New car sales in the US are increasingly dominated by wealthy buyers, with over half of sales going to households earning more than $265,000 annually. Rising prices and interest rates are pushing many to keep their current vehicles longer. Dealers are seeing higher repair revenues from EVs due to their complex technology, which also limits independent repair shops. Volkswagen's US CEO may be replaced despite strong sales. The BYD Shark PHEV pickup launches in Australia, challenging established trucks. Nissan showcases extreme Frontier builds, and Chevy introduces a new four-wheel steering feature called Sidewinder. Volvo's electrified sales grow globally, while Canadian provinces phase out EV incentives, raising concerns about meeting future targets. Europe faces pushback on stricter CO2 standards from countries like Italy and the Czech Republic.
Topics:wealthy car buyersnew car affordabilityev repair costsvolkswagen leadershipbyd shark pickupnissan frontier modificationschevy four wheel steeringvolvo electrified salescanadian ev incentiveseurope co2 regulations
- Wealthy Car Buyers Account for Majority of Sales - EV Repairs Boost Dealer Revenue - VW May Replace CEO Of America - BYD Launches Shark Pickup in Australia - Nissan Reveals Frontier Concepts at SEMA - Silverado EV Gets Diagonal Driving Feature - Volvo’s EVs and PHEVs Nearly 50% Of Sales in October - Canadian Provinces Roll Back EV Incentives - Czech Republic Joins EU CO2 Fight
"...w name for the diagonal driving maneuver that the Silverado EV can make using its four wheel steering system. It..."
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Speaker 1: This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. We've got numbers to back up
the affordability crisis we've been talking about for years that's now hitting the US car market. Bloomberg reports that fifty
five percent of all new car sales now go to households with incomes over two hundred and sixty five thousand dollars a year. People who bought or lease new cars
before the pandemic are now coming back to the market to find the exact same cars now three hundred dollars more a month, and so seventy three percent of new car buyers are simply holding onto the cars that they've got.
Even used cars are too expensive for many households, which is why the average age of cars is now twelve point six years in growing and not only our new cars much more expensive. Higher interest rates make them more
expensive to buy or lease, and soaring interest costs are making them more expensive to ensure. Sure, so we think
that we've hit peak auto. New car sales remain well
below their pre COVID levels and show no sign of coming back anytime soon. If ever, some new car dealers
aren't very enthusiastic about selling electric cars, but maybe this will help change their minds. Dealers make more money repairing
evs than they do cars with internal combustion engines. Aspury Automotive,
a large dealer group, says it averages five hundred and seventeen dollars to repair an ice vehicle, but six hundred and twenty nine bucks for a p HAVE and eight hundred and sixty five dollars for a BEEV. Even though
evs have less moving parts, they tend to have more complex technology, which means they take longer to repair, and that's where the higher costs are coming from. According to
Ward's Auto Roger Penske says, the average b EV repair bill is around thirteen hundred dollars compared to seven hundred dollars for an ice vehicle. That technology also makes it
harder for independent repair shops to compete, which drives even more evy business to dealerships. The Volkswagen brand is having
a strong year so far in the US. Sales are
up nineteen percent to more than two hundred and seventy five thousand vehicles, but despite that, reports from Germany say that VW's planning to replace the CEO of VW Group of America. Pablo DC. Volkswagen declined to comment on the
report and said to see remains in his role. Dec
became head of VW of America in September of twenty twenty two. He took the spot from Scott Keo, who
is now CEO of Scout Motors.
Speaker 2: There's nothing wrong with heavy metal, hey light enough, but with world class composit material taging automotive technologies makes vehicles lighter, safer, and more eco friendly.
Speaker 1: The BYD Shark pickup is entering another big truck market, Australia.
Right hand drive versions are now launching in parts of the country with a starting price just under fifty eight thousand Australian dollars, which is about thirty eight thousand US dollars.
It features a plug in hybrid setup that combines a one and a half liter engine with electric motors, which produces four hundred and thirty horse power and provides eight hundred kilometers or nearly five hundred miles of range, as well as twenty five hundred kilograms or fifty five hundred pounds of towing capacity. Will be interested to see if
the Shark has enough to entice buyers away from the truck market leaders in Australia, like the Ford Ranger in Toyota Hilux. Toyota doesn't offer a PHEV truck and the
plug in version of the Ranger doesn't launch until the spring of next year, so BYD has a jump on both.
Speaking of trucks, Nissan is showing the extremes you can take the Frontier two at Sema. One is an extreme
street truck with low riding suspension, extra wide wheels and tires, and a supercharge V six that makes about four hundred horse power. The other is an extreme off road tailgating
truck with a lift, kit block wheels, and an upgraded lighting system highlighting the off road stuff.
Speaker 2: But it's also fitted.
Speaker 1: With two forty three inch TVs powered coolers, a grill and even a kitchen sink. And in one last bit
of truck news, Chevy has a new name for the diagonal driving maneuver that the Silverado EV can make using its four wheel steering system. It's called sidewinder like a
Snake and works up to twenty.
Speaker 3: Miles an hour.
Speaker 1: Chevy says it will be standard on all twenty twenty five RST models and offered as an Otaight update on twenty twenty four versions. The Hummer EV has the exact
same capability, but GMC calls it crab walk. Volvo's sales
were up in October thanks to its electrified models. The
automakers sold more than sixty one thousand vehicles globally last month, up three percent from a year ago. Its BV and
p HAVE sales accounted for nearly half of that figure, at nearly thirty thousand units, a forty percent gained from last year. Through October, Vavo has sold more than six
hundred and twenty two thousand vehicles worldwide, a nine percent increase, and it's sold more than two hundred and eighty six thousand electrified models, which is up thirty four percent. Automakers
in Canada are concerned about meeting EV sales targets in the coming years because several provinces are ending purchase incentives.
The federal government currently provides five thousand Canadian dollars or about thirty six hundred US dollars for purchasing an EVA, and provinces like Quebec and British Columbia provide EV incentives.
Of seven thousand and four thousand Canadian respectively, but Quebec is phasing out the subsidy in twenty twenty seven. Earlier
this summer, British Columbia Limited, who qualifies for its incentive, and Ontario and In EV incentives back in twenty eighteen. However,
Canada is planning to phase out sales of new ice vehicles in twenty thirty five, and the percentage of EV sales are supposed to ramp up between now and then.
Evs must account for twenty percent of sales in twenty twenty six and sixty percent of sales by twenty thirty, but so far this year they're at about ten percent market share, and with EV incentives being rolled back, automakers are worried about being penalized for missing targets, and over in Europe there's a battle over stricter CO two standards that go into effect next year. Italy has already called
for the regulations to be delayed or relaxed, and now it's being joined by the Czech Republic. The country's transport
minister says automakers will have a hard time meeting the targets because of weaker EVY demand in Europe, so it wants to help automakers from being fined for missing them.
The ACEA, a group that represents most automakers in Europe, says companies face finds up to fifteen billion dollars next year for not meeting CO two standards and that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks for making
autoline a part of your day.
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