Six years ago, Mastermind attended our first National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in San Francisco, with a small 10x10 booth. We disrupted the industry with the introduction of behavior prediction technology to help dealers sell more cars. Our proprietary algorithm and Behavior Prediction Score® revolutionized the way that dealers communicate with their loyalty customers, ultimately increasing retention sales. Over the years, we evolved the concept of ‘equity mining’ into ‘data mining.’ Since then, many of our competitors have developed a similar likeliness-to-buy scoring system and NADA show floors annually are filled with companies claiming to do all or part of what we do. This year was no exception and we made several major announcements leading into the show, capped with receiving an award for excellent dealer satisfaction and the debut of the first-ever automotive sales platform.

Award-Winning Technology

Mastermind was founded on the principle of simplifying and improving the car buying process for both the dealer and consumer. We empower our dealer partners to have intelligent and personalized conversations with prospects utilizing our proprietary behavior prediction technology and highly-personalized marketing. As a result, this year we were recognized with a DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Award in the Owner Marketing category.  The award measures dealer satisfaction with vendor products and services and is based on cumulative ratings tallied and verified during the calendar year. We’re so grateful for our dealer partners and we appreciate all of your kind reviews that allowed us to win this award. 

The First-Ever Automotive Sales Platform

Fast forward to NADA six years later. As we stand on the same show floor where we debuted Mastermind to the industry six years prior, we debuted to the industry the first-ever automotive sales platform, Market EyeQ. Market EyeQ allows dealers to view their full prospective buyer market more holistically, no matter if that customer comes from your retention, service, or conquest portfolio. Backed by real-time proprietary data, Market EyeQ helps identify, communicate with, and close more customers in a dealer’s local market.

Part of what makes this sales platform so unique is Mastermind’s partnerships and relationships which grant us powerful datasets. Access to proprietary household demographic data from IHS Markit and key vehicle history details through the Carfax Snapshot tool gives dealers an exclusive 360-degree market view. Further, our partnership with TransUnion uncovers potential sales opportunities with customers who have not previously bought from a dealership. These partnerships, coupled with information from your current Dealer Management System (DMS), allow dealers a holistic view of their local market by enriching the data they have on-hand and supplying them with data for prospects unknown to them.

Why limit your focus to 10,000 loyalty customers when you can see 100,000 customers of all types in your local market, including loyalty, conquest, and service customers?

What does this mean for dealers? No more segmenting your buyer audience and managing multiple technologies to find and market to different types of prospects.

With projected sales for 2019 to dip below the 17 million mark, dealers will need to do even more to compete and grow in this flattening market. At Mastermind, we are committed to leading the charge in the industry for our visionary approach to selling cars. We have set a precedent as the company that can help dealers stay ahead of evolving sales trends.

We met with more than 150 dealers during NADA to debut and demo the industry's first-ever automotive sales platform, Market EyeQ. Did you miss out? Sign up for a demo today.

2019 was the last year the global automotive industry’s leadership had to brave Detroit’s January weather to participate in the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) and the Automotive News World Congress. The events move to June in 2020, but left their final midwinter imprint with a variety of news and announcements of interest to dealers:

Ford & VW Join Forces

The biggest high-level industry news out of the two weeks in Detroit was the announcement of a partnership between Ford and Volkswagen to collaborate on commercial vans and midsize pickups, with potential future joint development of next-generation autonomous and electric vehicles. The alliance, which does not involve any exchange of ownership equity, aims to deliver medium pickup trucks manufactured by Ford on the Ranger platform in the European, African and South American markets beginning in 2022; followed by European-market commercial vans in 2023. Ford plans to manufacture commercial vans for this market, while Volkswagen will focus on passenger vans. The companies also say they are “open to considering additional vehicle programs in the future.”

While the implications for North American dealers may be few and far between in the short term, the partnership does have long-term implications both for the overall sustainability of both automakers as well as potential for future new product development that would result in new vehicles on showroom floors.

Midsize Market Moves

The hot midsize SUV market, which has been a key profit center for automakers and dealers, got even more competitive at NAIAS.

Ford announced the new 2020 Ford Explorer, with the biggest news being its move from a FWD platform shared with the Taurus to a RWD platform it shares with the new Lincoln Aviator. Even 4WD variants – which Ford expects to make up roughly 70 percent of its sales – will default to RWD. The new Explorer is also the first to feature a 10-speed automatic transmission that Ford jointly developed with General Motors.

Kia unveiled the 2020 Telluride, which the company calls its “flagship SUV.” Kia’s leadership say it is aimed at the Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot market and predicts it will join other new and relaunched vehicles to increase the company’s U.S. sales figures up above 600,000 in 2019 compared to two flat years just under 590,000.

Coming Soon to Showrooms

Other important vehicle launches at NAIAS with competitive implications for dealers included:

2019 Ram HD: At the same show where the 2018 Ram won the North American Truck of the Year award, FCA unveiled the newest version of its heavy-duty variant.

Cadillac XT6: The Escalade’s newest “little brother” shares a platform with the GMC Acadia, Buick Traverse and Chevrolet Enclave.

2020 Volkswagen Passat: VW hasn’t given up on sedans and has updated the Passat for consumers who haven’t either.

2020 Toyota Supra: After almost two decades, Toyota is bringing the beloved enthusiast sports car back to North America in a low-volume production model it hopes can be a “halo” car to get traffic into its showrooms.

NADA Watches Affordability

While new products are great for dealers to have, customers still have to be able to afford them. At the Automotive News World Congress, National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) CEO Peter Welch said affordability is "probably the biggest thing” he is concerned about for the auto industry. He told Automotive News, “People buying $55,000 pickup trucks with $1,000-a-month payments — I’ve never seen it. A lot of people don’t think that’s sustainable.” However, said Welch, NADA’s forecasters don’t necessarily think the good times are over just yet. "I don't know why we can't have a few more good years on a plateau," he told the World Congress attendees. "I'll take a plateau between 16.5 million and 17 million for as long as we can get them."

Toyota Bets on Truck Growth

Toyota Motor North America CEO Jim Lentz told Automotive News that while Toyota expects its light-vehicle share to slip in the U.S. in 2019, the company projects strong Tacoma and Tundra truck sales to more than make up for decreased car sales and result in an increased overall market share. This would be a continuation of existing trends, as Toyota’s car sales fell 12 percent in 2018 while light-truck sales increased 8 percent.

Toyota is investing to increase truck production in Mexico and the U.S. to meet demand, said Lentz, adding "If I could build more Tundras today, I could sell them.”

How Can automotiveMastermind Help?

Whether the new products are on your showroom floor or on your competitor’s, you’ve got new marketing opportunities and challenges. Our solutions help dealers stay ahead of the evolving competitive landscape. Get in touch with us today to learn more.

automotiveMastermind (Mastermind), a leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation solutions for dealerships and manufacturers, today announced its Market EyeQ sales platform, another evolution in the company's mission to transform the automotive retail experience. The announcement was made during the National Automobile Dealers Association Show (NADA) 2019 taking place from Jan. 25 to Jan. 27 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

"Market EyeQ is the core sales platform dealers need to compete in today's flattening market," said Johannes Gnauck, founder and co-CEO of Mastermind. "Historically, dealers have segmented customers into three categories: retention, service and conquest. We're empowering dealers to view their full prospective buyer market more holistically, no matter if that customer comes from their retention, service, or conquest portfolio. The Market EyeQ sales platform is backed by real-time proprietary data and helps identify, communicate with and close more customers."

With key partnerships, Market EyeQ is the first tool of its kind to provide access to all prospective buyers for a dealer in one single sales platform. Mastermind has access to proprietary household demographic data from IHS Markit and key vehicle history details through the Carfax Snapshot tool to give dealers an exclusive 360-degree market view. Further, the TransUnion partnership uncovers potential sales opportunities with customers who have not previously bought from a dealership. These partnerships, coupled with their current Dealer Management System (DMS), allow dealers a holistic view of their local market by enriching the data they have on-hand and supplying them with data for prospects unknown to them.

"When we started this company, we set out to improve the car-buying experience for buyers and sellers," said Marco Schnabl, founder and co-CEO of Mastermind. "We started Mastermind by solving dealer's challenges that we knew of as former car salesmen. As the industry evolved from equity mining to data mining solutions, none of these categories ever fully encompassed everything Mastermind could do for dealers, and that remains true today. Market EyeQ is the first sales platform that provides a holistic view of a dealer's local market and allows them to sell in a more effective way, increasing sales as a result."

The organization is a winner of a 2019 Driving Sales Dealer Satisfaction Award in the Owner Marketing Category. More information is available here.

About automotiveMastermind
Founded in 2012, automotiveMastermind, a business unit of IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), is a leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation solutions for the automotive industry. Market EyeQ by Mastermind is a single sales platform that identifies, communicates with, and closes every buyer in a local market. Mastermind is headquartered in New York City and San Francisco. For more information, visit automotivemastermind.com. Based in London, IHS Markit is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions.

automotiveMastermind and TransUnion today announced a partnership to help dealers identify highly qualified customers coming to the dealership for service.

Dealerships with access to the automotiveMastermind (Mastermind) solution now have the ability to deliver prescreen offers to consumers through serviceMastermind, a streamlined service that allows dealers to know when qualified customers come through the service drive, enabling them to begin new sales outreach. Customer data is obtained from TransUnion in connection with the prescreen and gives dealers invaluable insight about those customers.

TransUnion's backing of the solution allows dealers to pull real-time credit-based information that can be used to better understand consumers browsing the dealership showroom or customers having their vehicle serviced. As an integrated part of Mastermind's solution for dealerships, this quick and easy assessment of a customer's creditworthiness enables dealers to deliver the right offer, to the right customer, at the right time.  

"The combined power of our partnership with TransUnion, and IHS Markit data, gives dealers greater visibility on who is servicing at their dealership, including contract, loyalty and garage indicators, allowing them to market to service customers with the right message," said Johannes Gnauck, CEO and co-founder of Mastermind.

"We want to provide dealers with the most compelling, market-relevant data possible to strengthen the customer experience and, ultimately, customer relationships."

"This solution will enable dealers to make smarter decisions and tailor their offers to the needs and preferences of their customers," said Brian Landau, senior vice president and automotive business leader at TransUnion. "Through the partnership, dealers will have the right tools to grow their prescreen functionality and build demand, while equipping their customers with a more seamless car shopping experience."

serviceMastermind will be available to all eligible Mastermind dealer partners in the first quarter of 2019. The solution has been tested by a few key dealer partners who have seen strong results: initial tests show between 65 – 80 percent of customers were activated into the sales workflow, and 27 – 52 percent of those converted customers bought a vehicle through that dealer.

About automotiveMastermind
Founded in 2012, automotiveMastermind, a business unit of IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), is a leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation solutions for the automotive industry. Market EyeQ by Mastermind is the single sales platform to identify, communicate with, and close every buyer in a local market. Mastermind is headquartered in New York City and San Francisco. For more information, visit automotivemastermind.com. Based in London, IHS Markit is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions.

About TransUnion
Information is a powerful thing. At TransUnion, we realize that. We are dedicated to finding innovative ways information can be used to help individuals make better and smarter decisions. We help uncover unique stories, trends and insights behind each data point, using historical information as well as alternative data sources. This allows a variety of markets and businesses to better manage risk and consumers to better manage their credit, personal information and identity. Today, TransUnion has a global presence in more than 30 countries and a leading presence in several international markets across North America, Africa, Latin America and Asia. Through the power of information, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies and families and safer communities worldwide.

We call this Information for Good.℠

automotiveMastermind® (Mastermind), a leading provider of predictive solutions for dealerships, today announced the appointment of Kos Jha as Chief Technology Officer and the promotion of Daniel (Dan) Malloy to Vice President of Sales.

In Malloy's new role he will drive the expansion of Mastermind's presence in the automotive industry by adding new brands, dealer groups and individual retail stores to automotiveMastermind's portfolio mix. Previously, Malloy served as National Sales Director.

Jha, who joins Mastermind from S&P Global Market Intelligence, will be responsible for managing the technology and global engineering teams, while closely aligning with the product organization.

"We are most committed to being a true partner to our dealers and that begins from the very start of our relationship. Now, more than ever, dealerships need to look at their market holistically to maximize all possible sales opportunities," said Marco Schnabl, CEO and Co-Founder of automotiveMastermind. "Dan is committed to help dealers address their challenges and pain-points through partnering with Mastermind."

Malloy's experience in the retail automotive industry spans more than two decades. Prior to joining Mastermind, he held the position of General Manager for Audi of Freehold (New Jersey) and Group 1 Automotive – working with brands like Honda, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen. He also worked with DCH Auto group providing new car sales management, marketing initiative implementation and more.

"Mastermind is continuously innovating and pushing the boundaries of predictive solutions and this year is no exception," said Malloy. "There is a lot to get excited about in the upcoming year. I'm passionate about being a strong resource for dealers and am looking forward to showcasing this in my new role."

Jha's experience in the technology industry spans more than 25 years, joining Mastermind from S&P Global Market Intelligence where he was CTO for client-facing platforms and analytics products. Jha led large global teams to adopt modern cloud-native architectures and big data and analytics technologies to deliver growth and transformation. Prior to that he worked at EY in management consulting to lead IT strategy and implementation and at Honeywell as a Technology Manager to build software products.

"Kos is an extremely diversified leader who will further help us build a world class product development team around our strategic product vision," said Johannes Gnauck, CEO and Co-Founder of automotiveMastermind.

"Mastermind is constantly updating and innovating its technology to best serve dealer partners and their customers," said Jha. "My goal is to ensure that the technology is always catering to dealers' needs and providing the predictive analytics and solutions for each dealer's market."

automotiveMastermind has a proven track record of transforming the dealership experience for consumers and revolutionizing the way automotive dealerships and manufacturers, find, engage and earn long-lasting customer relationships.

About automotiveMastermind
Founded in 2012, automotiveMastermind, a business unit of IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), is a leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation solutions for the automotive industry. Market EyeQ by Mastermind is the single sales platform to identify, communicate with and close every buyer in a local market. Mastermind is headquartered in New York City and San Francisco. For more information, visit automotivemastermind.com. Based in London, IHS Markit is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions.

The holidays are behind us, and the new year lies ahead. What do recent developments in the technology and automotive industries suggest might be on tap for 2019? How can and should dealers prepare themselves, and where are the opportunities to get ahead of the competition?

Here’s some news to consider:

Amazon becomes America’s most valuable company

What: Amazon passed Apple and Microsoft to become the world’s largest company, measured by stock market valuation.

Why: The big brown boxes on front porches – and soon in people’s garages – driving that valuation all have one thing in common: all are things the consumer didn’t drive to the store and pick up themselves. Ironically, Americans are buying less stuff at the store and having more of it delivered. At the same time, they’re increasingly moving to bigger vehicles with more cargo space. SUVs and pickup trucks finally have room for everything, just as consumers no longer need to go out and pick up anything.

This means dealers need to invest in understanding at an individualized and personal level how and why their customers will be using their vehicles in order to make the most effective recommendations. (One likely factor: Kids and sports gear. The number of American children who play on a youth sports team is at an all-time high, even as overall youth athletic activity continues to drop).

Luxury buyers claim two-thirds of EV tax credits

What: Purchasers of luxury vehicles accounted for two-thirds of the electric vehicle tax credits handed out in 2018, and some industry analysts predict that number to reach as high as 75 percent in 2019. However, EV tax credits face an uncertain future in general, with some scheduled to phase out under current law and others potentially ending sooner than planned.

Why: Even as manufacturers invest big in electrification, it’s still largely a luxury good for American car buyers – and ending the EV tax credit wouldn’t help reverse that trend. Brands like Tesla, Audi, Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes won’t be as sensitive as, say, a Chevrolet Bolt or Nissan Leaf to an effective $7,500 price increase. If you’re a dealer in the luxury space, how well are you able to identify potential customers for new EVs? If you’re not, what can you do to help customers who want an EV justify the price premium, and how can you identify the people for whom that sacrifice is worth it?

Some humans don’t welcome robot drivers

What: Police in areas where self-driving cars are being tested report a variety of human-on-robot “road rage” incidents, in which vehicles were run off the road, had their tires slashed or were vandalized or threatened.

Why: While there’s a lot to be said for the autonomous vehicle future, plenty of people are concerned about what it might mean for their communities and for themselves. Others simply prefer human interactions over engaging with automated systems. For dealers, it’s an opportunity to engage with their local community as the human face of their brand’s autonomous future strategy. It’s also a reminder of the importance of human connections when interacting with automotive consumers, even when it’s backed by complex and critical digital technologies. Remember, the root of “personalized” is “person,” and many consumers neither want nor trust automated interactions.

Fewer working customers in the future

What: After a long stretch of decline, the workforce participation rate – basically, the percentage of the adult population that’s either working or looking for work outside the home – ticked up again as core unemployment remained low. But economists warn the trend of more people dropping out of the workforce to resume for the foreseeable future.

Why: More people going to work every day in the short term means more potential customers. How does your dealership identify people who hadn’t been good candidates before due to lack of income, but might now need a new daily driver. Don’t forget that in the long term, estimates of future sales figures are often based on predictions of broad population size. But when increasing percentages of that population aren’t working – or aren’t working the kind of formal job that allows them to qualify for traditional automotive financing – how are they going to become your customers? How well do you know what your customers’ plans are for their own future, and what does that mean for their transportation purchasing plans?

How Can automotiveMastermind Help?

If you’re trying to predict the future, then it’s good to have predictive analytics on your side. Our technology helps you stay connected to changing buyer behaviors, changing industry conditions and evolving economies. Get in touch with us today to learn more.

A strong automotive industry started to cool off in North America in 2018, while slow moving product trends suddenly showed up on dealership floors with a vengeance. Meanwhile, fears of a subprime auto loan bubble began largely to recede. Automakers began to go public with specific plans for the future.

Sales Sag

Headlines like Bloomberg’s “The Global Auto Industry Is Likely in First Recession Since 2009” don’t make auto dealers optimistic for 2019, but for those who remember the dark days of the Great Recession there are few predictions things will get anywhere near that bad. Industry analysts predict automaker production will end up down 0.6 percent in 2018 from the previous year, with another 0.4 percent drop in store for 2019 before growth resumes slowly in 2020.

Dealers who have invested in sales and marketing efficiency while building customer relationships will be the ones to prosper in a tightening marketplace. It’s in slower markets, more than anywhere else, that the efficiency of customer retention and predictive marketing truly shine over “spray and pray” marketing techniques. When margins tighten, the dealerships that built loyalty through excellent customer experience have a measurable advantage over those waiting for the phone to ring or door to open.

The Subprime Bubble that Wasn’t

In 2017 and even early into 2018, many pundits and analysts were predicting a traumatic 2018 in auto lending, as a subprime auto loan “bubble” was set to burst. While there were some changes in the marketplace and some smaller lenders went out of business or got out of the market, the biggest news in the subprime market in 2018 was that lenders shortened loan terms, managed interest rates, limited credit lines and otherwise managed down subprime risk to the point where delinquency was down even as subprime lending was up in the third quarter of 2018.

Subprime lending is expected to increase again in 2019 to 16.5 percent of overall origination volume, according to TransUnion’s consumer credit forecast. However, it’s worth noting that in 2007, at the start of the last recession, that figure was as high as 20 percent.

Dealers benefit from having a diversity of finance options available to them. While tighter risk management may create challenges in the short term for getting customers approved, the changes by lenders will be healthy in the long term, as a defaulted buyer loses almost all of the value invested in their relationship. The solidifying subprime lending market is an opportunity for dealers to take a fresh look at their customer relationship management and build rules to identify potential candidates for financing who had been left out during the lending market corrections of 2016 and 2017.

Product Mix Keeps Trucking Along

In a way, 2018 was the retirement year for the sedan as sales tumbled, while trucks and crossovers took center stage and manufacturers announced plans to thin out already-lean sedan product portfolios.

This year, the trends included some of the most dependable performers on showroom floors. The 2018 Honda Accord, recognized by many as “the best car Honda’s ever made,” sold so poorly at one point the manufacturer had more than a hundred days of inventory on hand, forcing production cuts at its Marysville, Ohio plant. Overall, Accord sales in the United States were down more than 12 percent on the year as of November, while Honda’s truck sales were up more than four percent.

At Toyota, the mainstay Camry was supplanted by the RAV4 as the company’s best-selling vehicle in the U.S. market and Corolla sales were down almost 11 percent, while the company posted some of its best sales months ever for light trucks. The Camry remained the top-selling car in the North American market, it’s now the seventh best-selling vehicle behind the F-series, Silverado, Ram, RAV4, Rogue and CR-V.

Sedan sales market share dropping to its lowest-ever level in November of 2018, and the industry is responding to the shift in consumer preferences. General Motors announced the end of at least six nameplates from its portfolio. Ford also gained widespread consumer attention when it announced that by the end of next year, it expects almost 90 percent of its product portfolio to be trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles. The only sedans that will remain are the Mustang and the new Focus Active.

For dealers, changing product mix means new demands on sales teams as well as new challenges for customer experience. While product mix is driven by aggregate consumer demand, customer relationship management means treating customers as individuals, not aggregates. This means individual customers who’ve been happy and loyal buyers of discontinued vehicles such as the Ford Focus or Cadillac XTS should receive proactive and thoughtful management by their dealers to maintain the relationship, identify their wants and needs and move them into the most appropriate new vehicle on the showroom floor.

In 2019, new consumers, new product mixes and a new competitive landscape mean dealers have to take a new look at how they efficiently identify, sell to, service and retain the customers upon whom their success depends. The industry’s not standing still, and neither can you.

How Can automotiveMastermind Help?

Do you have any questions or comments about the new competitive automotive and how it’s changing the customer experience process? Contact us today.

Auto show season is officially upon us!

The 2018 LA Auto Show kicked off the season earlier this month featuring nearly 1,000 cars, trucks and SUVs, with more 60 vehicle debuts from major brands including Toyota, BMW and Volkswagen. As one of the world’s largest auto shows, the 10-day event was met with plenty of hype, including the usual pre-show rumors and speculation focusing on which vehicles would be unveiled. 

While much of the speculation was true, leaving few surprises when it came to debuts, the 2018 show ultimately gave a glimpse into where the industry is now and where we will be heading next. Here are just a few takeaways.

Big is Back

As expected, multiple automakers unveiled large models such as trucks and SUVs during the show. This came only weeks after GM and Ford announced they would be discontinuing production on many sedan models in favor of SUVs, CUVs and trucks, reacting to shifting consumer demand.

Garnering the most attention in the class was the 2020 Jeep Gladiator, unveiled on day one of the show. It is the first mid-size pickup from the automaker in more than 25 years, a testament to the current industry trend. Met with fog machines and strobe lights, the workhorse literally climbed the steps to take center stage during its unveil, met by fanfare on the show floor and on social media. 

Dealer partner BMW made a splash and joined the full-size market with its 2019 X7. With room for seven, the three-row luxury SUV is the largest BMW X model, with a spacious interior and plenty of leg room. The move was well-calculated. Only days later, the BMW released its November 2018 sales report, showing its lineup of sports activity vehicles accounted for 56 percent of sales during the month, led by the X5 and X3.

On the slightly smaller end, dealer partner Honda debuted its brand new 2019 Passport. The five-seat, mid-size SUV is big, but not too big– well-positioned in the market as consumer continue to move away from sedans into larger models.

"With customer demand for SUVs continuing to grow, the new adventure-ready Passport is going to further solidify our lineup, attracting new buyers and keeping existing customers in the Honda family," said Henio Arcangeli, Jr., senior vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., in a release after the debut. 

EVs Take Center Stage

Representing another shift in the industry were the number of electric vehicles and hybrids debuted during the show. As consumers warm up to EVs (a consumer report from AAA earlier this year found 20 percent of U.S. drivers would likely buy an electric vehicle), dozens of models were introduced from both well-established brands like Volkswagen and Audi and newcomers like Rivian.

Dealer partner Audi’s E-Tron GT Concept vehicle stole much of the spotlight after its global reveal in a non-descript parking lot attended by actor Robert Downey Jr. The four-door coupé touts an estimated range of 248 miles and an impression 590-hp. While the model is expected to enter production in 2020, the automaker aims to have 12 all-electric automobiles by 2025.

Also ushering in an electric concept was dealer partner Volkswagen. With a playful exterior reminiscent of the classic VW Bus, the I.D. Buzz Cargo Concept is the newest addition to the automaker’s line of fully-connected electric vehicles. The Cargo has a range between 200 and 340 miles and can be charged to 80 percent capacity in only 30 minutes. The zero-emissions van could begin production as early as 2022.

While not fully electric, dealer partner Subaru debuted its first-ever hybrid model during the show, the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid. The hybrid is the “most efficient version” of the brand’s third best-selling model in America, with a combined electric and gas range of 480 miles. The model is expected to hit dealerships this month.

Adapting to Today and Preparing for Tomorrow

As two distinct narratives unfold, the LA Auto Show serves as a glimpse into where the industry is right now. Of course, as more and more consumers opt to purchase larger vehicles, automakers will continue to introduce new trucks and SUVs. But as the industry looks forward, EVs continue to stay relevant. That’s not to mention the number of autonomous vehicle concepts revealed during the show.

This is ultimately reflective of 2018 as a whole: Dealers and automakers are being forced to adapt to changing consumer behaviors while also considering and developing future mobility to appeal to tomorrow’s customers.

Where do you think the industry is headed next?

IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in information, analytics and solutions, today announced the acquisition of automotiveMastermind Inc., the leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation software for the automotive industry.

http://mstrmind.us/IHSMarkitaMRelease

http://mstrmind.us/nytimesofficespace