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Welcome to Wednesday as we discuss the potential of US Honda Dealers being a service solution for the new Honda-Sony EV. We also review Vroom's latest earnings call, as well as one Chick-fil-a operator's 3-day work week that’s working.
- Despite a proposed direct to consumer, online only sales model for the joint EV project between Honda and Sony, CFO Kohei Takeuchi, said the 1000+ US dealers are well situated to service the vehicles during the company’s financial results announcement yesterday
- He noted that discussions are still ongoing about the servicing plan
- Regarding the sales plan he continued the sentiments that it would be different from Honda’s current way, saying: "It will be something unconventional, not Sony, not Honda, but something new," he said.
- Last month Honda and Sony announced deliveries as early as 2026 of the vehicles which will be produced in it’s Ohio plant and exported to Japan
- There were many questions from US Dealers who wanted to play a role in the new venture
- Honda continues to trim its N.America outlook due to shortages however, Takeuchi noted "The worst of the period is over, but there are still shortages of specific applications."
- #TILI: Who wants to come up with the leapfrog plan for “something new”?!
- Vroom’s recent earnings call touted record e-commerce gross profit per unit of $4,206, up 16%, decrease in expenses, net loss improvement from $(115.1) million to $(51.1) million, and a marginal improvement in EBITA
- Tom Shortt, Chief Executive Officer of Vroom, commented: “We continued to make progress on our three key objectives and four strategic initiatives as outlined during our Investor Day in May. We are intensely focused on improving the customer experience.
- He also noted 98% of their customers received completed registration before the expiration of temporary ones
- Earlier this year, Vroom shifted its focus to trim volume to focus on increasing gross profit per vehicle. .Similarly to the strategy change announced by Carvana last week.
- Vroom stock saw a 7.9% increase yesterday but is still down over 90% YoY. Carvana is down over 97%
- In a time when hiring and retention is a focus across the retail world, one Chick-fil-a operator is getting attention from his introduction of a 3-day work week at his store…and it seems to be working
- Justin Lindsey designed and implemented a full-time three-day-a-week work schedule that has eliminated turnover at the restaurant and made it a magnet for new hires
- Divided the team of 25 team members and 18 team leaders into two pods who work three regular 13-14 hour shifts each week
- They work 2 Saturdays a month and are never on call
- Mr Lindsay shared what prompted the move; “Traditionally, we had used the term ‘the gift of time’ to refer to serving our guests in a quick and t
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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