Category Archives: news

Renault 2021 Global Sales at 1,751,089 or -6%

Markets outside of Europe now represent 44% of Renault’s sales (+2 pts vs 2020). The New Renault Duster launch registered sales: 41,000 units in Russia (+31% vs 2020), 22,000 units in Brazil (+15% vs 2020), 6,200 sales in Mexico (+55% vs 2020) and 9,100 sales in Colombia (+34% vs 2020). In India, the new Renault Kiger sold 29,000 units. This is 30% of Renault sales there. Renault claims this “upselling strategy” for this market is working. Continue reading

Posted in electric vehicles, results, sales | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ford Motor and Stripe Sign E-Commerce Deal

For Ford and Lincoln dealers offering digital payment services today, Stripe’s service is expected to drive offer efficiency into processing of e-commerce payments, such as vehicle ordering, reservations and digital and charging services. Continue reading

Posted in customer satisfaction, economy, mobility company | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

MLK – Changes in African American People Since 1964

In noting Martin Luther King day, here are data* about African Americans relating to differences between 1964 and 2020 in the percentage of African Americans completing high school, the number of African American college students, and the percentage of citizen population voting in the United States. Continue reading

Posted in AutoInformed Editorial, milestones, people | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

CARB – New Diesel Regs Cost Effective, Lobbyists Wrong

A key part of the report AutoInformed thinks is when CARB staff compared 2022 model year warranty cost estimates made by CARB and manufacturers that reflect the intermediate impact of lengthening warranty periods. The report finds that, on a “per miles covered” basis, the industry data essentially agrees with CARB’s lower estimates for current model year vehicles. Continue reading

Posted in environment, global warming, news analysis | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mike Krack Leaves BMW for Aston Martin Formula One

Mike Krack the head of BMW M Motorsport is leaving the company at his request and moving to Aston Martin Formula 1 as team principal. Andreas Roos will take over responsibility for the motorsport activities of BMW M on 1 … Continue reading

Posted in people, performance, racing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona – 61 Cars Entered

“The racing world turns its eyes to the Rolex 24 every year since it typically kicks off the season for everyone in the industry and draws such an immense amount of international driver and team talent together,” IMSA President John Doonan said. Continue reading

Posted in performance, racing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Biden Proposes New Clean Energy Policies and Actions on Offshore Winds, Public Lands, Transmission Lines

Build Back Better will, no doubt, continue to be opposed by the Republican party comprised of nope-dopes heavily financed by fossil-fuel and related businesses. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, economy, energy, environment, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

NADA Predicts 2022 New-Vehicle Sales of 15.4M, up 3.4%

Whether such long-term predictions are of any use is an open question at AutoInformed given the volatility of the ongoing COVID pandemic. Consider that 2021 closed with new-light vehicle sales of 14.93 million units, an increase of 3.1% compared to 2020’s sales volume of 14.47 million units. However, December 2021’s SAAR totaled just 12.44 million units, a decrease of -23.7% compared to December of 2020. Continue reading

Posted in economy, news analysis, sales | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Used Car Marketplace Catch Up? GM introduces CarBravo

CarBravo uses the resources of GM, GM Financial and the GM dealer network to create a flexible, shopping and buying service that is already in full use at True Car, Edmunds, Autotrader, Cars Direct and AutoNation, among others. Major automakers have been slow to use the resources of the web, but Covid has forced changes in standard business practices across the vast automotive industry and the aftermarket. Continue reading

Posted in aftermarket, auto news, marketing, milestones | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

BMW – Digital Art Coming in Cars During 2022?

These new modes in BMW geek speak ,filtered through marketing babble: “Their unique moments enhance BMW’s driving experience by creating a synergy of the vehicle’s functions and its interior design. Depending on the driving situation and the overall mood, a holistic user experience featuring both a functional and an emotional level can be created at the touch of a button or via voice control. To that end, drive control and steering control, mood lighting and sound as well as the color scheme and graphics of the BMW Curved Display are precisely synchronized.” Continue reading

Posted in electronics, marketing, news analysis | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

First Place! Toyota Ousts GM as US Sales End 2021 at 14.9m

Overall, US Light Vehicle sales in December fall by 27% YoY, ending a chaotic 2021 at 14.9 million units. LMC noted that even December – traditionally one of the strongest months of the year – flopped and registered the steepest YoY decline of the calendar. AutoInformed notes the rate of change in the Covid infected world is increasingly making traditional long-term based indexes – such as calendar years irrelevant, or even downright harmful indicators for policy makers, businesses and anyone who uses them for planning. Continue reading

Posted in economy, news analysis, sales | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

GM, Qualcomm Enabling Hands-Free Driving in 2023

In Silicon Valley geek speak: “The Ultra Cruise compute is comprised of two Snapdragon SA8540P SoCs and one SA9000P AI accelerator to deliver key low-latency control functions on 16-core CPUs and high-performance AI compute of more than 300 Tera Operations Per Second for camera, radar and lidar processing. The Snapdragon SoCs are designed with 5nm process technology, enabling superior performance and power efficiency. The Snapdragon SA8540P SoCs will provide the necessary bandwidth for Ultra Cruise’s sensing, perception, planning, localization, mapping and driver monitoring.” Continue reading

Posted in autonomous vehicles, electronics, mobility company | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Volvo Car 2021 Global Sales +5.6% at 698,693

However, Volvo delivered 64,436 retail vehicles in December, a decline of -18.1% compared to the same month in 2020. “The result was significantly influenced by continued component supply shortages, which affected production and consequently deliveries to customers,” Volvo said. Almost 40% of all new Volvo cars sold in December were Recharge models, with fully electric cars comprising 7.4%. Continue reading

Posted in electric vehicles, news analysis, sales | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Chevrolet Introduces 2024 Silverado EV 

She also teased the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV, a full-size pickup developed from GM’s Ultium platform. Customers will have the ability to buy or lease the truck within various price ranges, with MSRPs around $50,000, $60,000, $70,000, $80,000 and much, much more for the more for the flagship RST First Edition, which will debut with an MSRP of $105,000, plus $1695 for shipping. The Silverado EV will be offered only in Crew Cab models. Continue reading

Posted in connected vehicles, electric vehicles, environment, global warming, new vehicle | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon and Stellantis to Connect Vehicles to Digital Services

The STLA SmartCockpit platform will use Amazon products that are purpose-built for vehicles, it’s claimed. Stellantis will produce custom, brand and vehicle-specific capabilities. The software will offer services through an app store displayed through an “adaptive user interface design that presents timely, relevant information and features suited to each occupant’s individual needs and preferences.” In other words, you will be tracked. What happens to your personal information – how it is used, sold or resold or given to government entities – was not disclosed in the announcement. Continue reading

Posted in connected vehicles, electronics, Privacy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment