Elijah Canfield

PV Inventory Climbs as Dealers Prep for Festivals, Keep Discounts in Check Inventory Levels PV dealers reported inventories of 38–40 days for August, about 5 days higher than July, as automakers stock up ahead of festivals. "Days of Inventory" 38–40 days means ~5–6 weeks of unsold cars at current sales rate, well above FADA's recommended ~21 days. SIAM vs FADA Gap SIAM tracks wholesale (manufacturer to dealer); FADA tracks retail (dealer to customer). August wholesale was 439,309 units, up 36.5% YoY. August retail was 402,398 units, up 16.14% YoY. The ~37,000-unit gap is what's piling up as dealer inventory. Inventory Not Uniform 56% of dealers reported higher inventory than usual. Buildup varies by manufacturer. Tata Motors has received 60,000+ bookings for Victoris, showing stock is tight for some products. Inventory by Manufacturer • Maruti Suzuki: ~16 days • Hyundai: 4–5 weeks (called "healthy" by MD & CEO Tarun Garg) Festival Offers • Overall mass-market range: ₹50,000–₹3.35 lakh • Last year's peak: ₹5 lakh–₹10 lakh; this year avg ~₹3 lakh • Tata Curvv EV: up to ₹3.35 lakh; Harrier EV: up to ₹2.75 lakh • M&M select SUVs: up to ₹2.5 lakh • Maruti Grand Vitara: up to ₹3.10 lakh (incl. zero-road-tax up to ₹1.85 lakh) • Hyundai Creta: up to ₹1 lakh • Kia Sonet: ₹50,000; Carnival: up to ₹1.5 lakh • Honda Elevate: ~₹2.44 lakh • Hyundai overall: discounting at 2.8% of Q1 revenue, broadly unchanged Why Discounts Are Contained Som Kapoor (EY-Parthenon) linked the moderation to a tighter demand-supply balance vs last year, based on OEM conversations rather than an industry-wide series. Key Test Ahead Whether elevated inventory gets absorbed by genuine festival demand, or forces a broad discount hike. 81.62% of dealers expect moderate demand for Sept–Nov, down from 87.85% a month earlier. Risks Flagged Strong wholesale growth partly reflects a low base last year. FADA also flagged weaker-than-expected demand, deficient monsoon in some states, and price increases. (Source:BS, Pg 2) #automobileupdate #newsletter RK Advisory & Training Rishabh Kale

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December 5, 2025 *EVs/HEVs* The shift to EVs/HEVs is happening. This is driving the revival of growth in large-scale manufacturing (LSM). The automotive sector grew at the second-fastest pace in FY25 and so far, the fastest in FY26. The sector has a 5% direct weight in the LSM. The share is significant, as it is the third largest LSM segment in Pakistan. Besides its weight, it is also driving growth in related sectors. Interestingly, the sector has a long way to go, especially when a significant shift is going on supported by the government’s policy. The imports under the transport group and related categories, at the current rate, will reach US$ 4 billion in FY26. This is almost double from last year’s level, and the momentum has just started. But this is a natural consequence of this shift, as the industry is capital intensive and involves imports of products as well as plant and machinery. After all, it is a restart of the sector, in which approximately 36 million existing vehicles (including two- and three-wheelers), plus new vehicles will be shifted from engine (Internal Combustion Engine—ICE) to NEV in the next couple of decades. The local partners have already completed their initial task of attracting technology partners. Players like BYD, Great Wall Motors, Beijing Automobile, Geely, Wuling, Chery, and Changan have now joined the existing Korean and Japanese assemblers. Gradually, CBU imports will be replaced by CKDs, and some level of localization will begin to take its share. This shift is not limited to vehicles; it will also increase imports of charging stations. If a charging station has to be installed at only half of the petrol pumps, it will require imports of approximately 3,500 machines at these stations. This shift has its benefits in terms of utilization of the excess electricity capacity and reduced imports of petroleum products, but progress on this path will also require a significant amount of US$. The demand from the consumers is already strong, financing is available, and the shift is happening. If this remains sustainable for the external account, it will continue to remain a major sector driving growth in the LSM.

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THE NEXT ERA OF AUTOMOTIVE WON'T BE WON BY DEALERS WHO BUY AI. IT'LL BE WON BY DEALERS WHO OWN IT. Cox just acquired Fullpath. The platforms are consolidating, and everyone's analyzing what it means. Here's what I believe it actually means: the intelligence layer of the dealership is now the most valuable real estate in automotive. And the big players know it. But there's a question nobody's asking dealers: When AI becomes the operating system of your store — do you own that layer, or rent it? Renting gets you the same tools as every store down the street. Owning it is a moat nobody can buy off the shelf. That's what we're building right now. A superintelligence layer that sits across the ENTIRE dealership. Not a dashboard. Not another subscription. A brain that knows a body shop customer just crossed the spend threshold that signals they're ready to trade — and triggers the campaign automatically. That flags the lead nobody followed up on before a manager has to ask. That sees a rooftop trending down before the GM does. We are working full-speed on the first full AI transformation of a Canadian auto group (multiple in fact). Department by department. Rooftop by rooftop. Ending in a proprietary intelligence layer they own outright. And the customer-facing layer is already live: our AI responds to leads in 12 seconds. The industry average is 1 hour 47 minutes. The first wave of automotive AI was about finding customers. This wave is about running the store. Smart dealers, take note: the winners of the next five years won't have better software. They'll own better intelligence. Are you building yours — or renting someone else's? Contact me to understand more and get a demo #AIinAutomotive #DealershipGrowth #AutomotiveRetail #CarSales #DealershipMarketing #DealerIgnition #DealerPrincipal #GeneralManager

Where we shop isn't about red vs. blue. It's about whether our money concentrates power or distributes it — and most of us have never seen the trail. I traced one Tesla purchase from the dealership to $290 million in political spending to dismantled agencies. Then I traced a local purchase through fair wages, regenerative farming, and zero waste. Same dollar. Two very different democracies. Full article with sources and a consumer toolkit on Mindful Marketplace in substack - link in comments. #MindfulMarketing #MindfulMarketplace #VoteWithYourCart #ShopYourValues #democracy #MindfulConsumer

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Ford made a great electric truck but it failed in the market due to expectations from hardcore truckers vs novelty seeking EV buyers. Maybe they should not have named it "Ford F-150". --- “Traditional Ford F-150 truck buyers are among the most truckiest of all truck people, and while the Ford F-150 Lightning, in my opinion, was a fantastic vehicle, it was not a fantastic vehicle for people who needed it to behave like a Ford F-150 truck all by itself,” “Instead, it is a truck for your Tesla Model S owner who might need to do a couple things here and there.” Ford would say that its electric truck attracted a new audience to the brand—it noted that almost 75% of its buyers came from non-Ford brands and very few came from an F-150. Still, the Lightning seemed to be judged on a truck curve—made all the more frustrating when considering the vehicle had an average transaction price 18% higher than the nonelectric version. Despite the Lightning’s bona fides, customer satisfaction scores were much higher for Rivian, an EV startup pulling a smaller share of previous truck owners to its offering. Its buyers had far different expectations for what a truck could do and, for example, weren’t put off with having to recharge after towing a boat to the lake. They just thought it was cool that their electric vehicle could tow a boat. Source: WSJ

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In my latest article for WeShipCars, I take a look at the pros and cons of U.S. automotive research site Edmunds: https://lnkd.in/eqyqSdRK

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This is great news on the EV front. It also shows something that anyone who has done process re-engineering understands all too well: if you're trying to do something new, but using the same methods as before, you're not going to get the results you had hoped. In fact, they are probably going be worse, because both the process and the product suffer from this dissonance.

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Dealership technology startup Lectrium announced growth with key hire Reggie Brustulin. Reggie has 4 years of experience at Tesla, and 2 years of experience at Herb Chambers / Asbury Automotive. Lectrium founded the EV Merchandising vertical, which adds VIN-specific Range, Charging, and Savings details to dealership VDPs (Vehicle Detail Pages). See Lectrium’s site [SPONSORED]: https://www.lectrium.com/ When most dealership websites were built, there was only one fuel type (ICE). Now there is ICE, MHEV, PHEV, EREV, and BEV. Reggie brings strategic experience from the showroom floor to help dealerships navigate the new EV retail environment after the federal tax credit cut. Lectrium is OEM-certified with OEMs like BMW, MINI, and Audi, and works with major Automotive Groups around the USA to improve engagement time, educate shoppers, and drive faster turns of EV inventory. Reggie was a Lectrium customer for 18 months and decided to join the team because he believes in the mission that much! Lectrium integrates across the retail automotive ecosystem with inventory feed providers, website providers, google analytics, and dealer CRMs to power faster EV sales. Many car dealerships are struggling to adapt to the rapid shift toward electric vehicles, compounding the challenges created by the loss of the US federal tax credit. Unlike traditional gas cars, EVs often require longer explanations, more education, and test drives to win over hesitant buyers, yet sales staff are frequently undertrained and underincentivized to promote them. Lectrium helps dealerships with the EV transition. "Lectrium has empowered our dealerships to merchandise and showcase EV benefits in a way that informs, educates, and encourages shoppers to consider EV options," said Alex Keenan at Ewing Automotive Group. EVinfo.net is an EV-influencer led publication, offering sponsored articles, interviews and more to the EV industry. See samples below: https://lnkd.in/gH5Gdqb7 Sign up for the EVinfo.net e-news: https://lnkd.in/gHq6iA2p #evcharging #electricvehicles #Sponsored #Ad

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Gotion's Michigan Plant Collapse: A Green Light for Western #EV Innovation? The recent collapse of Gotion's planned $2.4 billion EV battery facility in Michigan is more than just a failed project; it serves as a critical warning sign for the entire US automotive industry. The plant, which faced intense local and political opposition over its ties to China, was ultimately declared in default by the state. This high-profile failure highlights a significant liability for automakers and states that rely on Chinese-owned battery technology. It highlights the significant geopolitical and social-acceptance risks of building a domestic supply chain reliant on foreign-controlled intellectual property. This is precisely why the failure in Michigan may be a powerful, albeit indirect, boost for companies with Western-rooted IP and innovation, like StoreDot. The Risk of Imported Know-How The Gotion project failed not on its technical or financial merits alone, but because of fierce, community-driven resistance and political scrutiny over its ownership. This demonstrates a clear and present risk for OEMs: IP Control: It raises long-term questions about where the core value and control of the next generation of US manufacturing will reside. Automakers, who are investing billions to electrify their lineups, cannot afford to have their battery supply chains held hostage by these external risks. They need a secure, politically stable, and reliable path to mass production. ** The Opportunity for Western IP like #XFC This is where the strategic advantage of technologies like StoreDot's #100in5 Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) becomes clear. Manufacturing Flexibility: Unlike the Gotion model of building a massive, foreign-owned gigafactory, StoreDot’s strategy is primarily based on licensing its technology and partnering with existing battery manufacturers or the OEMs themselves. This capital-light model allows automakers to integrate XFC technology into their own planned gigafactories in the US and Europe, giving them full control over manufacturing. Proven OEM Demand: StoreDot is already deeply integrated with major Western automakers, with public investments and partnerships from Volvo Cars, Polestar, Daimler Truck AG, and others. The Gotion collapse serves as a costly lesson. For the US and European EV industries to succeed, they must build on a foundation of secure, reliable, and politically sound technology. The path forward lies not in importing captive Chinese manufacturing but in championing and scaling homegrown and allied innovation like StoreDot's XFC.

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