90 Seconds with AFS - EV Market Shakeout
AFSVision
Early adopters found to be attractive alternatives to their ICE-powered prestige models, however the new-ness of buying an EV is wearing off. With that comes the need to compete for buyers. Despite ’s belief that the only limit to Tesla sales growth was pricing, there aren’t 20 million buyers just waiting for an affordable Improving production methods and lowering prices has become the latest step in the EV transition. Unanticipated snags at are slowing the roll-out of , , and EVs. Slow production means the EVs aren’t backed up at GM dealers, however output grew to 13,000...
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90 Seconds with AFS - Rolls-Royce Spectre
AFSVision
Few brands will hit their pure electric targets as they need to convert hundreds of thousands of buyers to the idea that an EV perfectly replaces their current model. Rolls-Royce, however only needs to find a few thousand buyers, and the appeal of an all-electric Rolls-Royce is obvious. Claimed on their website, this is “the beginning of an era that will see the entire model portfolio electrified by 2030” and that the new Spectre is “setting a clear path toward the marque’s first all-electric decade.” Henry Royce and Charles Rolls set a goal to build the “best car in the world.”...
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90 Seconds with AFS - Internet Rumors
AFSVision
Internet rumors are a terrible source of information on the automotive industry. Here are a few that you need to avoid. The Ford Taurus - Clean Tech Yes, there is a new Ford Taurus coming and no it’s not coming to North America. With the dramatic decline in the sales of sedans in the United States, there aren’t many American automotive enthusiasts chomping at the bit to get their hands on a new Taurus. Sales of the last generation Taurus peaked just under 80,000 units in the U.S. in 2013, the only year it outsold the Mustang. Ford has focused on trucks because the market has clearly turned...
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90 Seconds with AFS - Internal Combustion Engine Future
AFSVision
Obituaries for the internal combustion engine are premature. Tighter emissions regulations have increased the demand for electric vehicles and better emissions controls make new gas engines amazingly clean. Despite that, the 1.5 billion vehicles on the road around the world still generate 12% of all greenhouse gases. Today’s EVs are practical for most everyday drivers leading governments to propose ICE bans. Laws limiting the use of ICE vehicles are on the rise. EV sales are growing year over year and will continue to do so, but maintaining this growth rate will be increasingly difficult....
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90 Seconds with AFS - May 2023 U.S., Canada, Mexico Light Vehicle Sales
AFSVision
May ended with strong light vehicle sales in the U.S. approximately 3.5% better than expected. Improving on last May by 22.7%, the market was propelled by huge gains from Mazda and Honda with Subaru also beating the market average. All reporting brands, except for Lincoln, showed year-over-year gains with only Toyota not improving by double-digits. While the month performed very well, the sales forecast for 2023 remains unchanged as the growing anxiety over interest rates and the rising potential of labor strikes in the fall are tempering additional enthusiasm. Retail buyers are ceding more of...
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90 Seconds with AFS - Lucid Motors
AFSVision
Originally known as Atieva, Lucid Motors was founded in 2007 in California. In 2021, Atieva merged with the SPAC Churchill, changing its name to Lucid, and raising US$4.4 billion. Lucid is headed by Peter Rawlinson who came from Tesla. Alongside the CEO is an executive team with years of automotive experience; a rare quality in the world of EV startups. Rather than finding an existing manufacturing space, Lucid constructed a new plant in Arizona, thousands of miles from the center of the U.S. automotive supply chain. Lucid opened their plant in 2020 and began production and deliveries in the...
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90 Seconds with AFS - North American Competitiveness
AFSVision
On May 25, twenty-seven Senators addressed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the current push for tighter emissions. The letter to Administrator Regan asked for the EPA to “withdraw two recent proposals to regulate tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions” because “these proposals effectively mandate a costly transition to electric cars and trucks.” Using the Biden Administration and EPA’s exaggerated numbers, the letter claimed “the proposal will require approximately 67 percent of new vehicles sold in model year 2032 to be BEVs.” While pointing to possible legal concerns...
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90 Seconds with AFS - 2023 UAW and Unifor Contracts
AFSVision
Rising public support for unions and the current level of inflation will be in favor of the UAW and Unifor as negotiations begin in September. Profit at the automakers is always a balancing act between keeping stockholders happy and not making too much money where the workers believe they’re losing out. Unfortunately for those automakers, profits have been especially good in recent years, adding another support for raises to union members. For the YouTube video: Find out how AFS can work for you: Joe McCabe: Sam Fiorani:
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90 Seconds - April 2023 Americas Light Vehicle Sales
AFSVision
Light vehicle sales in the U.S. have been just as expected this year and continues the pace toward a year-end target of 14.77 million cars and light trucks. The estimated 2.7% growth in the Canadian market in April is on-par with the trend toward a 1.64-million-unit year. The continued recovery of the Mexican market rolled through April with nine straight months of double-digit growth pushing the AFS forecast up 1.19 million units this year. For the YouTube video: Find out how AFS can work for you: Joe McCabe: Sam Fiorani:
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90 Seconds with AFS: MG and its Global Expansion
AFSVision
As the automotive industry in China began to blossom about two decades ago, domestic manufacturers looking to export needed marketable names. The quickest way to do this was to acquire an established brand and polish it for new life. Brands like Geely’s Volvo have worked while names like Borgward have languished. And then there was the state-owned SAIC, which is playing the long game. When BMW decided to sell the former Rover Group, local investors were there to keep the British automaker going. As long as the company remained in local hands, the new company was allowed to use the Rover...
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