Cars and the Corona....

mikeavelli

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Wanted to make a thread about the car industry being affected by the virus.


So I’m sure many of you are paying attention to the car business. This article highlights just one issue..


No where to park new cars anymore.
 

IS-SV

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Yes, I'm watching this lately, having entered the automotive business for fun in 2016 (after retiring from my profession in 2015).

BMW lease returns are being postponed, they are having similar issue (lack of parking capacity, etc.).
 

mikeavelli

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Yes, I'm watching this lately, having entered the automotive business for fun in 2016 (after retiring from my profession in 2015).

BMW lease returns are being postponed, they are having similar issue (lack of parking capacity, etc.).

I’ve had some friends who couldn’t lease return at their dealer who was closed. They had to find another one. Those that live in smaller areas had to figure things out. Some leases were extended a few days for this issue.
 

mmcartalk

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India sold nothing

With some of the vehicles normally sold in India, by American standards, of course, it would be stretching it to even call them automobiles in the first place. Some of them are little more than four-wheeled motor-scooters with a roof.

But, yes, comparing India's population to ours (they have roughly three times our number of people, though there is also a great deal of poverty)....having zero sales is a remarkable statistic.
 

suxeL

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How this translates to pricing is anyones guess. Toyota actually increased money factors (think apr on a lease contract) on North American models due to supply chain disruptions.

We shall see.
 

LexsCTJill

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How this translates to pricing is anyones guess. Toyota actually increased money factors (think apr on a lease contract) on North American models due to supply chain disruptions.

We shall see.

I think there will be some massive incentives (maybe historic in value) when the manufacturers start opening up. We did two oil changes this week, the amount of cars on the lot is staggering at the Toyota location we visited.
 

LexsCTJill

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I’ve had some friends who couldn’t lease return at their dealer who was closed. They had to find another one. Those that live in smaller areas had to figure things out. Some leases were extended a few days for this issue.

Interesting fine print detail for Lexus. Only the original Lexus dealer is obligated to accept an expiring Lexus lease (as per Lexus.com) Same policy for Toyota.
 
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suxeL

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I think there will be some massive incentives (maybe historic in value) when the manufacturers start opening up. We did two oil changes this week, the amount of cars on the lot is staggering at the Toyota location we visited.

While a possibility, as I`m reading the interwebs, it seems as dealers are banking on the possibility that the economic recovery at least is very quick. As such, they (mfgs and dealers) are more willing to reduce supply over taking losses on vehicles.

Thats also a massive oversimplification as reducing supply 50% does not necessarily translate to 50% saved costs but I hope what I`m saying makes sense.
 

Levi

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Many are hoping for a fast return to normal, which makes sense. But the TPTB don't seem to want that.
 

IS-SV

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Yes, it will take more than hope to get back to normal in auto business, not that normal traditional auto business was all that good.
 

mikeavelli

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Well most seem to have moved to quartlerly reporting but here is some data. Toyota/Honda were the biggest drops thus far over 50%


The Korean brands drops 40%. I think they have been more aggressive with their COVID-19 marketing and assistance.

Interesting fine print detail for Lexus. Only the original Lexus dealer is obligated to accept an expiring Lexus lease (as per Lexus.com) Same policy for Toyota.

I said friends. This isn't a Lexus only problem, it is with all luxury marque's.
 
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Pickups Outsell Passenger Cars in U.S. for the First Time Ever
By Craig Trudell
May 4, 2020, 8:35 PM EDT

In all the years Chevy has sold Silverados and Ford trafficked in F-150s, few in Detroit ever dreamed the day would come that pickups would outsell passenger cars.

But the highly lucrative truck segment dominated by Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV did just that last month. Pickups beat cars by more than 17,000 units in April, according to market researcher Autodata Corp.
Pickups Passing By

Trucks outsold cars in the U.S. last month for the first time

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It’s a remarkable turn of events for an industry that’s long been reliant on trucks as cash cows, but never to this degree. Just five years ago, cars outsold pickups by more than half a million units in a single month. Detroit began ditching sedans the following year and hasn’t looked back. Full-size truck models alone were more than 40% of GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler’s sales in April, according to Evercore ISI.

There are a few factors contributing to the development. Detroit’s deliveries -- pickups and otherwise -- are concentrated more so in middle America than the coastal states that introduced some of the earliest and most aggressive shutdown orders. Trucks also were bolstered by 0% financing offers, some of which stretched loans out for as long as seven years, Joe Spak, an RBC Capital Markets analyst, wrote in a report.

“Even in a pandemic there are some offers too good to pass up,” Charlie Chesbrough, Cox Automotive’s senior economist, said Monday. “Many of our daily tracking numbers were showing strong interest in 0% financing offers, as well as a lot of interest in pickup trucks.”
I hear a lot about the doom and gloom of trucks, but that has yet to happen...
 

Levi

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I hear a lot about the doom and gloom of trucks, but that has yet to happen...

With the pandemic, people went on the internet and learned about "SHTF" and "TEOTWAWKI". They learned they needed a truck to survive. Makes sense.
 
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The problem is, GM and Ford foolishly dropped most of their sedans, and, if people DO want them, they simply won't have them available for sale.
In the metric, I would surmise that a lot of crossovers are counted as trucks...still, it is a vulnerability for Detroit no doubt. If you're furloughed at home, you don't need a car to commute to the office; but if you run a farm or work a trade, truck is life: Americans got to have them. I think folks in the metro areas (affected more heavily by the virus) stayed away more than those live in more rural areas, and these buyers likely prefer trucks, because of the low interest rates and gas prices at the moment. Also, you don't get approved for 0% financing if you don't meet the credit qualifications, much like a lease.
 
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