Hurricane Michael is hitting the Florida Panhandle today as a strong Category 4 hurricane. Reports from the National Hurricane Center indicate maximum sustained winds of 145 mph—a major weather event. Looking at the area to be most affected by the storm, Jonathan Smoke and the Cox Automotive Industry Insights team are estimating that vehicle loss … Continued
ATLANTA, Oct. 5, 2018 – Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) increased slightly – 0.14 percent – month-over-month in September. This brought the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to 139.9, which was a 3.7 percent increase from a year ago and a record high for the Index. Looking at trends … Continued
Today General Motors and Cruise, its self-driving car division, announced plans to work with Honda to develop and manufacture purpose-built autonomous vehicles. While no specific timeline for an on-the-road vehicle was provided, the partnership should prove to be a force in the pursuit of the future of mobility. Michelle Krebs, Brian Moody and Zohaib Rahim … Continued
Beating an important deadline, Canada last evening agreed to a proposed deal that would ultimately replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. While details of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement – USMCA – are yet to be finalized, the new guidelines for trade across North America is an important milestone for the auto industry. The … Continued
ATLANTA, Sept. 26, 2018 – New-vehicle sales pace in September is forecast by Cox Automotive to rise to 17.1 million units, an improvement over August’s 16.6 million sales rate. This gain, however, may be slightly misleading. Total sales volume in September is forecast to decline nearly 60,000 units from last month and nearly 100,000 units … Continued
Cox Automotive COO Mark O’Neil plans to retire in February after a career that included multiple innovations in auto retailing. His exit — about three years after Cox’s $4.5 billion acquisition of Dealertrack, a company O’Neil led — comes down to timing. “Timing’s everything, and I feel like we’re in a really good spot right … Continued
Crises spur change. Just as technical advances explode (often literally) during a war, the Great Recession accelerated trends in auto retailing that were slowly percolating previously. Take online used-vehicle auctions. Travel is one of the first budget items cut in bad times. When the economy nose-dived, used-vehicle buyers at dealerships across the country were told … Continued
SEPTEMBER 15 UPDATE: The media coverage of the rain and flooding in the Carolinas has been nothing short of heartbreaking, with many lives impacted, many homes and buildings destroyed. We’re hopeful for a quick recovery in the area, with minimal setbacks from the additional post-rain flooding forecast for this week. Fortunately, this area of the … Continued
With powerful Hurricane Florence taking a wobbling route toward the Southeast, experts are already considering possible damages — especially to vehicles — in light of the catastrophes created by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida a year ago. The update distributed by the National Hurricane Center late on Wednesday showed how the Carolinas, Virginia … Continued
Lower vehicle density will spare Hurricane Florence-affected areas from tallying total losses approaching those seen in Texas and Florida during last year’s hurricane season, predicted Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Cox Automotive. In a statement released at noon ET yesterday, Smoke acknowledged the “hard reality” of significant flooding and property loss faced by millions of … Continued