UAW & Ford Now Friends, VinFast Recruits Dealers, Amazon Loves Pets

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The strike is over! … sort of. On this Thursday, we'll talk about Ford’s tentative deal with the UAW as well as VinFast’s ambitious plans to recruit dealers nationwide. Plus, is Amazon about to give telehealth to your pets? 

Show Notes with links:

• Could the UAW strike with Ford be over? Just two weeks after the UAW sent 8700 workers home at a Ford plant in Kentucky, the two sides have reached an historic tentative agreement, sending almost 20k workers back to their jobs.
  • The tentative deal includes immediate 11% raises for workers and a total of 25% raises over the next four years. It also reinstates cost-of-living adjustments and offers a three-year path to top wages.
  • UAW Vice President Chuck Browning stated that the new agreement holds more value in each year than the entire 2019 deal. Workers on a lower-tier pay scale could see 85% raises upon ratification, and temporary workers could get 150% raises over the contract's duration.
  • The strike had significant financial implications for Ford, costing the company an estimated $888 million.
• Vietnamese EV maker, VinFast Auto, is significantly changing up its U.S. sales approach by adding actual dealerships with its direct-sales model. This strategic shift is in line with the company's ambitious expansion plans and launch of new models
  • The company has recruited 27 dealers across 12 states, adopting a hybrid sales model to augment its direct sales, primarily active in California, with a planned total of 100 open points nationwide
  • "You can't just wave a magic wand and put in a hundred dealers. The paperwork, the state filings, all that stuff, it's going to take some time,” said industry veteran Duke Hale who is an adviser to VinFast. 
  • Hale said there would likely be three of four phases
  • Despite the EV market challenges, heightened by Tesla's price cuts, VinFast remains optimistic, leveraging third-party dealerships for a more efficient capital expansion across global markets.
  • VinFast aims for a presence in 50 global markets by the end of 2024, with North America, particularly Canada, witnessing a sales uptick.
• If leggings and robotic vacuums aren’t enough, become a vet. Amazon is looking to take a chunk out of the $137 billion pet market and compete with Walmart+ vet service offerings. 
  • The U.S. pet market is expected to grow to $200 billion by the end of the decade, driven largely by pet healthcare. Companies like Chewy and Petco are already expanding into pet health to maintain their market share.
  • Regulatory hurdles exist in the pet telehealth sector, with a maze of state and federal laws governing what veterinarians can do remotely. Amazon has already spent around $430,000 this year on lobbying efforts targeting "digital health oversight" and "telemedicine," although it's unclear if this is aimed at pet or human health.

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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