With less than a month to go until this year’s Presidential Election, local small businesses continue to suffer from government mandated COVID-19 restrictions while multinational corporations continue to thrive.
In the auto industry, where demand for light cars and trucks remains good and steady, workers and companies are experiencing a mixed bag of situations.
Case in point, a “cluster” of recent covid cases closes a New York dealership while the NADA has announced that next year’s NADA Show in New Orleans will now be virtual. An understandable move no doubt, but one wrought with undesired economic consequences.
On a similar note, U.S. auto suppliers are reportedly scrambling to fill factory jobs.
At the market level, demand for cars may have taken a small blip in all this, but demand for ride haling took a major whack in the early part of the coronavirus pandemic crisis.
One company who has been working its way through the pandemic in the ride share business is HyreCar, a nationwide leader operating a car sharing marketplace for ride sharing, food, and package delivery nationwide via its proprietary technology platform.
HyreCar recently partnered with Midway Rental Car, the largest privately held rental car agency in Los Angeles and a part of the Hankey Group, with 8 rental locations in Southern California. The company also recently surpassed one million rental car days, a significant milestone for the company
This week on the show we welcome back HyreCar SVP Brian Allan who first joined us on the show in September 2019. At the time we were talking about a looming decline in new car sales. Little did we know then what would unfold only months later, and what would lead to the speculated dip in new car sales.
The Mobility Tech & Connectivity Show
Aired Live in October 2020
2:05 – Industry News w/ Jay & Ryan
2:15 – Featured Guest Interview w/ Brian Allan
2:30 – Discussion Panel Begins – Fixed Ops Strategies
3:00 – Closing remarks and announcements
Part I. Industry News
- NADA Show 2021 to be Virtual
- Waymo opens driverless robo-taxi service to the public in Phoenix
- Introducing Amazon’s first custom electric delivery vehicle
- HyreCar Partners with Rental Car Agency Midway
- U.S. auto suppliers scramble to fill factory jobs
Part II. Interview with HyreCar SVP Brian Allan
HyreCar SVP Brian Allan joins us for a follow-up interview from last year when industry analysts were speculating a dramatic decline in new vehicle sales. Nobody at the time of course had any inkling to what was about to unfold.
Part III. Discussion Panel – Fixed Ops Strategies
For our Automotive panel this week, the theme is – Fixed Ops Strategies. We will be talking about OEM incentive programs for dealers to put service repair vehicles on the road to provide vehicle service on site at customer homes and workplaces.
Fixed Ops Strategies is one of six different discussion groups that make up the Auto Retail Marketing Mastermind program powered by AutoConversion. Fixed Ops Strategies is led by Dealer Advocate Ed Roberts who is the Fixed Ops Director at Bozard Ford Lincoln in St. Augustine, Florida. Roberts is one of six members on AutoConversion’s Dealer Advisory Board.
Also on the panel this week is Tully Williams, Fixed Ops Director with The Niello Company in San Jose, California.
Sign Up to Be Part of the Discussion and Join the Q&A
Want to be part of the live discussion? You can. The show is facilitated via Zoom and streamed live on YouTube. You can be part of the live discussion and the Q&A by registering with Fixed Ops Strategies, one of six different discussion groups we offer on AutoConversion as part of the Auto Retail Marketing Mastermind Program.
> Register here to participate on the Zoom
In the News…
The National Automobile Dealers Association has opted to make its annual convention completely virtual and move it to February amid uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
The virtual show is set for Feb. 9-11 — a rare Tuesday to Thursday schedule.
Comment from reader: Honestly, I only attended NADA for the social dynamic (parties) and the exhibitor hall lol. I signed up for Digital Dealer this year and ended up not even logging in once. It was hard to set aside time for it while actually being at work. I couldn’t just lock myself in the office to watch videos while somebody needs this and somebody wants me to do that
Waymo opens driverless robo-taxi service to the public in Phoenix
Waymo on Thursday will relaunch and expand its fully automated, robo-taxi ride hailing service in Phoenix, rebooting its effort to transform years of autonomous vehicle research into a revenue-producing business.
Waymo, the self-driving vehicle technology unit of Google parent Alphabet, Inc GOOGL.O, said it will start offering rides in minivans with no human attendant on board to current members of its Waymo One service in Phoenix. Within a few weeks, Waymo plans to open access to anyone who downloads its smartphone app and wants a ride within a 50-square mile area of Phoenix.
Introducing Amazon’s first custom electric delivery vehicle
Just a year since announcing The Climate Pledge, Amazon is excited to reveal its first custom electric delivery vehicle, designed and built in partnership with Rivian.
In support of The Climate Pledge commitment to be net zero carbon by 2040, 10,000 Amazon custom electric delivery vehicles will be on the road delivering to customers worldwide as early as 2022 and all 100,000 by 2030. This is one of three different models that Amazon has invested in and completely customized with Rivian to enhance the driver experience and optimize safety.
Full of industry-leading safety and design features, this vehicle raises the bar for next generation delivery.
HyreCar Partners with Rental Car Agency Midway
HyreCar, the carsharing marketplace for ridesharing, food, and package delivery services, recently announced a partnership with Midway Car Rental. HyreCar’s innovative platform will increase utilization of Midway’s inventory to take advantage of growing opportunities in commercial vehicle rentals.
Midway Rental Car. is the largest privately held rental car agency in Los Angeles and a part of the Hankey Group, with 8 rental locations in Southern California. The Hankey Group’s interests include automotive, financial, technology, insurance, and real-estate enterprises and holds over $9.5 billion in assets.
U.S. auto suppliers scramble to fill factory jobs
Millions of U.S. workers have lost their jobs to the pandemic, but in the auto industry, suppliers are scrambling to find enough people to staff production lines, resorting to such approaches as rewards for good attendance and at-work teachers to lure job seekers.
At auto parts maker Mobex Global, Chief Executive Joe Perkins said he is boosting pay and offering bonuses to help fill 80 job openings. His engineering and machining company is running more overtime to meet rising demand.
