ASOTU Triple Crown, Ford Cuts EV Prices, Hertz Hearts Denver

The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

Time to close out strong as we talk about Toyota’s triple crown, Ford matching Tesla’s price cut moves, and Hertz brings the ‘try before you buy’ to Denver.

• Toyota gets the ASOTU Triple Crown this morning (is that even a real thing?) as they beat out competitors to hold the top spot as the world's top selling automaker, don’t have any questions at their make meeting, and show everyone what a healthy leadership transition should look like
  • 10.5 million vehicles followed by VW 8.3 million
  • No questions at make meeting (we mentioned this yesterday)
  • Longtime CEO, Akio Toyoda, 66 years old, announced last week he would be handing the reins to 53-year-old engineer Koji Sato to take over as president and CEO in April, while Mr. Toyoda would become chairman
    • “When it comes to digitalization, electrification and connectivity, I personally feel that I belong to the older generation…for me to take a step back is important.”
    • Earlier this year he said he believes he represents a silent majority who believe the EV transition is moving too quickly and being forced by Washington instead of consumer demand
• After Tesla hit the market with a substantial price cut, Ford is following suit with discounts as much as $5600 on its Mach-E.
  • It had raised prices 6 months ago and has reversed course to maintain market share in the competitive space with an average cut of $4500 (about 6%) across trim levels
  • Largest cut is to the GT Extended Range ($5900)
  • All trims except the GT Ext Range fall under the $55k price point to receive the federal $7500 tax credit
  • Extended range feature cut from $8700 to $7000
• A recently made “Try before you buy” partnership between rental car company Hertz and the city of Denver aims to increase EV adoption and provide significant data to inform charger placement across the city
  • “Hertz Electrifies” will bring some 5,200 rental EVs to the city as part of the program that allows residents to live the EV life for several days to see how it fits their lifestyle
  • “will also fund and oversee the installation of dozens of public EV chargers at Denver International Airport and other spots around the city, working with EV charging network BP Pulse”
  • Also developing future techs through “Denver’s Youth Employment Program and providing EVs, tools and training to Montbello Career and Technical High School for students enrolled in its auto certificate program. “These are people later down the line that we'd want to work for us,” said Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr.”
• Sam’s Club is coming back. 30 new clubs on the way.

Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
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