Texas Hearts Tesla, Loan To Value On The Rise, Service Tech Celebration

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Welcome to the first day of Summer as we talk about the Tesla charging standard heating up in Texas. We also cover a new report on rising LTV ratios by TransUnion and JD Power, as well as a unique way of celebrating technicians coming out of Virginia. 

• Tesla is racking up charging wins lately as more automakers as Texas becomes the first state to mandate that state-backed charging stations include Tesla's charging tech, Rivian adopts its standard, and Hyundai is considering using its North American Charging Standard as well. 
  • It’s all tied to the money as the Tesla standard must be included as well as the more universal CCS standard if state dollars are involved. 
  • "The decision by Ford, GM, and now Rivian to adopt NACS changed requirements for Phase 1" of the rollout, the Texas Department of Transportation said in an email to Reuters on Tuesday
  • Federal dollars don’t currently have a requirement to include the Tesla standard in funded charging stations, but many states are offering bonus money if they do
  • Hyundai announced earlier this week that they are contemplating making its vehicles compatible with Tesla's North American Charging Standard, thereby considering joining the growing alliance of automakers using Tesla's charging technology as long as it is in the best interest of their customers. 
  • Tesla stock is up over 50% over the past 30 days

• As used vehicle values decline and interest rates are high, loan-to-value ratios are significantly on the rise, according to a recent study by TransUnion and J.D. Power released yesterday. 
  • Used car loan-to-value ratios have been increasing, averaging 125 in Q1 2023, compared to 110 in Q1 2022 and 104 two years earlier.
  • The analysis suggests that borrowers with more vehicle equity are more likely to protect it by making payments, while those with fast depreciating vehicles are more likely to become delinquent.
  • Subprime borrowers are 25% more likely to go 60+ days delinquent than their non-subprime cohorts
    
    
    
• Taking a page out of sports arena life, the Richmond Ford Auto Group (3 stores) in Virginia has started honoring their auto technicians like legends. Personalized banners, featuring techs' names, specialties, and accomplishments now hangover service bays. 
  • VP of Biz Dev, Kayla Kody said "In the technician world, they feel a little bit invisible because we celebrate sales all of the time,"This definitely showed them, 'We are paying attention to you. Yes, you are important. You drive our business.' "
  • The banners list name, certification level, and how long they have been at the store, and also feature the techs personalized signature

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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