CBT News, April 29, 2020 – As part of the CBT Network’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus Jim Fitzpatrick welcomes back Brian Finkelmeyer, senior director of new car solutions for vAuto. In this segment, Jim and Brian discuss Brian’s recently published article titled “COVID-19 and the New Game of Inventory Roulette.” In this article, Brian takes a … Continued
The Fed made no surprises today when they left rate policy — already at the zero lower bound — unchanged. The Fed’s statement and press conference affirmed the gravity of the economic situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic and in essence pledged to continue to do whatever it takes to get the U.S. economy through … Continued
There’s an interesting game of roulette being played in the new-car business right now, with about half of the dealers betting on red and the other half betting on black. The wagered bet is how dealers should be handling new-vehicle inventory. Earlier this month, many dealers became understandably unnerved by this pandemic and placed themselves … Continued
Our Chief Economist, Jonathan Smoke, joins us once again from his home studio in Atlanta, GA, with the latest on the impacts of COVID-19 on the automotive industry. This week, Jonathan examines: The latest on COVID-19’s nationwide impact Jobless claims and impacts by state Consumer sentiment in the U.S. and in the 142 largest markets … Continued
CBT News, April 28, 2020 – As part of the CBT Network’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus Sandy Schwartz, president and CEO of Cox Automotive, joins Jim Fitzpatrick for a wide-ranging conversation. Sandy spoke about what Cox Automotive is doing in response to COVID-19 to help dealers, captives and OEMs. He covered the wholesale market and the … Continued
Welcome to the second episode of Dealer Forward: Reimagining Automotive Retail, a weekly panel discussion that focuses on building resilience in three key auto retail areas – marketing, dealership performance and fixed operations. The latest panel discussion The Sales Experience and Social Distancing explores specific tactics dealers are employing to continue the sales experience during … Continued
Ford Motor Co. reports its first-quarter 2020 earnings Tuesday, April 28, after the stock market closes. The automaker’s financial performance will be no surprise. Ford signaled weeks ago that it likely would lose $2 billion in the quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some data points from Cox Automotive on Ford’s first-quarter performance … Continued
ATLANTA, April 27, 2020 – Historic lows are expected in April as the full effects of COVID-19 are felt across the U.S. auto market for the entire month. According to a forecast released by Cox Automotive, new light-vehicle sales volume is expected to finish near 620,000 units, down 53% compared to last April and down 37% … Continued
CBT News, April 27, 2020 – As part of the CBT Network’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus, three of Cox Automotive’s top industry economists and analysts including Jonathan Smoke, Charlie Chesbrough and Zo Rahim joined Jim Fitzpatrick for a wide-ranging discussion on the U.S. auto market. In this segment, the panel discusses how things have progressed over the … Continued
COVID-19 cases keep growing in the U.S., but the pace of increase is slowing since the peak in new cases occurred two weeks ago. The declines are inconsistent with individual markets having their own pandemic curves. Testing is ramping up but remains inadequate. Stay-at-home orders across the country have caused businesses to close temporarily, and … Continued
