Move

Auto sector blasts Mexico’s move to legalize imported used cars

By Betty C. Morrow 3 months ago

Cars are parked at used autos platform Kavak in Mexico City, Mexico, August 25, 2020. Picture taken August 25, 2020. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/Files

MEXICO CITY, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Mexico has published a decree to legalize millions of imported used cars, mainly from the United States, a move that was criticized by the country’s powerful auto sector as allowing “car smuggling.”

The new policy, published in government’s official gazette late on Monday, tasks local authorities with creating a plan to encourage residents of states that border the United States to officially register vehicles that were driven into Mexico, known as so-called chocolate cars.

Baja California state alone is home to more than 500,000 unregistered vehicles, which are commonly used in crimes, said the state security minister, Rosa Rodriguez.

The Mexican Association of Automotive Distributors (AMDA) predicted a drop of more than 30% in new car sales due to the decree

… Read More

Volvo says it will be ‘fully electric’ by 2030, move car sales online

By Betty C. Morrow 11 months ago

Volvo Cars said Tuesday it planned to become a “fully electric car company” by the year 2030, with all sales of the firm’s pure electric models set to move online.

In order to meet its target, the company will look to remove cars with internal combustion engines — including hybrids — from its global offering by the end of the decade.

The Chinese-owned automotive giant launched its first all-electric car last year. In the mid-term, it wants half of global sales to be fully electric by 2025, with hybrids accounting for the other half.

“There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine,” Henrik Green, Volvo Cars’ chief technology officer, said in a statement.

“We are firmly committed to becoming an electric-only car maker and the transition should happen by 2030,” Green added.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday morning, CEO Håkan Samuelsson sought to

… Read More

Car Buyers Move Online To Eliminate The Dealer Jerk-Around, Buyer Satisfaction Climbs to an All-Time High

By Betty C. Morrow 11 months ago


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)
Look How Happy He Is

Editor’s Note: Now what does this say about historic dealer antics…hmmm

Atlanta, Jan. 25, 2021 – There was a time when consumers rated the car-buying process roughly on par with a stubborn root canal. But those days are passing into the rearview mirror now, as auto dealers move more steps of the retail process online resulting in consumer satisfaction hitting an all-time high, according to the new Digitization of End-to-End Retailing (DoEER) study by Cox Automotive.

With buyers spending less time at dealerships and benefitting from more efficient, digital retailing processes, those who were “highly satisfied” with the overall shopping experience reached 72%, up from 60% in 2019. The average vehicle buyer now visits only 2 dealerships in the vehicle buying process, down from 2.7 in 2016.

“According to our data, car buyers have never been happier,” notes Cox Automotive Vice President of Research

… Read More