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We’ve got that Friday feeling as we cover what’s going on in some current and future plants across the US. We also talk about the new model from Mercedes that let’s users engage…TikTok. We’ll also cover some airline results that sound all too familiar. 

• There is increased attention on manufacturing plants these days as Dealers are searching for the ‘new normal’ regarding getting the inventory they need, getting too much inventory,  and being able to offer their customers tax incentive dollars toward a new EV
  • Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said the company is considering building a factory in North America in order to take advantage of the generous Inflation Reduction Act incentives. 
    • Audi has committed to building only EV’s by the year 2026 and does not currently produce any in the US meaning it’s customers are not eligible for the $7500 tax credit
    • Parent company Volkswagen's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, began producing the ID.4 last year and is shooting for 90,000 EVs in 2023
    • Duesmann said it is possible that Audi and VW have some sort of joint effort
  • Ford announced it will be extending the downtime of its Louisville plant making the refreshed Escape and Corsair to March 6th as they battle a software issue in the center cluster. Next week will be the 4th week the plant has been down
    • The plant's building chairman, Brandon Reisinger, told employees they believe they have solved the software problem and will begin installing the fix broadscale
  • This comes on the heels of a story we covered earlier this week about GM idling their Indiana truck plant to manage inventory
    
    
    

• Mercedes Benz announced that their new E Class will be loaded with sophisticated new features only to be enjoyed by the upper crust of society. Namely, enhanced voice control, smart lighting, a Superscreen, a selfie cam, TikTok, and Zoom.
  • The new “Superscreen”, combines the large central touchscreen with a second display in front of the passenger where the passenger can stream video content 
  • According to the Verge article “Depending on the car’s equipment, a selfie and video camera is mounted either in the gauge display or on top of the dashboard, and the E-Class will offer both Zoom and Webex by Cisco video conferencing, the Vivaldi web browser, and even TikTok. “
    
    
    
• Airlines seem to be taking a page out of the Auto Industry’s playbook as they are posting record profits in decreased sales numbers. Just a year ago, they were losing billions
  • A combination of factors including pent up demand, forced efficienc

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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