric Autonomy, a spokesperson for the city of Vancouver says that in August 2024, council approved a recommendation to delay the fee increase—originally set to take effect in 2025—until January 2026, to give businesses more time to install EV charging infrastructure.

The decision to delay implementation in 2024 was the first setback. As the city spokesperson explains, the entire concept of the increased business licence fee is likely to come under further scrutiny. “In light of broader economic challenges and further feedback from industry stakeholders, the city is further evaluating implementation of the fee increase.”

Under the 2026 implementation timeline, gas station and parking lot owners would have been required to show proof of an operating charger by this month to qualify for the lower business licence fee in 2026.

Source: Electric Autonomy

Michigan's auto industry is urging stability and prioritization of U.S. companies in next year's crucial review of the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. "While all automakers in the U.S. contribute to our economy, American Automakers contribute more," a trade group representing the Detroit Three automakers wrote in a letter to the Trump administration earlier this month. "For (our) member companies, USMCA is without question the most important and impactful trade agreement," the American Automotive Policy Council added.

Source: Detroit News

California air regulators have postponed a Nov. 20 vote to reinstate Obama-era vehicle emission rules as a stopgap response to Congress' revoking the state’s nation-leading electric vehicle sales mandates. What happened: The California Air Resources Board on Friday removed an emergency item from the agency’s next meeting that would revert the state to Obama-era emissions rules for passenger cars and 2020 standards for diesel truck engines, spokesperson Lynda Lambert confirmed.

Source: POLITICO Pro