Total Monthly Sales Days Skewers Results Just as the one extra selling day and including sales through July 2nd boosted June s total US auto sales, fewer selling days during July (24 compared to 25 during July 2017) resulted in decreased sales of approximately 2% when based on the daily average selling rate. The actual decrease for the month was 3.7%, reversing a positive trend of four consecutive months of increases March through June. July s decrease was more in line with the slight increase of 1.9% for the first half of 2018. Many in the industry consider July the first month of a stagnant market for the remainder of year, with 2018 likely to total less than 17 million after three years of exceeding that number. Of the 10 manufacturer groups in the table on page 5, 8 had sales in the red, with three recording double-digit losses: Nissan, -12.9%; Jaguar-Land Rover, 10.9%; and Daimler AG, a staggering -29.5%. The only winners were Volkswagen Group, at, +7.5%, and FCA, at +5.2%. Jeep and Ram sales were drivers of FCA s success. Ford s decrease of -3.3%, which wasn t as bad as it could have been, was primarily a result of a 28% decline in passenger vehicles that sucked the life from a 10% increase in truck sales. Is the Thrill of Driving Fading? Unsurprisingly, an April 2018 Gallup poll found 83% of US adults drive a car at least several times a week, but only 34% said they truly enjoy driving, compared to 44% who were only moderately excited about driving and 22% who said not much/not at all. Gallup didn t suggest any specific conclusions to its findings, but they could signal a possible willingness to consider electric and autonomous vehicles and even the increasing availability of electric bicycles and scooters in many cities as serious alternatives to driving. Men continue the tradition of driving more every day than women at 69% and 59%, respectively. Adults 65+ drove the least every day, at 45%, but second were adults 18 29, at 62%. Interestingly, the gap was much narrower between these two age groups for driving a few times a month/rarely/never, at 23% and 20%, respectively. US ADULTS WHO LIKED TO DRIVE THE MOST AND THE LEAST, APRIL 2018 LIKE TO DRIVE A GREAT DEAL PERCENT LIKE TO DRIVE NOT MUCH/NOT AT ALL PERCENT Men 18 49 42% Adults who drive less often 53% Men (all ages) 41% Adults 65+ 26% Men 50+ 41% Women 50+ 25% Adults who drive daily 41% Women (all ages) 24% Adults 50 64 39% Adults 30 49 24% Gallup, July 2018 1
MARKETING FORWARD Evolve or Lock the Doors Watch a few hours of local TV and it s clearly evident too many auto dealers still rely on traditional advertising visuals and messages aerial views of the dealership and its huge inventory of vehicles and, often, the owner or manager gesturing wildly and talking loud and boisterously. Of course, the vast majority of today s vehicle buyers are more impressed by the display of inventory on the dealer s Website than dramatic aerial views and most don t care if the owner or manager is John Smith or Bill Jones. Plus, they want to buy the vehicle they ve chosen online, including accessories, at a price and financing package they prefer and enduring the briefest sales process possible. Dimmit Automotive Group in Florida is heeding the call to evolve, as entering the new Audi store it opened in Tampa last year is a surprising and welcome change for its customers. The offices and sales desks have been eliminated as well as phones, computers and piles of papers to sign. Customers sit with an Audi brand specialist, not a salesperson, at a round table and complete the entire buying process on an Apple ipod. The specific use of an ipod may seem immaterial, but the dealership has discovered customers tend to trust whatever information they see, simply because it s an ipod. The results reinforce the value of evolving the sales process, as the store is selling two or three times the new and used vehicles than Audi originally forecasted. Auto Makers Are Making More Customers Happy If you pay today s prices for a new vehicle, then you expect to be happy with your choice and the findings of the J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study SM indicate auto manufacturers are make customers quite happy. The industry average APEAL score was 820 (on a 1,000-point scale), compared to 810 from the equivalent 2017 study. Ford had the most vehicles (four) receiving an APEAL award: Expedition; F-150, Mustang and Lincoln Continental. Lincoln Navigator had the highest overall score of 915 ever recorded for a model while Genesis had the highest score (884) among all brands. TOP-10 APEAL STUDY BRANDS, 2018 BRAND SCORE BRAND SCORE #1: Genesis 884 #6: Audi 853 #2: Porsche 883 #7: Volvo 850 #3: BMW 863 #8: Cadillac 848 #4: Lincoln 861 #9: Land Rover 845 #5: Mercedes-Benz 858 #10: Lexus 842 J.D. Power, July 2018 2
ROAD SIGNS VW Joins the Rush for Electric Vehicle-on-Demand Service Maybe, it s just because the auto industry is so visible, but sometimes it seems to have internalized disruption much more than other industries. In the latest move towards a different approach for the industry, Volkswagen is about to introduce its car-sharing brand, WE. Much like BMW s Drive Now and General Motor s Maven, all the vehicles in the system will be electric, although VW hasn t indicated the exact model or models. It plans to launch WE in Germany during 2019, and then expand into major cities in Europe, North America and Asia, probably during 2020. The plans for the WE platform will also include what VW calls micro-mobility solutions, which in more common parlance means electric scooters and similar conveyances. VW s I.D. Cityskater and I.D. Streetmate electric scooter are already available and are an obvious attempt to grab a share of the shared electric scooter market that is increasing rapidly in many global cities. Suppliers Working Hard for Their Share of the EV Market The brands and models of the auto industry are how the public and light-vehicle customers most readily identify the auto industry; however, there is a vast network of suppliers engineering and manufacturing thousands of large and small components for the major auto makers to maximize the performance and dependability of the vehicles and the number of buyers. With major automakers estimated to invest as much as $255 billion in new electric vehicle (EV) models through 2023, suppliers want as large a share as possible. The challenge for suppliers, however, is to develop parts and components that will allow automakers to manufacture EVs cost-effectively. Currently, the cost to manufacture an EV is more than a vehicle with an internal combustion engine. Many suppliers have turned their attention to engineering the EV components that already exist, so it will cost less to manufacture EVs and, most important to consumers, give EVs much greater range from a single charge. If they are successful, then they will be able to sell those components to multiple automakers. 3M is testing a new kind of liquid, which would keep the batteries in EVs cooler, which would result in more driving range per charge. Another supplier, Norsk Hydro, is developing a technology that would allow automakers to use more aluminum to produce lighter vehicles, which reduces the cost of manufacturing and also extends the driving range. Trinseo is investing in more synthetic rubber production for EV tires, which are already 12% more efficient than traditional tires. The automakers recognize the importance of suppliers creative input to the enormous transition from internal combustion to electricity, which is why many have welcomed suppliers engineers to work at automakers R&D centers. Sharing ideas face-to-face is apt to move the transition forward quicker and maximize the ROI of the automakers massive EV investment. 3
MONTHLY AUTOMOBILE SALES CHART NOTE: General Motors has decided to announce light-vehicle sales quarterly instead of monthly, eliminating Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac and GM from our monthly tables. 2018 GM sales will be announced July 3, October 2 and January 3, 2019. RANK AUTOMAKER JULY 2018 % CHANGE FROM JULY 2017 2018 YEAR TO DATE % CHANGE FROM 2017 YEAR TO DATE #1 Ford 184,845-2.9% 1,411,243-1.5% #2 Toyota 183,367-5.1% 1,286,524 +5.9% #3 Honda 125,355-8.4% 840,256-1.7% #4 Nissan 99,045-15.7% 807,570-5.9% #5 Jeep 79,906 +15.2% 574,928 +20.9% #6 Subaru 59,426 +1.4% 399,337 +5.2% #7 Kia 53,112-5.8% 346,675-1.6% #8 Hyundai 51,137-2.5% 378,922-2.6% #9 Ram 45,065 +2.2% 305,406-5.7% #10 Dodge 31,119-0.5% 282,052-3.5% #11 Volkswagen 30,520 +12.7% 203,407 +8.0% #12 Lexus 25,403-12.4% 160,397-1.0% #13 Mazda 24,125-10.9% 188,049 +11.5% #14 Mercedes-Benz* 22,955-29.5% 199,997-13.4% #15 BMW 21,982-1.0% 175,368 +2.5% #16 Audi 19,221 +3.6% 124,577 +3.7% #17 Tesla 16,675 +279.0% 62,167 +135.5% #18 Acura 13,247-6.6% 85,900-9.8% #19 Chrysler 11,624-12.6% 100,254-13.1% #20 Mitsubishi 9,950 +24.0% 77,277 +23.4% #21 Infiniti 9,747-10.1% 81,917-9.0% #22 Volvo 8,622 +23.6% 52,296 +27.6% #23 Lincoln 7,898-11.0% 58,167-10.8% #24 Land Rover 6,209 +5.0% 50,988 +22.1% #25 Mini 4,296-2.3% 26,932 +1.3% #26 Porsche 4,020-5.0% 35,355 +3.2% #27 Alfa Romeo 2,016 +64.6% 14,281 +188.9% #28 Jaguar 1,880-40.6% 16,438-31.9% #29 Fiat 1,240-44.7% 9,525-43.7% #30 Maserati 950-10.6% 6,513-16.3% 4
RANK AUTOMAKER JULY 2018 % CHANGE FROM JULY 2017 2018 YEAR TO DATE % CHANGE FROM 2017 YEAR TO DATE #31 Genesis 615-62.6% 7,877-31.9% #32 Bentley 155 +6.5% 1,147-12.0% #33 Smart 103-43.4% 753-65.2% Toyota Motor Corporation 208,770-6.0% 1,446,921 +5.1% Ford Motor Company 192,743-3.3% 1,469,410-1.9% FCA/Chrysler Group 170,970 +5.2% 1,289,549 +4.3% American Honda Motor Company 138,602-8.2% 926,156-2.5% Nissan Motor Company/Infiniti /Mitsubishi 118,742-12.9% 966,764-4.3% Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group 104,864-5.1% 733,474-2.5% Volkswagen Group 53,761 +7.5% 363,494 +5.7% BMW Group 26,278-0.3% 202,300 +2.4% Daimler AG 23,058-29.5% 200,750-13.9% Jaguar/Land Rover 8,089-10.9% 67,426 +2.4% TOTAL 1,154,725-3.7% 8,368,093 +1.1% Source: Automakers and ANDC * Includes Mercedes-Benz vans Includes Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Volkswagen brands, but not Lamborghini Industry total includes Automotive News figures/ estimates for brands, such as Tesla and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers. Based on Automotive News calculations Sources: Automotive News Website: http://www.autonews.com/article/20180801/retail01/180809976/july-us-auto-sales http://www.autonews.com/article/20180723/retail07/180729973/1546 Forbes Website: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimhenry/2018/07/29/july-auto-sales-no-fireworks-a-bit-of-a-fizzle-instead/#69cd787be34f Gallup Website: https://news.gallup.com/poll/236813/adults-drive-frequently-fewer-enjoy-lot.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_ campaign=syndication 2018 Media Group Online, Inc. All rights reserved. J.D. Power Website: http://www.jdpower.com/sites/default/files/2018115_u.s._apeal_v2.pdf Electrek Website: https://electrek.co/2018/07/04/vw-all-electric-car-sharing-platform-we/ Reuters Website: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-electric-suppliers-focus/auto-suppliers-retool-to-chase-electric-vehicle-bonanza-iduskbn1km4my?utm_ source=applenews Good Car Bad Car Website: http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2018/08/u-s-auto-sales-brand 5