Auto Industry in the News

New BMW Charger to Cause Universal Charging Networks?

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

August 7, 2014

A new BMW charger could be the catalyst for an entirely new nationwide charging network. Those are the thoughts of the luxury automaker, who sees such a charging network as a big key to the success of their new i3 all-electric car.

Here’s how they expect it to work: BMW has partnered with a third-party company, Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, to produce these new charging stations. BMW believes their diminutive size (about the size of a small suitcase) when compared to their counterparts – combined with their significantly lower prices ($6,500 for partnering companies) – could entice businesses to provide a charging system network not unlike the ones already in place for Tesla vehicles.

American New Car Sales Soar in July

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

August 5, 2014

July saw American new car sales soar across the board. While not all the numbers are in yet for some of the foreign-made brands, it’s apparent that July was a month that reinforces the fact that American consumers continue to demand new cars.

American New Car Sales Numbers

The US charge was led by Chrysler, which rose 20 percent in July. These robust numbers were led by Jeep, which went up by an astounding 41 percent. Jeep was followed by an 18 percent increase for Ram, a 17 percent jump for Chrysler, a 3 percent increase for Dodge and 1 percent for Fiat. (Note: The Jeep number is so inflated due to 14,827 sales of the all-new Jeep Cherokee in July.)

Though none of the other “Big 3” brands reached double-digit increases, they did have a prosperous July nonetheless. Second in American new car sales was Ford at 9.6 percent. They were spearheaded by a 17 percent increase in sales of the midsize Fusion, as 32 percent increase in Explorer sales, and a 19 percent increase in sales of their small SUV, the Escape.

Average Vehicle Age Remains the Same

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

July 31, 2014

New average vehicle age information has surfaced. Data compiled at IHS Automotive shows the average age of a light vehicle on the road in the United States was 11.4 years at the end of 2013. This was the same number posted at the end of 2012. In addition, IHS research shows that the total number of light vehicles in operation at the end of last year was a record 252.7 million, up two percentage points from the final tally in 2012 (specifically, an increase of 3.7 million vehicles).

Experts believe some of these statistics reflect the progressive rebound of the auto industry based on the slower rate of growth in the average vehicle age. IHS believes the average vehicle age will remain steady at 11.4 years through 2015, then slowly rise to about 11.7 years of age by 2019. Their reasoning for this is twofold: first, the quality of vehicles on the road continues to rise; and second, there are still economy factors at play.

The U.S. flag flies at the Burt GM auto dealer in Denver

Big SUV Sales Help GM through Tough Times

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

July 29, 2014

The U.S. flag flies at the Burt GM auto dealer in Denver Big SUV sales slipped dramatically during the recession, to the point where General Motors actually decided to close the doors on two of their three factories that made their large SUV offerings (Janesville, WI and Moraine, OH).

During that time, GM shifted some of its focus to smaller, more fuel-conscious vehicles like the Cruze and Spark. But while competing brands such as Ford and Nissan continued to move resources away from large SUVs, they are making a comeback.

Was the Cash for Clunkers Program Really a Success?

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

July 28, 2014

Cash for Clunkers, formally known as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), was a $3 billion government program introduced in 2009 as a way to induce American car-buying consumers to trade their gas-guzzling cars in for more economical models. Specifically, consumers were given as much as $4,500 each to trade in their fuel-inefficient model for a non-guzzler.

When originally signed into effect in January 2009, Cash for Clunkers was to start on July 1 with $1 billion in funds available. At that time, it was a welcome relief for most dealers, who were suffering the effects of the economic downturn in a big way. How bad was it? June 2009’s sales were down 28 percent from the previous year – and that was the best month of the year up to that point.