Brand loyalty in the auto industry has declined about 5% since pre-pandemic times, with Tesla standing out for its exceptionally high customer retention, especially among EV buyers. The SAE is moving to standardize Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS), with Volvo joining other automakers adopting it. Small pickups performed poorly in new rear seat safety tests by IIHS. US car sales are rebounding due to improved inventory and fleet sales growth. Meanwhile, Chinese automaker GAC developed an ammonia-fueled engine with reduced emissions, and GM Defense is expanding its energy storage projects for military use.
Topics:brand loyalty trendstesla nacs standardizationvolvo ev charging adoptionrear seat safety in small pickupsus car sales reboundelectric vehicle market shareammonia engine developmentgm defense energy projects
- Car Brand Loyalty Down, But Not Tesla - SAE To Standardize Tesla’s NACS - Volvo Adopts Tesla’s Charging System - Small Pickups Perform Poorly in Rear Seat Safety - Cox Automotive Increases Full-Year U.S. Sales Forecast - Tesla on Pace for Record Quarter in China - GAC Auto Develops Ammonia Powered Engine - GM Defense Develops Ultium-Based Energy Storage Unit
"...ted earned a good rating. The best was the Nissan Frontier, which earned an acceptable rating. The Ford Rang..."
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This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
Is the auto industry in a funk? Has it stalled out? Those
were words used by Tom Libby, Associate director of SMP Global Mobility, during a presentation yesterday about brand loyalty trends for the first third of the year.
In fact, this chart shows that brand loyalty is down about five percent since before the pandemic hit. And interestingly, the performance of brand loyalty closely mirrors
the inventory level of automakers. And that makes sense. As vehicles became harder
to find, customers were more likely to cross shop another brand. But I
don't think these numbers are all that disappointing. Sure, automakers would like to
be less constrained for certain components like semiconductor chips, but they've also enjoyed record return on sale Since inventory was tight, they didn't have to discount cars and because of that, the old norm of fifty five to sixty five days of inventory are probably over. And now let's shift back to the loyalty trends.
And when you look at both mainstream and luxury brands, about half of buyers are return customers to those brands, meaning the other half are defecting to another brand. But remember, someone could still stay under an automaker's umbrella, like
going from a Chevy to a Buick, which is actually much more common than staying with a particular brand. And here's another bragging point for all the Tesla
fans. Its loyalty is much higher than any other brand, whether you're talking
about mainstream or luxury, and without Tesla in the equation, when talking about total loyalty to all evs, the rate drops off significantly. This means that
Tesla is stealing a lot of customers from other brands, and most interesting to me is that they're mostly coming from mainstream brands and the Japanese automakers are being hit the hardest. Not having many evs in their lineups is hurting them.
And here's one last bit of interesting data is this chart showing customer loyalty to body type. It's surprising to see how level everything has been for the last
four years, especially with Sedans. Tesla's North American Charging Standard or n ACS
is quickly moving toward becoming the standard charger design in North America. SAE International
announced it's going to standardize the NACS connector, which is the next step before forming a way to validate and maintain the system. But it also means that
any supplier or manufacturer can use, build, or deploy Tesla's plug. So
let's hope this changeover also greatly improves the charging experience at non Tesla charging stations.
And yet another automaker is adopting testless charging system. Volvo announced it will
equip the EVS itsels in North America with NACS ports starting in twenty twenty five.
Volvo owners will also have access to twelve thousand testless superchargers in the US and Canada starting next year. Volvo is the first European automaker to adopt testless
charging system and the fourth OEM overall, following Ford, GM and Rivian.
We want to know what drives your testing. OTA Connected Car Diagnostics Remote Testing
in Trepid Control Systems is here to help you work from anywhere intrepid control systems driven by your data. Small pickups performed wholly in rear seat safety tests done
by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS. None of the five trucks
it tested earned a good rating. The best was the Nissan Frontier, which
earned an acceptable rating. The Ford Ranger was rated marginal, and the Chevy
Colorado, Jeep Gladiator, and Toyota Tacoma all earned poor ratings. The IIHS
only tested crew cab versions of the trucks, and the ratings are based on the iihs's updated moderate overlap front crash test at launch last year, which now includes rear seat protection. It found that the dummies head would come dangerously close
to the front seatback, and that data showed a risk of neck and chest injuries. The IIHS says these issues indicate that better seat belts are needed in
the rear, like the more advanced ones used in front seats. Thanks to
improving inventory, car sales are rebounding in the US. According to a new
forecast from Cox Automotive, sales in the first half of the year will hit seven point six five million units, up eleven percent compared to a year ago, and because the first half was stronger than expected, Cox is increasing its full year forecast to fifteen million units, up from fourteen point one. A
big reason for the improvement is an increase in inventory levels, which are up seventy percent compared to last June. Another big driver of the increase is the
fleet market. Fleet sales are expected to increase forty percent in the first half
compared to last year, while retail sales are only expected to increase three percent.
Cox is also forecasting that BV sales will pass a million units for the first time in the US this year. In the first half, they're expected
to fall just shy of five hundred thousand units. B evs now account for
nearly seven percent of the new car market in the US. And speaking of
EV sales, testless strategy of slashing car prices to boost sales is paying off in China. According to an analyst with China Merchants Bank International Securities, Testless
sales will hit one hundred and fifty five thousand units in the second quarter, which is thirteen percent more than the record it's set in the first quarter, and Deutsche Bank is forecasting about the same for Tesla in China, and it's growing sales even though it's b EV market share is shrinking in China as more models hit the market. It's now below fourteen percent share, down from sixteen
percent in the first quarter of the year. Tesla will reveal its global sales
numbers over the weekend. You know there's still going to be demand for ice
powered vehicles for many years to come, which is why we're seeing investment in things like synthetic fuel and now. Chinese automaker GAC says it's developed a viable
engine for passenger cars that runs on ammonia. It's a two leader unit that
burns liquid ammonia, producing one hundred and twenty kilowatts or about one hundred and sixty horsepower, while reducing carbon emissions ninety percent compared to conventional fuels. GAC
says it solved previous issues with ammonia like low flammability and high nitrogen oxide emissions, but like synthetic fuel, the real issue will be building an infrastructure for ammonia. GM Defense, a subsidiary of GM, has a goal to generate
a billion dollars a year in revenue by twenty thirty, and it's been a bit of a tear recently. In the last year, it's announced at least
four new projects, including a new deal with the US Department of Defense prototype energy storage units based on GM's All Team platform. They can use hydrogen or
fuel power generators as well as stationary and mobile batteries to power equipment or create many micro grids in remote areas. If the project is a success, GM
Defense will supply the storage units to the US Marine Corps. And a programming
note here. Autoline will shut down next week for our summer break, so
there won't be any new Autoline dailies or in after hours on Thursday, but we will resume our normal schedule on the tenth of July, and with that we wrap up today show. Thanks for watching. Autoline Daily is brought to
you by Bridgetone Solutions for your journey Intrepid Control Systems over the year engineering boost your gage, and by Scheffler We Pioneer Motion. At Scheffler We Pioneer Motion
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