The NY Auto Forum delivers high-level access, but the real value happens in small, candid conversations that shift perspective and drive collaboration.

Industry focus is clear: EV adoption (especially used), AI integration, and rising global pressure—particularly from China—are top of mind.

Dealers are being challenged to innovate during strong service years, not wait for downturns—especially around video inspections and transparency.

Technician shortages and change resistance remain barriers, making the “why” behind new processes more critical than ever.

Liza Borches: “If customers don’t see the value in us being part of the process, we won’t be here one day.”

Mexican dealers ranked BYD as the most desirable new franchise, but it was the only Chinese brand to crack the top 10 in the survey.

Many Chinese brands entered Mexico targeting 50,000 annual sales but are achieving closer to half that, leaving dealers chasing volume that is not there.

Dealer-factory relations lag significantly, with top legacy brands like Toyota and Chevrolet leading, while Chinese brands like MG ranked 7th, Great Wall 13th, and Chery 15th.

Rapid expansion exposed weak aftersales infrastructure, especially in parts distribution and service, limiting customer satisfaction and repeat business.

“They arrived focused on selling, selling, selling… there is a lot of work to do… in aftersales service,” said JD Power’s Gerardo Gomez.

GM will add a sixth production day at its Flint Assembly plant, increasing output by an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 trucks annually.

The plant already produces about 1,100 heavy-duty Silverado and Sierra pickups daily, running three shifts around the clock.

The move appears aimed at gaining share from Ford, which is also ramping production and skipping summer shutdowns to keep up.

Heavy-duty trucks remain profit drivers, with prices starting around $50,000 and often reaching six figures with options.

GM CFO Paul Jacobson doesn’t think the current economic climate will affect demand yet, saying: “Usually it takes four to six months of sustained, high oil prices before people start to think… maybe I should buy down.”

EV leases are coming back worth ~$10K less than expected, creating a potential $8B industry loss by 2028.

Off-lease EV volume will surge to nearly 800,000 units, doubling share of used supply in just a few years.

Tesla and GM carry the biggest exposure, with ~229K and ~102K leased EVs respectively in 2025.

Captive lenders are leaning on dealers and auctions, offering faster remarketing, incentives, and even CPO lease pilots to move units.

David Whiston, Morningstar: “I don’t see anything good about this for the captives… but it is not going to bankrupt anybody.”

Finnish startup Donut Lab claims a 5-minute charging, 800+ mile solid-state battery, but most of the industry is skeptical.

Solid-state batteries could double range, cut weight, and eliminate many EV pain points—if they actually scale.

Meanwhile, today’s tech is quietly improving fast, with China pushing 10-minute charging and 600+ mile ranges using existing batteries.

OEMs like Toyota, Mercedes, and GM are all racing toward solid-state, but timelines still point to late-decade reality, not tomorrow.

Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of batteries and sustainability was skeptical: “Most ‘eye-popping’ announcements are more buzz than substance.”

Gen Z still picks national brands most often, but gives them 24% less attention than boomers.

Nearly 40% of Gen Z decisions hinge on factors many brands miss—modern design, clear messaging, values, and scroll-stopping packaging.

Younger buyers are trading down in staples while spending more on identity-driven categories like wellness and beauty.

Traditional brand recognition is weakening as private label and challenger brands gain visibility.

Viki Zabala, First Insight: “The shelf functions like a social feed — and Gen Z scrolls past what feels dated.”

After the Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to 97 dealerships on March 13, NADA reached out for clarification, according to ComplyAuto

The FTC says the most prominent advertised price must be the all-in price—only taxes, title, and registration can be excluded.

Doc fees must now be included in that headline number, regardless of state-level nuances.

Additional pricing details are allowed, but must be less prominent, clearly explained, and not misleading.

The FTC framed this initiative as part of the Trump Administration's broader push for transparent pricing in the marketplace and enforcement actions against dealers are expected to follow.

NADA is hosting a webinar on Monday, April 6 with a senior FTC attorney to provide more information about the warning letters and the agency's views of dealer advertising

GM dealers now employ 23% more technicians than in 2021, showing real traction from training investments.

Apprenticeships are up 18%, and “world-class” technicians—top certification level—have doubled.

The gap remains steep: industry needs ~76K techs yearly, but only ~39K are graduating from programs.

GM is attacking the problem from all angles—schools, military programs, and hands-on training with 250 donated vehicles annually.

“If we want the future workforce to be ready and able to service our vehicles, they have to have the product to work on.” — Aaron Charbonneau, GM director of dealer, service and warranty operations

52% of kids 7–14 have added items to shared online carts.

A quarter have ordered food themselves through apps.

Smartphone ownership hits 89% by ages 13–14, fueling direct purchasing.

YouTube, gaming, and streaming dominate attention—traditional ads miss them.

The report says, “Generation Alpha isn’t a future consumer segment…they’re participating now.”

56% of Chinese dealerships were unprofitable in 2025, up sharply from 42% the year before.

A staggering 82% of dealers sold new cars below cost, pushing margins to a negative 26%.

Financing and insurance profits also dropped after tighter lending regulations hit dealer income streams.

The only bright spot: service and parts, with margins soaring to 81% as dealers pivot to survival mode.

Outlook remains bleak, with just 23% of dealers expecting market growth in 2026.

Employees have reported getting tickets for parking non-Stellantis vehicles in preferred spots.

Prime parking is reserved for company brands, with violators risking warnings, or even getting booted.

The policy reflects a long-standing Detroit culture of encouraging employees to drive what they build.

Confusion happens, one employee got ticketed for parking their Eagle Talon in the right spot

As one observer put it, there’s “strong motivation” to drive company cars, especially when the walk can be up to 30 minutes from the farthest lots

Every major AI model scored under 1%, while humans solved everything on the first try without instructions.

The test measures real adaptability—throwing AI into brand-new environments with zero training or prompts.

Critics say the scoring system is stacked, but the bigger debate is shifting to how we measure intelligence at all.

ARC’s creator argues current AI only works because humans build complex “scaffolding” around it. True AGI shouldn’t need that.

BYD has hired Dealer Solutions Mergers & Acquisitions to help secure branded Canadian dealerships, with 3 potential sites identified in the Greater Toronto Area.

After Toronto, BYD plans to expand into Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary, building a coast-to-coast footprint in Canada’s biggest metro markets.

The move only became possible after Canada cut tariffs on Chinese-built EVs from 100% to 6.1%, though imports are capped at 49,000 units in year one.

That cap could make things tricky. With multiple Chery also working to build a dealer network and total supply limited, 20 rooftops may be a lot of retail for a tightly rationed pipeline.

BYD is aiming to win the race. As consultant Farid Ahmad put it: “They’ve asked us to help them find as many of the 20 that they possibly can, but they’re out there doing that themselves, as well.”

Sony Honda Mobility is canceling both the Afeela 1 sedan and its planned crossover follow-up, despite production of the sedan already beginning in Ohio.

The cancellations tie back to a broader Honda pullback, driven by U.S. tariffs, slowing EV demand, weak traction in Asia, and up to $15.8 billion in expected charges.

Honda didn’t mince words, saying the partnership’s business assumptions were “fundamentally altered,” forcing both companies to rethink what comes next.

FedEx’s new partnership with OneRail enables retailers to offer same-day delivery with options like two-hour windows and end-of-day service.

OneRail brings massive scale to the table, covering 99% of the U.S. with a network of 1,000+ carriers and 12 million drivers.

As OneRail CEO Bill Catania put it: “This is going to be priced extremely competitively… retailers [can] build a highly compelling value proposition to their customers.”

GM is deploying 200 test vehicles on highways in California and Michigan, each with a safety driver ready to take over.

The system is slated to launch in 2028 on the Cadillac Escalade IQ, with plans to expand quickly to other EVs and eventually mainstream gas vehicles.

GM says it has already mapped more than 1 million miles of roads in 34 states over the last six months to strengthen the system’s perception and planning.

GM CFO Paul Jacobson said, “It will start a little bit slow because it’s only going to be on one model, but we want to make sure we get the integration work done and fully integrated into the vehicles, and you’ll see it expand pretty rapidly after that.”

CarMax reports a 12.8% increase in searches for used EVs and hybrids in early March, signaling a shift tied to rising fuel costs.

Used EV sales are gaining momentum, up 28.8% year-over-year in February, while inventory is tightening and days’ supply is dropping.

Prices are becoming more competitive, with used EVs averaging $34,821—just $1,334 more than ICE vehicles, and cheaper across many brands.

Cox Automotive’s Stephanie Valdez-Streaty said, “February underscored the EV market’s new reality…highlighting a market increasingly driven by affordability and demand alignment.”

Zoox plans to launch early robotaxi access in Austin and Miami, starting with employees before opening a public waitlist through its Explorer program.

The company’s purpose-built, steering wheel-free vehicles are already operating in Las Vegas and San Francisco, serving 350,000 riders to date.

Zoox has yet to launch a paid robotaxi service, offering free rides so far as it builds scale, gathers data, and awaits regulatory approval to begin charging customers.

The company is still awaiting federal approval to scale up to 2,500 vehicles for commercial use on public roads.

CEO Aicha Evans said, “This is a long journey. It’s not like you wake up tomorrow and there’s going to be a million robotaxis everywhere.”

One buyer in Orange County paid $23,991 for a 2026 Equinox EV with a $48,269 sticker, after GM contributed nearly $10,000 and the dealer added further discounts on top.

Kia is offering up to $18,300 in lease support on the EV6, Toyota is cutting $5,000 off the bZ, and Hyundai has added $10,000 on top of already-reduced 2026 model-year pricing on vehicles like the Ioniq 5.

Kevin Roberts, head of market intelligence at CarGurus, noted the inventory reality: "There's probably still too many new EVs out on lots as dealers try to rebalance things."

Dealer Ryan Rohrman: "If it fits your lifestyle, it makes sense all day long just because of the rebates that are out there."

GM's patent, surfaced by GM Authority, details a main DC fast charger connected to a series of low-power access points in a daisy chain, each capable of charging a separate EV at the same time.

Each access point has three plugs: one connecting to the charger or previous unit in the chain, one for the vehicle, and one passing power to the next unit, with built-in controllers managing communication between the car and the main charger.

With the most common public fast-charging speed sitting at 150 kW, a single 350 kW station running this system could theoretically serve two vehicles simultaneously at full standard speed.

NRF forecasts retail sales will grow 4.4% in 2026 to $5.6 trillion, outpacing the 10-year average annual growth rate of 3.6%.

Tax refunds tied to the Working Families Tax Cut Act are expected to give consumer spending a modest boost in the first half of the year, with inflation projected to ease by Q3.

Unemployment is expected to stay below 4.5%, and NRF noted that consumer sentiment has historically been disconnected from actual spending, meaning people often spend more than their mood suggests.