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Category Archives: news analysis
Milestones: 50 Million Toyota Corollas or 12 Generations
Tracking the seeming inevitable fate of automobiles and trucks in America, Corolla quickly evolved to offer more room, comfort and performance for close to three generations of customers. The 2022 Corolla combines advanced tech, sporty style and top-level comfort with up to 53/52/52 EPA estimated MPG in the hybrid model and the protection of standard Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 with automatic emergency braking. And, gasp, the first-ever Corolla Cross SUV-like version. Toyota invites everyone with a Corolla story to share it using #MyCorollaStory. Continue reading
US Auto Sales Forecast Down Again in August
Overall new-vehicle sales for August 2021, including retail and non-retail transactions, are projected to reach 1,094,500 units, a 13.7% decrease from August 2020 and a 25.3% decrease from August 2019. Comparing the same sales volume without adjusting for the number of selling days translates to a decrease of 17.0% from 2020 and a decrease of 33.3% from 2019. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for total new-vehicle sales is expected to be 13.1 million units, down 2.1 million units from 2020 and down 4.0 million units from 2019. Continue reading
Chinese Covid Recovery Policies is Zero-Sum Game for Automakers Overall. Luxury, Compact Segments Benefit Most?
As with most statistics though, the devil is hiding in the details. Consultancy LMC Automotive says there is an enduring imbalance in the economy’s internal structure: the performance of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) among medium and large enterprises is significantly better than that among smaller enterprises. Continue reading
Global Village – Record UK Used Car Prices. Demand High
“It not only marks 66 weeks of consecutive price growth, but a huge acceleration on what is now a comparatively conservative 5.7% increase recorded during the week of 12th April when physical forecourts (dealerships) reopened, ” Auto Trader said. Continue reading
Hypercar Hype or Close Racing Next Week at Le Mans? Toyota vs Alpine vs Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus
Reigning World Champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López, in the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, have endured calamity at Le Mans, particularly when mechanical issues denied them victory despite domination in 2019 and 2020. They go into the biggest race of the year following wins in the 6 Hours of Monza last month. Continue reading
Posted in marketing, news analysis, people, racing
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, Hypercar endurance racing, Ken Zino, le mans
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July Global Sales Days Dogged by Delta, Semiconductors
“The semiconductor shortage held back the post-lockdown recovery of vehicle sales in Europe, while its impact on inventories in the US meant average transaction prices soared. Meanwhile, rising Delta variant cases threaten to worsen the outlook in parts of Asia.” Continue reading
Hyundai-Aptiv Startup Motional Expands on West Coast
This move comes as Motional accelerates towards mass commercialization, which includes a landmark agreement with Lyft to launch a multimarket fully driverless service starting in 2023. Motional claims to be one of the world’s key AV players. “We’ve had a presence in Los Angeles for more than five years and are now increasing our investment in California with a new operations facility and road testing in the Los Angeles area, a new San Francisco Bay Area office, and extensive hiring that will more than double the size of our California team,” Motional said in a release. Continue reading
FAA – Global COVID-19 Testing Required for ALL Entering US
Reaffirming a CDC recommendation, the FAA has just issued Notice Number – NOTC1986 – that stipulates global COVID-19 testing is required for all air passengers entering the country. If you plan to travel internationally, you will need to get tested … Continue reading
Posted in aviation, environment, news analysis
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, COVID-19 Testing, Ken Zino
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Kia America Dabbles with On-Demand, At-Home Car Shopping
Kia America has announced “Kia@Home” which delivers scheduled test drives of two of vehicles direct to consumers at a convenient location of their choosing in several major cities. It is the latest example of an automaker exploring the boundaries of the traditional franchised dealer network. Continue reading
Posted in marketing, milestones, news analysis
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, Carnival MPV, Ken Zino, Kia@Home, Niro EV
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US Vehicle Sales Drop in July for Third Month Running
Toyota, General Motors and Hyundai were the three bestselling OEMs, while Ford had the weakest performance compared to last July. Ford remains mired in simi-conductor shortages and long-standing troubled relationships with suppliers. Hyundai re-introduced the Compact Pickup segment in July, with the first units of the Santa Cruz delivered. This segment of course was once dominated by GM and Ford before Toyota and Nissan moved in. Continue reading
President Biden Targets 50% Electric Vehicle Sales in 2030
The weak points in the plan is allowing for hybrids, and worse plug-in hybrids, which have laughable range running as an EV. However this is a politically needed SOP for most automakers that have been slow to embrace pure EVS. This is industrial policy on a grand scale that proponents argue is needed to survive in the global economy. Less than 4% new vehicles sold in the U.S. during June were electric or plug-in hybrids. This puts the Republicans in a tough spot. Helping Big Business – in effect tax cuts for the rich – is their highly selective policy. But creating middle class jobs while acknowledging Global Warming and setting policy that benefits all of “we the people” is counter to their failed attempts at governing for the selective few. Continue reading
Super Car First Look – Honda NSX Type S
Honda Motor today released early information on a new limited production NSX Type S, which is scheduled to be officially introduced before the end of August 2021. The new NSX Type S will be the final model of the second-generation NSX. … Continue reading
Renault Group Boasts €2B Fixed-Cost Cuts Ahead of Plan
“These results are the fruits of our strategic Renaulution plan, focused on profitability. They mark only the first step in our turnaround, which should accelerate with the arrival of the new vehicles in preparation. I would like to thank all our employees for their commitment in achieving these results,” declared Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group. To AutoInformed, it seems premature to have a French victory toast at this point in the ongoing covid and automotive wars. C’est fous. Continue reading
Toyota e-Palette Hits Pedestrian at Paralympic Games
On Thursday 26 August 2021, a Toyota e-Palette, an autonomous vehicle used to support mobility within the Athletes’ Village at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo, collided with a visually impaired person about to cross at a pedestrian crossing. At … Continue reading →