Runtime: 6:40
0:31 Tesla Stock Could Soar Even More
1:26 FCA Bribed the UAW for Better Contracts
2:21 Veemo’s Velomobile for Mobility
3:09 Would You Buy the Same Car Again?
4:39 Honda Ridgeline Update
5:22 AEB Really Catching On
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On today’s show…Elon Musk gets a new compensation package that will send Tesla stock soaring…it’s official, FCA bribed the UAW to get better union contracts…and Honda should be proud of and worried about sales of the Ridgeline pickup. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily the voice of the automotive industry.
TESLA STOCK COULD SOAR EVEN MORE
Tesla’s stock price continues to confound the critics. It’s up $30 a share just this month alone. And here’s something that will probably send it even higher. Tesla just changed Elon Musk’s compensation package and it’s an all or nothing deal. Either he drives the price of the stock a lot higher or he gets paid nothing, nada, zilch. He also has to grow revenues and gross profits. But if he does he’ll make tens of billions of dollars. And this sends a strong message to the investment community–Elon is all in when it comes to boosting Tesla stock. Mr. Musk says he’s not really driven by money. The New York Times quotes him as saying, “I want to contribute as much as possible to humanity becoming a multi-planet species. That obviously requires a certain amount of capital.”
FCA BRIBED THE UAW FOR BETTER CONTRACTS
Speaking of making money, Fiat-Chrysler’s top labor officials paid UAW officers more than $1.5 million to get better union contracts. Some of the bribes included airfare, jewelry and $50,000 cash payments. This is part of a larger $4.5 million scandal, in which GM and Ford are also being investigated. And we’re waiting for the FBI to say who else may be involved.
Which car company has the most loyal customers in the marketplace? The result may surprise you, and that’s coming up after this.
VEEMO’S VELOMOBILE FOR MOBILITY
As we move into a world of mobility services here’s a company that caught our eye at the AutomobiliD conference that was held in conjunction with the Detroit auto show. It’s a velomobile, or pedal car, made by a company called Veemo which is based in Vancouver. It’s a ride sharing vehicle, for one person, but with room for luggage and groceries. Even though you pedal it has electric assist that’s good for 60 miles, but it’s speed limited to 20 miles an hour. It even has disc brakes and power windows. It will fit on any bike path, and thanks to its enclosed body you can use it in almost any kind of weather. Veemo charges 20 cents a minute and most people use it for 15 minutes, meaning the average ride costs about $3.
WOULD YOU BUY THE SAME CAR AGAIN?
There are all kinds of automotive awards but one of the best ways to measure who makes the best cars is to measure how many customers come back and buy another one. IHS Markit does a survey on this in the US market and last year General Motors was the manufacturer with the highest loyalty, while Ford buyers were the most loyal to the brand. Jeep is conquesting more buyers than anyone else, while Toyota does the best with African American, Asian and Hispanic buyers. Lincoln owners go back to the same dealer more than anyone else, while Buick and Jaguar were the most improved. Owner loyalty is an important measure because the better you are at keeping your customers, the more money they spend on you.
OVERALL LOYALTY AWRDS | WINNER |
---|---|
Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer | General Motors |
Overall Loyalty to Make | Ford |
Highest Conquest Percentage | Jeep |
Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make | Toyota |
Overall Loyalty to Dealer | Lincoln |
Most Improved Loyalty to Make | Buick |
Most Improved Conquest Percentage | Jaguar |
Source: IHS Markit |
Be sure to join us for Autoline After Hours this Thursday, where one of the top topics will be: is CES killing the Detroit auto show? We’ll give you the pros and cons of what people are saying. So join Gary Vasilash and me for an insider’s view of what the top people in this industry are talking about.
Coming up next, the Honda Ridgeline now has a full year of sales under its belt. So how’s it holding up?
HONDA RIDGELINE UPDATE
Last year was the first full year of sales for the redesigned Honda Ridgeline, so how’d it do? Sales came to nearly 35,000 pickups, which was up substantially from the year before when the truck was only on sale for part of the year. What should worry Honda is that in the last three months, sales of the Ridgeline fell 25%, while the other small pickups in the segment increased sales, except for the GMC Canyon which also saw a decline. But the Canyon didn’t fall off nearly as much as the Ridgeline did. That’s a fairly significant drop for a fairly new truck. And so we’ll have to keep an eye on this to see if Honda starts boosting incentives to sell more Ridgelines.
HONDA RIDGELINE U.S. SALES | ||
---|---|---|
All 2017 | 34,749 | +47% |
Oct-Dec | 8,173 | -25% |
Source: WardsAuto |
AEB REALLY CATCHING ON
Automatic emergency braking is making major inroads in the American market. Wards Auto reports that 27% of passenger vehicles were equipped with the technology last year, up from only 6% two years ago. But Mercedes-Benz and Toyota get almost all the credit. They’re the only ones that made this feature standard equipment almost across the line. Automatic Emergency Braking, or AEB to use the industry acronym, will automatically slam on the brakes if it determines your car is about to crash into something or someone. Ward’s says AEB installation rates will skyrocket over the next few years because it will be mandated on all passenger vehicles by 2022. And we should see a statistically significant drop in accidents and fatalities as this technology rolls out.
And with that we come to the end of today’s report. Thanks for watching and we invite you to join us again here tomorrow.
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John McElroy is an influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He is a journalist, lecturer, commentator and entrepreneur. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of industry news and analysis.