Modern retailing process is fluid, requires strategy
Ron Frey wants dealers to start to shift their thinking around digital retailing.
Digital retailing is not just the technology, he says — it's also the process. He refers to the approach as "modern retailing."
Essentially, the idea is this: Dealers come up with the customer experience they want to offer. They change their organizational structure, such as by tweaking pay plans, to implement that customer experience. Then they choose a technology tool that supports that experience — rather than plug in a product and expect it to do all the work.
Having an overarching strategy is important, Frey told me, because consumers ultimately control how they move through the sequence of steps. Yet dealers often still want to define what steps consumers follow online, and in what order.
Frey, a former CDK Global and AutoNation executive who now advises dealerships, has created what he calls a "modern retail blueprint."
Th…
New-vehicle sales rebound 30% in January
New-vehicle sales spiked 30 percent to top 2.5 million last month, easily outpacing January 2020 when the coronavirus outbreak emerged and the lunar Chinese New Year holiday resulted in fewer working days, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.
It was the tenth consecutive monthly increase as the market continues to power past the pandemic, though CAAM warned Tuesday that tight global supplies of microchips could undermine the recovery.
New-vehicle production in China slumped 16 percent to below 2.39 million in January from December, the trade group said.
January deliveries of new light vehicles -- sedans, crossovers, SUVs, multipurpose vehicles and minibuses -- advanced 27 percent to nearly 2.05 million.
Demand for new commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses surged 43 percent to some 458,000.
And sales of electrified vehicles shot up 239 percent to exceed 179,000. The tally includes roughly 151,000 electric vehicles, …
Volkswagen explores flying cars
HAMBURG -- Volkswagen Group is conducting a feasibility study in China about flying cars, the automaker said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of companies looking into the potential technology.
"Beyond autonomous driving the concept of vertical mobility could be a next step to take our mobility approach into the future, especially in the technically affine Chinese market," the automaker said.
"Therefore, we are investigating potential concepts and partners in a feasibility study to identify the possibility to industrialize this approach."
In an interview with Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess on Linkedin, the automaker's China head Stephan Woellenstein said the company wanted to develop a drone that could be licensed, giving it a way to participate in this future market.
China is the world's biggest light vehicle market, and also accounts for the largest part of VW's sales.
The news comes as companies from startups to other global automakers…
Tesla shows deference to China after years of defiance in U.S.
Tesla Inc. has issued back-to-back mea culpas in a matter of days in China, showing deference to government authorities in stark contrast with CEO Elon Musk’s years of combativeness in the U.S.
Shortly after state media broke the news Monday that five Chinese regulators had summoned Tesla representatives over several quality and safety issues, the company pledged to strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations and strengthen internal management. Last week, the carmaker said it was sorry that a staff member blamed the national grid for damaging a customer’s electric vehicle.
Musk, 49, has been much feistier back home.
When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the CEO over his 2018 tweets claiming to have “funding secured” to take Tesla private, Musk lashed out, calling it the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission” and saying he did not respect the agency.
He also hung up on the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board earlier…
Apple car fracas marks first public setback for Hyundai boss
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung -- central to the company’s transformation from conventional carmaker to mobility giant promoting flying cars and hydrogen-fuel cells -- had his first, very public, stumble this week.
On Monday, after a month of intense speculation around who may team with Apple Inc. to help develop its much-vaunted self-driving electric car, Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. were forced in separate exchange filings to say they weren’t in any talks with the tech behemoth, backing away from an earlier Hyundai statement that confirmed they were in discussions.
That Jan. 8 initial disclosure, along with other reports of talks, no doubt infuriated Apple, which keeps development projects secret for years and controls relationships with suppliers with ruthless efficiency. It’s unclear if -- or when -- discussions between the two might resume.
Hyundai “might have learned some lessons through this issue,” said Koh Tae…
DAILY DRIVE PODCAST: February 8, 2021 | Genesis N.A. chief on new products, brand growth and EV plans
Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.
Genesis Motors North America CEO Mark Del Rosso opens up about the arrival of the GV80, the luxury brand's first crossover for the U.S. market, and expectations for the upcoming GV70 compact CUV. Why he believes the brand is uniquely positioned amid the pandemic and when its still-secret electric vehicle will arrive.
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Tesla bets big on Bitcoin, plans to accept cryptocurrency
Tesla Inc. invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and signaled its intent to begin accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment, sending prices to a new record after the vote of confidence from the electric-vehicle market leader.
The automaker said in a filing Monday it made the bet on Bitcoin after updating its investment policy last month to allow the company to invest in digital assets as well as gold bullion and gold exchange-traded funds.
“We expect to begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis,” Tesla said in the securities filing.
The leading electric-vehicle maker’s embrace of Bitcoin lends increased legitimacy to electronic currencies, which have become more of a mainstream asset in recent years despite skepticism from some. The embrace of a digital currency fits the maverick image of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who upended the automotive industry with bat…
Asian chipmakers rush to boost production to meet global shortage
TAIPEI/SEOUL -- Asian chipmakers are rushing to expand their production capacity to meet a global shortage that has been acutely felt by carmakers, but the firms warn that the supply gap may take many months to plug as they struggle to keep up with strong demand.
Automakers from General Motors to Stellantis and Honda Motor Co. are shutting assembly lines due to the shortages, which in some cases have been exacerbated by the former U.S. administration's sanctions against Chinese chip factories. Some firms have also furloughed staff.
Eight-inch chip manufacturing plants owned mostly by Asian firms, which tend to make older, less sophisticated chips, are particularly under strain primarily due to under-investment in recent years. The majority of such factories are used to make auto chips.
Consumer demand in China, especially for cars, has snapped back unexpectedly quickly from the coronavirus crisis, and orders for products such as laptops and mobile phones…
2022 Mitsubishi Outlander to debut on Amazon Live platform
LOS ANGELES — The global debut of the next-generation Mitsubishi Outlander crossover, which is seen as critical to the struggling brand's success or failure in the U.S. market, is set for Feb. 16 on the Amazon Live marketing platform.
The automaker said early Monday that the midsize 2022 Outlander will be the first new vehicle to be revealed on Amazon's livestream showcase.
"In the same way that Outlander will challenge conventions regarding both the brand and the segment, the launch will do the same," Mitsubishi Motors North America said in a statement.
"Through a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Amazon, the 2022 Outlander will be the first vehicle ever unveiled on Amazon Live. The debut will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m. EST," the company said.
Mitsubishi and Amazon released a teaser video on Monday that shows a camouflaged Outlander testing in off-road and track conditions.
"The debut of the all-new 2022…
Tesla called in by Chinese regulators over customer complaints
BEIJING -- China's government officials met representatives from Tesla Inc. in response to growing reports from consumers about battery fires, unexpected accelerations and over-the-air software update failures.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation said in a social media post on Monday that its officials along with those from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Emergency Management, Cyberspace Administration and Ministry of Transportation had met Tesla "recently," without giving a date.
The regulators urged Tesla to operate according to China laws and protect customer rights.
In response, Tesla said it would thoroughly investigate the problems reported by consumers and step up inspections.
"We will strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations and always respect consumer rights," a company representative said in a text message, adding that Tesla accepted the guidance of the Chinese government departments.…