Ford Has a Big Q1, Live Audio Craze is Fading, Sharing Dealership Stories

Shoot us a Text.

We are coming to you live from Arlington, TX on the morning of Live Tonight with ASOTU. Today we are talking about Ford’s big Q1 wins, Spotify sunsetting their live audio project, and a recap of the amazing stories we heard inside dealerships yesterday.

• In the face of lingering supply chain disruption, Ford announced on Tuesday that its first-quarter US auto sales rose 10.1%, driven by strong demand for electric vehicles, SUVs and trucks. 
  • Despite concerns about rising interest rates and a potential recession, analysts predict that the upbeat figures should help to soothe fears. Sales of crossover SUVs and trucks, which made up over 95% of Ford's sales in Q1, contributed to the overall increase.
  • Demand has been so strong, Ford is looking at ways to increase output of gasoline-powered and hybrid F-150 trucks at a Michigan factory
  • Our friend Charlie Chesbrough, Senior Economist at Cox "The U.S. new-vehicle market is showing signs of strength and is also being reshaped by higher prices and fewer subprime buyers," said 
    
    
    
• So apparently Spotify had a Clubhouse competitor, but is shuttering it at the end of this month.
  • Spotify is shutting down its ‘Spotify Live’ app as the remaining users recently got a notification saying the app will no longer be available at the end of the month
  • After acquiring Betty Labs for $60M in late 2021, the platform only received 670k downloads as opposed to Clubhouses 35M downloads in 2021 alone
  • Since Mid-2021, the number of monthly active users on Clubhouse has dropped by 82 percent, according to data provided by Sensor Tower.
  • Of all the live audio platforms, Twitter spaces is doing the best even in light of laying off most of the spaces staff as they overhaul the platforms offerings and operations

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/

JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/