News – Page 194

Connecting the dots between vehicle safety and entertainment is critical

The love affair that people have with their automobiles continues to flourish. The record prices consumers remain willing to pay for new vehicles in a supply-constrained environment offers indisputable evidence of the ongoing demand for cars and light trucks that feature the latest safety and infotainment technologies.

Rapidly evolving next-generation innovations — including advances in wireless networking, edge computing and intelligent imaging technologies, among many others — are elevating the driving experience while introducing opportunities to significantly enhance road safety.

Fulfilling the full potential of technology for safety and entertainment, however, will only be realized if drivers and passengers understand, trust and properly use the features and functions being made available. This is why it is so important to connect the dots between auto technology and human adoption. It is imperative as a growing number of consumers view their vehicles as …

TrueCar: What the market will bear

What it is: A monthly forecast of the average new-vehicle price paid by U.S. consumers across 12 auto manufacturers. TrueCar also forecasts a monthly average across the industry. Current-month data is presented alongside a comparison with the previous and year-ago months to show the percentage increase or decrease in average prices paid.

Where it comes from: TrueCar uses data from its network of 10,000 dealers in the U.S. to calculate average transaction prices, or ATP. TrueCar also says its insights come from an analysis of industry sales trends and conditions.

How it's used: ATP data is used to show the threshold that consumers are willing to pay for a new vehicle during a given period of time, which could reflect external macroeconomic factors impacting the industry, including interest rates, inflation, income and unemployment levels. The microchip shortage coupled with the sharp increase in demand following the pandemic created an imbalance in supply and de…

Highlights from the latest Daily Drive podcasts, Dec. 26-28

Here are highlights from the latest episodes of 'Daily Drive', Automotive News' weekday podcast, Dec. 26-28, hosted by Jamie Butters with Kellen Walker.

"I've heard from all three of the brands ... that they were all definitely disappointed — and some, you would say, irritated — by the rug that was pulled out from underneath them." -- Carly Schaffner, Automotive News reporter, on the reaction of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis' U.S. brands to being left out of new electric vehicle consumer tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act

"You can maybe invest $10 billion to get autonomous vehicles up and running, and maybe that's not enough. Maybe there's another $10 billion ahead right now. And not everybody wants to continue playing that game." -- Pete Bigelow, Automotive News director of tech and innovation coverage, on the ups and downs of the autonomous driving industry in 2022

Experian vehicle registration data

What it is: U.S. new-vehicle registration data gathered by the financial services firm Experian. The data set provides greater detail than monthly or quarterly sales reports from automakers. Experian breaks down the new registrations by state, region, fuel type and other categories. The California New Car Dealers Association uses the Experian data in its quarterly sales report.

Where it comes from: Experian collects the new registrations filed with individual state departments of motor vehicles and other sources to feed its North American vehicle database. Experian says its database has information on more than 900 million current and out-of-operation vehicles.

How it's used: Registration data offers granular detail to identify sales trends and also provides a window into manufacturer sales activity. For example, Tesla does not break out its reported global sales numbers by individual country on a monthly basis, but the new registration data serves as a rough e…

Automotive News Research & Data Center: What’s being built

What it is: A breakdown of how many new vehicles have been produced in North America — sorted by automaker, brand, model, country, plant and other categories.

Where it comes from: The production figures are pulled together from a combination of automaker reports, third-party input and Automotive News estimates. Automotive News does not disclose the third-party sources or how it calculates the estimates.

How it's used: The data can be useful in determining changes in factory production levels over a period of time. It is an especially helpful tool for tracking vehicle demand or for highlighting the operational impact of the global semiconductor shortage and other supply chain snarls and labor challenges in recent years. The data provides a general sense of what inventory levels or sales might be in a given month.

How it might be misused: Because some numbers are estimates, it can be hard to accurately compare production figures betwee…

Xtime: Measuring against the pre-COVID world

What it is: A monthly look at how franchised dealerships' service departments are performing, measured by the number of repair orders and revenue received from those jobs.

Where it comes from: Cox Automotive's Xtime brand, which provides software for dealership service departments and extracts the information on repair order volume and revenue.

How it's used: Presented as an index, the metrics show how those areas have tracked since January 2019. A number greater than 100 means repair order volume and revenue in a given month increased compared with January 2019, while a number less than 100 means a decline. The charts can show how service departments' business is doing over time.

How it might be misused: An index can be interpreted incorrectly if the reader doesn't have context with which to draw comparisons. A figure less than 100 could still represent a year-over-year or month-over-month increase for a particular metric, for insta…

Ford reports most U.S. vehicle recalls for second year, partial NHTSA data shows

WASHINGTON — For the second consecutive year, Ford Motor Co. has reported the most U.S. vehicle recalls of any automaker, partial NHTSA data shows.

Through Dec. 19, Ford had issued 65 recalls affecting more than 8.6 million vehicles in 2022. In 2021, the automaker issued 53 recalls covering nearly 5.4 million vehicles.

The U.S. recall data comes as Ford continues to work on improving manufacturing operations and combating quality issues, particularly on its high-profile vehicles.

In November, Ford recalled nearly 634,000 Bronco Sport and Escape crossovers globally for fire risks. Months before, the automaker had issued a stop-sale to dealers as part of its recall of nearly 50,000 Mustang Mach-E crossovers for potential power loss. Federal investigators also launched an investigation last year into "catastrophic engine failures" in the popular 2021 Bronco SUV.

"While we don't ever want customers inconvenienced by pro…

Cox’s Dealer Sentiment Index: A pulse check on auto retailers

What it is: A pulse check of the franchised, independent and overall auto retail industry. Each quarter, Cox conveys dealers' sense of the market today and what they expect in three months. It also inquires about other topics, including store profits, inventory and business challenges.

Where it comes from: Cox surveys hundreds of franchised and independent dealers to produce an index each quarter. The answers typically come from department managers or highly ranked staff, and are weighted by dealership type and sales. Most responses are scored between 0 and 100, with higher numbers signifying strength or increases. A 50 signifies stable or average.

How it's used: Dealerships can compare their own situation and market to national sentiments expressed by peers, both on a quarterly basis and over time. The survey allows comparisons between the current market, the pandemic years, and conditions before the COVID-19 pandemic.

How it might…

Plante Moran: Who’s happy, who’s not

What it is: A key annual survey gauging the health of the working relationships between suppliers and major automakers in North America — from the perspective of suppliers. The study, released each spring, rates those relationships on a 500-point scale, with a higher score indicating more supplier satisfaction in areas such as communication and the effective resolution of issues that arise.

Where it comes from: Consulting firm Plante Moran surveys hundreds of Tier 1 automotive supplier executives. The 2022 iteration surveyed 673 executives from 436 suppliers, revealing findings on six major automakers: General Motors, Honda, Ford, Nissan, Stellantis and Toyota.

How it's used: The study provides the industry with a quantitative measure of something that's inherently qualitative. Automaker-supplier relationships have been particularly relevant in recent years as both sides manage unprecedented supply chain challenges and supplier financial press…

Kerrigan index: How healthy are the publics

What it is: An index that tracks the stock price and market capitalization of each of the seven major public dealership groups: AutoNation Inc., Asbury Automotive Group Inc., Group 1 Automotive Inc., Lithia Motors Inc., Penske Automotive Group Inc. and Sonic Automotive Inc., plus CarMax Inc., the nation's largest used-vehicle retailer. The Kerrigan Index is weighted by the market capitalization of each company, benchmarked at 100, as of Jan. 3, 2000. Data is generated daily and the report is typically published monthly, said Ryan Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors.

Where it comes from: Kerrigan Advisors, a dealership sell-side firm in Incline Village, Nev. The company started publishing the Kerrigan Index more than four years ago, Kerrigan said.

How it's used: To measure the financial health of seven of the largest U.S. auto retailers. Kerrigan said that while a majority of dealerships are private, the trends seen within the publi…

NHTSA: Closely watching automated-driving tech since 2022

What it is: Since July 2021, the federal government has been collecting data on crashes involving vehicles that have advanced driver-assistance systems and automated-driving systems. Crash reports include the name of the reporting company, the type of vehicle involved and details such as collision severity and damage and whether injuries or deaths occurred. New data is released on or around the 15th of each month.

Where it comes from: The data is collected through a NHTSA order issued last year requiring vehicle, equipment and software manufacturers of advanced driver-assistance systems and automated-driving systems to report crashes where the system was engaged within 30 seconds of the crash and damage or injury ensued. Companies subject to the order must report to the agency within 24 hours of learning of the incident and provide additional updates by certain time frames.

How it's used: The data helps NHTSA identify potential defect trends an…

Editorial: EV tax credits sound simple, but they’re not

The failure of the IRS to establish rules for electric vehicle tax credits by the end of 2022 as ordered by the Inflation Reduction Act is disappointing and raises questions about the execution of Congress' many-layered scheme.

The old EV tax credit was a bit convoluted, but the system crafted by Senate Democrats to meet the demands of Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is a regulatory puzzle to say the least.

The Manchin compromise with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer relieved automakers of volume-related limits on zero-emission vehicle tax credits, which General Motors and Tesla had exceeded, in exchange for no fewer than five limits based on vehicle price, buyer income, source of battery minerals, source of battery components and where the vehicles undergo final assembly.

Some rules are easy to enforce, such as the prohibition on federal support for vehicles assembled outside North America. Others are more complicated, such as documenting what per…