Tag Archives: Ken Zino

Alpine 2021 – Year One Sales Increase on a Minuscule Base

Posted on 19 January 2022 by Ken Zino

The A110  remains key. The new A110 range presented in late 2021 will come to dealerships at the start of the year in the form of three models. Alpine’s first year in Formula 1 saw the brand reach podiums, including with its first victory in Hungary. Alpine claims it is  the automotive brand that is the most committed to motorsport, including the World Endurance Championship, rallies and customer competitions. Continue reading →

Posted in performance, racing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

General Motors Launches Online Parts Sales

Posted on 19 January 2022 by Ken Zino

GM forecasts that online sales of parts and accessories will make up a $40 billion total potential market by 2030. GM claims there will be significant revenue growth from its expanded e-commerce effort. GM launched online accessory sales in 2015 and sells all of its 5,000 accessory products online. Continue reading →

Posted in aftermarket | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Blink Charging to Supply EV Chargers to GM Dealerships

Posted on 18 January 2022 by Ken Zino

Working with ABM, which delivers turnkey EV charging installations, Blink has already started shipping chargers to selected GM dealerships and currently has orders on hand to supply GM dealers in the U.S. and Canada with additional charging stations over the next several months. Continue reading →

Posted in electric vehicles, environment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ford Motor Warns of Large FY 2021 Special Items

Posted on 18 January 2022 by Ken Zino

Ford is warning shareholders and the capital markets that the $8.2 billion it earned from its Rivian investment after the public offering will not be included in Ford’s full-year adjusted EBIT or adjusted EPS. When Ford last provided full-year adjusted EBIT guidance with its Q3 results on Oct. 27, a ~$900 million gain was included in the forecast range of $10.5 billion to $11.5 billion. Continue reading →

Posted in financial results | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Canopy – Ford Forms JV with ADT Home Security

Posted on 18 January 2022 by Ken Zino

New products will integrate the Safe by ADT platform to provide professional monitoring and help businesses protect work equipment in vehicles and individual owners improve security inside and outside of their vehicles. Canopy plans to launch industry-first, multi-sensor security systems with optional professional monitoring early next year. Continue reading →

Posted in aftermarket, insurance, mobility company, safety | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted on 17 January 2022 by Ken Zino

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

Posted on 17 January 2022 by Ken Zino

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

Posted on 17 January 2022 by Ken Zino

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

Posted on 14 January 2022 by Ken Zino

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

Posted on 14 January 2022 by Ken Zino

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

Posted on 13 January 2022 by Ken Zino

“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

Posted on 13 January 2022 by Ken Zino

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

Automobili Lamborghini Posts Record 2021 Sales

Posted on 12 January 2022 by Ken Zino

Automobili Lamborghini ended 2021 with an  all-time record: 8,405 cars delivered worldwide, making it the company’s best year ever, the Italy-based German-owned company said today. Yes, today, even though Italian bankers invented double entry book-keeping, these things take time. Global sales were up by 13% compared to 2020 came the release from Sant’Agata Bolognese of a company that is owned by Volkswagen Group under Audi. Continue reading →

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

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

Posted on 11 January 2022 by Ken Zino

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

Posted on 11 January 2022 by Ken Zino

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