Online used car dealers will be unusually quiet during this Super Bowl

Used car websites are slashing their ad spend and you’ll be able to tell in about a month the US government wants to end transportation emissions once and for all it was a pretty good year for some German brands, a worse year for others. All that and more in yours Morning shift for Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

Gear 1: What happened, Carvana? XeMax? room?

You all have made such a splash in previous Super Bowls, boldly demonstrating to Americans a new way to buy cars without being subject to shady dealer tactics. In Carvana’s case, maybe you will never get the title you paid for, but hey — at least you won’t have to sit in a stuffy office! Obviously people hate sitting in the office.

Either way, none of those three companies look likely to air during this year’s Super Bowl on February 12th. PR reps for each company said. auto news they have no plans for the big game.

Fox, the network that will air the game, said in September that 95% of the commercially available time was sold out. The cost of some selected 30-second ads is estimated at up to $7 million.

CarMax is headquartered in Richmond, Va. did not air commercials during the 2022 Super Bowl, although it has posted such ads before. Carvana is headquartered in Tempe, Ariz. made its debut as an advertiser of the Super Bowl in 2022 with a 30-second ad titled “Mom oversharing.”

Houston-based Vroom aired the commercial twice during the Super Bowl. The online retailer sparked some controversy in 2021 with an ad called “Dealer Pain,” which disrupted the process of buying a car at a traditional dealership. In 2022, Vroom ran “Flake the Musical,” an ad reminiscent of the musical La La Land to promote the seamlessness of sales through its online platform.

The reason for the change of heart is simple: 2022 is not kind arrive any of the surnameand they need to save money. Each company spent less on advertising in the last fiscal quarter, with Vroom being the most conservative, cutting ad spending by 58% compared to the same period in 2021. Looks like we’ll have to turned to other companies to solve the Super Bowl Night problem.

Device 2: Government has a plan

On Tuesday, the Biden administration unveiled a blueprint for “virtually eliminating greenhouse gas emissions” from the transportation sector by 2050. In fact, it is not an exact strategy but rather a set of goals to guide legislators, co-authored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy, Transportation and Housing divisions and Urban Development. Again, from our friends at auto news:

The blueprint is intended to guide future policy making as well as R&D and other efforts in the public and private sectors, such as increasing access to clean and affordable transportation options, modernize the grid to meet demand from electric vehicles and reduce emissions from the entire traffic life cycle, including emissions from construction.

It also requires close cooperation with states, local communities, labor unions, the private sector and other key stakeholders.

For the auto industry, that means continuing to invest in EVs and battery production, and expanding the number of electric models on their vehicle lines, a senior administration official said. Monday in a press conference.

You can read the full blueprint herebut the crux of it — as emphasized in official fact sheet — are three pillars: increasing convenience, improving efficiency, and transitioning to clean options. Broken down, this handy graphic explains the true meaning of each meaning:

As the document states, “while the first two strategies will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generate significant co-benefits, the transition to clean options is expected to drive the majority of emissions reduction.” Government data shows that 49% of emissions in the sector are due to light vehicles, with heavy trucks and medium and short-haul buses accounting for 14% and long-distance transport 7%. For the latter two groups, and especially the long-haul group, hydrogen is seen as having the greatest opportunity as a “clean” fuel option. This, of course, It’s not the first time we’ve heard so much.

3rd device: Volvo <3 Subscribe

A few weeks ago, Bloomberg posted an interview with Volvo executives that the company Not aimed at wealthy customers for things like heated seats. But CES just happened, and part of Volvo’s story is its partnership with Qualcomm in developing its first “software-defined vehicle.” It’s the code for “cars with feature registration”, as far as I’ve found. Take it away again, car news:

Features that Volvo can monetize over time include audio content, navigation content and digital services, [Martin] kristensson, [Volvo’s head of product definition and partner management] speak.

Volvo uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SA8155 chip to power Google’s Android operating system in cars, leveraging Qualcomm’s experience in providing chips for Android smartphones.

Mark Granger, Qualcomm’s head of automotive product Digital Cockpit, said the auto industry is reaching a tipping point like smartphones when they can be updated with new apps and features.

“We can do so much more in the cockpit. We can innovate and deliver new features throughout the life of the vehicle,” he added.

Kristensson said Volvo will always make sure the safety feature upgrades are free.

He added: “What we can monetize is beyond – both car-centric functions like automated parking and also digital services.”

However, he suggests that increasing autonomy to Level 3 hands-free mode may not be considered a safety function and may therefore be charged.

“Autonomy is about saving time and time is the most valuable resource. If I could save an extra half day, that would probably be very valuable to you,” he said.

If Volvo is looking to charge primarily for digital or software-based content, that’s the best we can hope for as consumers in this day and age. But honestly, it’s stupid to expect anyone to follow their ideals once they realize how much money they’re leaving on the table.

4th gear: Not a great year for Volkswagen…

The brand shipped 6.8% fewer cars in 2022 than it did in 2021, and doesn’t expect 2023 to have significantly better results. The words Reuters:

Volkswagen warned on Tuesday that an ongoing chip shortage means 2023 will remain volatile and challenging but expects supplies to improve, as it reported sales of the brand. This will decrease by 6.8% to 4.56 million in 2022.

Orders in Europe, where the war in Ukraine has caused many supply chain problems, rose 18 percent year-on-year to 640,000 vehicles, and the automaker is working to make deliveries faster this year. now, the company said in a statement.

On the other hand, sales of VW battery-powered vehicles grew 23.6% last year. And maybe it’s a good thing that the company finally has an SUV portfolio these days, because SUVs are said to represent 80% of its sales in the US.

5th Gear: …But a better one for BMW and Mercedes

When we look at German luxury goods, however, things are noticeably brighter in 2022. BMW sold 4.8% fewer cars last year, however, with deliveries. The airline’s fourth quarter improved year-on-year by 10.9% in Europe and 12.7% in China. It was able to prevent the decline in revenue, despite the decline of the units, by increasing the MSRP, Reuters said Tuesday.

While, Mercedes-Benz lost only 1% in global sales in 2022 and improved 17% in the fourth quarter alone. Sales in North America actually improved last year, by 3 percent. Luxury brands continue to be in the best position to weather these headwinds as things get more expensive and less plentiful. Any surprises?

Reverse: The small car that was supposed to change everything