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EFG Companies Electric Vehicles

The Infrastructure of Electric Vehicle Sales

Electric vehicles are a hot topic these days – for consumers and automotive dealers alike. However, not all electric vehicles are alike. Like any new product, consumers can be confused and overwhelmed. A dealer’s success in selling any type of electric vehicle requires your staff to be knowledgeable on the product details and trained to guide the customer through the buying decision process.

Electric vehicles on the road today

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)

BEVs—also referred to as “all-electric vehicles”—run on electricity only and are recharged from an external power source. They are propelled by one or more electric motor powered by rechargeable battery packs.

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)

PHEVs also use batteries to power an electric motor and can be recharged from an external power source, but they incorporate a smaller internal combustion engine that can recharge the battery (or in some models, directly power the wheels) to allow for longer driving ranges. When electricity is unavailable, PHEVs can run on gasoline alone.

Categories
Economy

Will Interest Hikes Impact Dealerships?

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve increased its interest rate by a quarter of a point, and signaled they planned six more increases throughout the year. In response, banks with large auto loan portfolios raised their prime rates from 3.25 percent to 3.50 percent. The theory behind this is relatively straightforward. By raising the federal funds rate a domino effect takes place, slowing demand for goods and tapping the brakes on inflation. Whether directly or indirectly, a number of borrowing costs for consumers will also rise.

Prices for new and used vehicles have skyrocketed so much in the past year that an increase in interest rates may seem like small potatoes. The average interest rate on new car loans was 4.39 percent in February, relatively flat from a year ago, according to Dealertrack. The average for used vehicles was 7.83 percent in February, down from 8.25 percent. Car buyers taking out loans for a new vehicle borrowed an average of $39,721 in 2021, an increase of over $4,000 from a year earlier, according to Experian. As a result, monthly loan payments hit a record high of $644.

Car loans tend to track against the five-year Treasury, which is influenced by the federal fund rate. But the rate a consumer pays is based on credit history, the type of loan, down payment, type of vehicle and other factors. Those buyers with poor credit could pay more than 20 percent over the prime rate. For a consumer qualifying at the prime rate, a quarter point increase on a $40,000 loan is about $5 a month, or another $300 over the life of a five-year loan. For a buyer at subprime or worse, a quarter point increase could make a significant difference on the type of vehicle, the terms of the loan or even a “no-go” decision to purchase a vehicle.

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Uncategorized

Data Lockdown

Contributing Author:
Maurice Hamilton
Vice President
EFG Companies

According to their the 2019 MidYear QuickView Data Breach Report published by Cyber Risk Analytics, 3,800 publicly disclosed data breaches occurred in the first six months of 2019, exposing up to 4.1 billion records. This represented a 50% increase over the last four years.

Last week, Experian issued their Data Breach Industry Forecast for 2020, reflecting on the state of cyber security. Their primary takeaway – while a data breach is probably inevitable, companies must prioritize prevention as well as response.

Regardless of the industry, as companies increase their reliance on technology to house personal, confidential information, data breach attempts are expected to increase as well.

For the last 10 to 15 years, dealers have steadily increased the role technology plays in the dealership. Now, they not only use technology to preserve digital records of every piece of paperwork generated in the dealership, but dealers also rely on sophisticated platforms to submit and receive loan applications, rate products, process claims, and more.