Surprise! It’s Friday!

Data, consumers, and quarterly reports. It should be a pretty good Friday email. Send us your favorite meme, and it will also be a good Friday. 😉

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New and Used Sales Data

As new EV sales slow, used EV sales soar, with prices dropping due to various market pressures, including Tesla's recent price cuts and consumer adoption barriers. Here are some quick details.

• Used EV Sales Trends:
  • 100% increase from 2022.
  • 40% increase from 2023.
• Recurrent's Price Index:
  • Current average price: $23,787.
  • 27% year-over-year decline.
• Market Share and Growth:
  • EVs accounted for 7.3% of total new vehicle sales in Q1 2024.
  • First quarter-over-quarter downturn since Q2 2020.
• Consumer Barriers:
  • High new EV prices.
  • Limited model variety.
  • Charging infrastructure issues.
• Tesla's Pricing Strategy:
  • Recent price cuts: $2,000 reduction for Model Y, X, S.
• Federal Incentives:
  • $4,000 tax credit for used EVs under $25,000.

Carvana Too

The rising tide is lifting all ships, including vending machine-shaped ships. Carvana's shares surged 30% after reporting record first-quarter profits, marking a significant turnaround. Key metrics included a gross profit per unit of $6,432 and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 7.7%. This follows extensive restructuring focused on profitability, demonstrating robust growth potential in the used car market.

Stellantis, GM, ICE, Apple, and Consumers

Stellantis

Stellantis has been talking about its 2030 plans like a parrot with an echo.

• 100% electric passenger vehicles in Europe
• 50% in the US

But now that the company is talking about flexibility, saying they can accommodate both EV and ICE preferences in the same models. The company's CFO even said they are ready to revert to ICE if consumer demands shifts toward them.

Fortune Cookie: Trend chasers only catch tired legs.

GM

Like many an android before, GM seems to be staying the course toward its electric dreams, but its choice to cut Apple CarPlay has divided the flock.

Consumers are missing Apple CarPlay, which is fair since GM's alternative, in-house solution, Ultifi Infotainment, only plays with people's patience when they want it to play sweet tunes - like this one.

Maybe we will see options come back, but whoever decided on their next vehicle based on the radio software? (Nobody, since radio software is a whole new battle in the ongoing contest for market dominance)

Fortune Cookie: Most great pitchers don't know how to make baseballs.

Aston Martin Q1: Dips and Dives

Aston Martin reported a larger-than-expected pretax loss in Q1, with shares dropping to their lowest since November 2022. The British carmaker's production shift to newer models like the DB12 and Vantage has impacted financials, anticipating similar performance in Q2 while maintaining 2024 forecasts.

Mercedes-Benz Q1: R(EV)enue Report

Despite a revenue drop in Q1 2024, Mercedes-Benz reports growing EV sales share, with revenues down and a significant EBIT decline. The German automaker highlights strong liquidity and disciplined market strategies, maintaining confidence in reaching its annual financial targets amid a challenging economic environment.

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GIFs and memes are a language in themselves. I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned about using them.

1. Memes have one foot in the cliche/repetitive/template and one foot in the specific thing you want to communicate. The more the well-known template matches the thing you want to say, the more powerful the impact.
2. GIFs communicate language and tone. Until they invent 40 more punctuation, it will be hard to communicate perfectly using only small bits of written words. Some people use voice recordings, some write long emails, and some use a GIf to ensure “That’s fine!” isn’t mistaken for “That’s fine!” Ya feel me?
3. GIFs and Memes are fun. Decorate your communication.
4. If my regular “Hey, wanna come buy a car” texts came with a GIF or Meme, I would remember that person better. Just sayin’.