Massive Movement in Top 150, Tesla Ups and Downs, GM Killing CarPlay

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Welcome to a wonderful week in Retail Auto as we talk about the movers and shakers on the Automotive News Top 150. We also talk about Tesla’s ups and downs, as well as a move by GM to stop offering CarPlay in its EVs.

• This year’s Automotive News Top 150 list has seen some massive movement from overall market share of the top groups, several groups who are screaming up the list, some who have dropped off, and after a quarter century reign, AutoNation yields the top spot to Lithia. 
  • The six publicly traded groups on the list saw their collective new-vehicle sales increase, and they also accounted for a growing share of the market; Lithia Motors Inc., AutoNation Inc., Penske Automotive Group Inc., Group 1 Automotive Inc., Asbury Automotive Group Inc., Sonic Automotive Inc.
    • Lithia 271,596 new vehicles last year, up 4.2 percent; AutoNation retailed 229,971 down 12 percent
    • 10 Dealers who climbed the most: Shottenkirk Automotive Group Inc. (99, +56); Brandon Steven Motors (123, +34); Ciocca Dealerships (83, +32); Empire Automotive Group (98, +31); Napleton Auto Group (126, +28); Fox Motors (76, +22); Cavender Auto Family (57, +18); Del Grande Dealer Group (78, +18); Safford Automotive Group (104, +17); Chapman Auto Group (134, +17)
    • Top 150 owned 4,260 stores (23.3%) of all U.S. dealerships, up from 22.7 in 2021
• Tesla has reported a 36% Q1 YoY increase, delivering a record 422,875 vehicles globally, marking, due to the recent strategic price cuts. Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossovers comprising 97% of total deliveries
  • Topped fourth-quarter deliveries by about 4% but didn’t meet expectations of analysts surveyed by FactSet
  • Wall Street expects first-quarter profit to slide to around $2.6 billion, from $3.3 billion for the first three months of 2022, despite an expected increase in sales, according to FactSet
  • Tesla aims to deliver about 1.8 million vehicles this year, 37% more than it did in 2022
• GM thought they could get one by us by releasing this information on a Friday close…but they were wrong. GM, who has been working closely with Google in 2019 to develop integrated software for its vehicle OS, has announced that their EVs will NOT support the popular Apple CarPlay starting with the 2024 Chevy Blazer. 
  • Drivers will be faced with the choice to use the in vehicle system only, sync their Android phones, or go back to bluetooth only use only to get calls and music to their vehicles speakers
  • The mov

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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