Kia Tops Inventory Efficiency Ranking, What Group Is Best At Service Scheduling, Apple AR

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Welcome to Tuesday, friends. Today we are talking about who topped the charts, first in inventory efficiency, and then in service scheduling. We also cover the buzz around Apple’s new Vision Pro headset. 

• Kia has retaken the top spot in U.S. inventory efficiency, surpassing Toyota, according to Cloud Theory's Index. Backed by the strong performance of its Telluride and Sportage models, Kia scored 155 on the index, while Toyota slid to 149.6. Lexus and Honda also made significant gains.
  • Cloud Theory's "Inventory Efficiency Index" assigns scores to auto brands based on active inventory and sales data relative to competitors. A score below 100 signifies supply exceeds demand, while a score above 100 indicates the brand's vehicles are selling more efficiently than average
  • Regional leadership in the U.S. varies, with Kia, Lexus, Toyota, and Honda each dominating at least two regions, contributing to their national level competition for inventory efficiency
    
    
    
• The 2023 PSI Service Telephone Effectiveness Study by Pied Piper ranked the 17 largest auto dealer groups based on the ease of scheduling service appointments by phone. Group 1 Automotive took the lead with a score of 65 out of 100, followed by Berkshire Hathaway Automotive (63) and Ken Garff Automotive Group (62).
  • Scores are derived from 39 efficiency and quality data points. The study, conducted between January and May, involved calling each dealership, posing as a customer to schedule service, with 62% of the score based on efficiency and 38% on quality metrics.
  • Out of the 1,739 dealerships included in the study, 13% had scores above 80, with 20% below 40.
  • “Customers who find scheduling a service appointment difficult vote with their feet by moving to another dealership or independent shop, or postponing service,” Pied Piper CEO Fran O’Hagan said in a news release
    
    
    
• At yesterday’s Apple WWDC, the company Apple unveiled its much anticipated VR Headset, the Vision Pro. Coming in at $3499, the headset is over 3x the cost Meta’s Pro headset and 7x the cost of their most popular version.  The headset features a high-resolution 4K display for each eye, impressive video passthrough, and advanced hardware interactions. 
  • Users are able to toggle between real world and virtual views, capture images and video, and use their hands as the controllers
  • Apple is positioning Vision Pro as a “powerful spatial computer” or an AR device
  • Overall, the reviews seem very positive with many people commenting on how easily they could perform tasks like taking notes on their phone while wearing the headset.
  • After a bidding up of Apple stock prior to the release, Wall Street was less excited after as gains disappeared likely due to the long road ahead before this tech is at a price point where mass adoption can happen

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.

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