16 min
Vroom Sputters, CX Study Shows Improvement, Tesla’s FSD v 12 The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
-
- Business
Shoot us a Text.
Here is our response to the announcement that Vroom was ceasing operations: Dear Vroom Employees Post
It’s Tuesday and there is a lot to discuss as Vroom announced the halt of used vehicle sales just as Cox released a new study on the car buyer's journey. We also talk about Tesla’s latest full self driving version release that is based on neural nets, not human coders.
In a not-so-surprise announcement, online used-vehicle retailer Vroom Inc. announced that it was ceasing e-commerce activities due to financial strains and a focus on liquidity preservation.The company which went public in 2020 made waves with its aggressive Super Bowl ads portraying auto dealers as torturing captors. The company had initially thrived during the pandemic with increased online vehicle shopping however started a consistent decline in profits that never stopped in the last two quarters reporting over $130M in lossesVroom plans to halt online used-vehicle sales, intending to liquidate its current inventory through wholesale channels and stop further vehicle acquisitions.Efforts to raise capital for ongoing operations and extend the vehicle floorplan facility were unsuccessful, leading to this strategic pivot.As part of its restructuring, Vroom will reduce its workforce by 800 employees, amounting to a 90% cut, while maintaining operations at its United Auto Credit Corp. and CarStory units which employ around 800 people. The 2023 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study has been released and highlights significant improvements in customer satisfaction for both new and used vehicle shopping, crediting shorter buying times as a key factor while drawing attention to a balanced approach of online and instore experiences. In 2023, satisfaction with car buying improved, with 79% of new-vehicle buyers highly satisfied, an all time high and notable rebound from declines in 2021 and 2022.New-car buyers spent around 11 hours and 45 minutes in their purchasing journey, a decrease from previous years, contributing to higher satisfaction While used car buyers spent over 14 hours, a one hour decrease.Notable areas of increased satisfaction include the test drive experience (82%) vehicle pick-up and delivery (79%), and sales team interaction (77%).The average household income of new-vehicle buyers was $115,000, with used-vehicle buyers averaging $96,000. Sticker shock eased a bit in 2023, with 49% of buyers reporting they payed more than expected vs 54% last year
Tesla's much-anticipated FSD Beta v12 update is now rolling out to customers, potentially marking a pivotal moment in the company's pursuit of full self-driving capabilities.The v12 update introduces a significant shift, with the vehicle's controls now managed by neural networks rather than traditional, hard coded, programming, a major leap in Tesla's technology.This update replaces over 300,000 lines of explicit C++ code, which moves the entire system towards a more AI-centric approach tHosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/
JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/
Read our most recent email at: https://www.asotu.com/media/push-back-email
Shoot us a Text.
Here is our response to the announcement that Vroom was ceasing operations: Dear Vroom Employees Post
It’s Tuesday and there is a lot to discuss as Vroom announced the halt of used vehicle sales just as Cox released a new study on the car buyer's journey. We also talk about Tesla’s latest full self driving version release that is based on neural nets, not human coders.
In a not-so-surprise announcement, online used-vehicle retailer Vroom Inc. announced that it was ceasing e-commerce activities due to financial strains and a focus on liquidity preservation.The company which went public in 2020 made waves with its aggressive Super Bowl ads portraying auto dealers as torturing captors. The company had initially thrived during the pandemic with increased online vehicle shopping however started a consistent decline in profits that never stopped in the last two quarters reporting over $130M in lossesVroom plans to halt online used-vehicle sales, intending to liquidate its current inventory through wholesale channels and stop further vehicle acquisitions.Efforts to raise capital for ongoing operations and extend the vehicle floorplan facility were unsuccessful, leading to this strategic pivot.As part of its restructuring, Vroom will reduce its workforce by 800 employees, amounting to a 90% cut, while maintaining operations at its United Auto Credit Corp. and CarStory units which employ around 800 people. The 2023 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study has been released and highlights significant improvements in customer satisfaction for both new and used vehicle shopping, crediting shorter buying times as a key factor while drawing attention to a balanced approach of online and instore experiences. In 2023, satisfaction with car buying improved, with 79% of new-vehicle buyers highly satisfied, an all time high and notable rebound from declines in 2021 and 2022.New-car buyers spent around 11 hours and 45 minutes in their purchasing journey, a decrease from previous years, contributing to higher satisfaction While used car buyers spent over 14 hours, a one hour decrease.Notable areas of increased satisfaction include the test drive experience (82%) vehicle pick-up and delivery (79%), and sales team interaction (77%).The average household income of new-vehicle buyers was $115,000, with used-vehicle buyers averaging $96,000. Sticker shock eased a bit in 2023, with 49% of buyers reporting they payed more than expected vs 54% last year
Tesla's much-anticipated FSD Beta v12 update is now rolling out to customers, potentially marking a pivotal moment in the company's pursuit of full self-driving capabilities.The v12 update introduces a significant shift, with the vehicle's controls now managed by neural networks rather than traditional, hard coded, programming, a major leap in Tesla's technology.This update replaces over 300,000 lines of explicit C++ code, which moves the entire system towards a more AI-centric approach tHosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/
JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/
Read our most recent email at: https://www.asotu.com/media/push-back-email
16 min