Tag Archives: KPMG

Why Would Apple Bother?

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By Gary S. Vasilash

The 23rd KPMG Global Automotive Executive Survey—some 900 execs in 30 countries surveyed—includes an array of findings that should be of startling interest to OEMs, particularly those vehicle manufacturers that are, as they sometimes say, “all in” on electric vehicles.

For example, in the 2021 survey the execs predicted that by 2030 EVs would be 52% of the U.S. market.

A year later that number is down to 29%.

Quite a tumble.

Remember: these are execs in the auto industry, people whose livelihoods depend on how vehicle sales play out.

(Do some of those people look at that 29 and think about the billions being invested in EV assembly plants and battery facilities?)

Another question was about what companies would be market leaders in electric vehicles by 2030.

The top three are Tesla, Audi and BMW.

The fourth is somewhat of a surprise: Apple.

While the rumors of an Apple entry into auto have been rife for a number of years, the question as to why the company would want to get into what is a low-return space should squelch said rumors.

Vehicle manufacturers aren’t doing particularly well from a Wall Street valuation point of view.

Here is a list published today by CNBC of the performance of OEMs over the past year:

  • Ferrari (RACE): -18%
  • Stellantis (STLA): -25%
  • Toyota (TM): -26%
  • Nissan (NSANY): -35%
  • General Motors (GM): -43%
  • VW (VWAGY): -46%
  • Ford (F): -46%
  • Fisker (FSR): -57%
  • Tesla (TSLA): -68%
  • Nio (NIO): -68%
  • Lordstown (RIDE): -69%
  • Nikola (NKLA): -75%
  • Rivian (RIVN): -82%
  • Lucid (LCID): -83%
  • Canoo (GOEV): -86%

Yes, every single one of those companies with a minus sign in front of two digits.

The EV Market May Not Be What Some Think It Will Be

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By Gary S. Vasilash

There must be—and certainly ought to be—some consternation this week at GM HQ.

International consulting and accounting firm KPMG came out with its 23rd Global Automotive Executive Survey, with responses from execs in and related to the auto industry. More than 900 of them from 30 countries.

When asked to rank the companies they think will have a leadership position in electric vehicles by 2030, it went like this:

  1. Tesla
  2. Audi
  3. BMW
  4. Apple
  5. Ford
  6. Honda
  7. BYD
  8. Hyundai-Kia
  9. Mercedes
  10. Toyota
  11. Baidu
  12. Fisker

Look what’s not on the list. And I don’t mean VW, though that is absent, too.

Yes, Apple is on the list. It was last year, too. Then it was in 8th position. Clearly there are more than a few people in the industry that see something that many of us don’t (i.e., Why should Apple bother getting into a low-margin industry? It is unlikely that it could get considerably more in the way of subscription monies than it already has.)

There is another somewhat troubling survey results across the board.

On the question of what percentage of the market battery electric vehicles will have in 2030:

  • U.S.:             29%
  • China:          24%
  • Europe:        24%

While there is some evident optimism regarding the potential uptake of EVs in the U.S., 29% surely isn’t the 50% that is regularly bandied about by domestic OEMs.

And while some may think the 29% average is satisfactory, the median may give them more joy: 35%.

Until they find out that the median number for the percentage of EVs in the U.S. market by 2030 in last year’s KPMG survey was 65%

They’re Probably Not Throwing in the Mats

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Challenges and opportunities in the dealer model and other contentious issues

By Gary S. Vasilash

Research from Cox Automotive, which is a source that dealers find exceedingly useful in their efforts to conduct their business, found that there is an increasing interest among customers to do more of their transactions digitally.

As in 80% of consumers would like to do part of the buying transaction on line. (Who doesn’t do research on the vehicles they’re interested in on line; who doesn’t want to get some of the “paperwork” related to the transaction done in the comfort of their own home rather than under the fluorescent lights of a dealership?)

And 25% of customers would like to have the whole thing done and dusted on line.

What’s more, KPMG conducted a global survey among executives in the auto industry—OEMs, suppliers, dealers, financial services providers, etc.—and they found (again, realize this is a global survey and the Cox Automotive survey in U.S. only):

  • 78% think the majority of purchases will be on line by 2030
  • 34% think that from 60 to 79% of the vehicles delivered will be direct to the consumer by 2030
  • 84% think vehicle subscriptions will be competitive to buying and leasing by 2030 and only 22% dealers are the best channel for subscriptions (OEMs are the biggest choice, 45%)

There is some concern that due to the reduced inventories that are a result of supply chain issues dealers—not all, but some, some that get attention—are increasing prices well above the sticker price.

If consumers were thinking there might be an alternative before this occurred, then those who were subjected to or simply heard about this behavior might be thinking harder about new approaches to getting vehicles (e.g., the Tesla approach).

This is one of the topics that is discussed on this edition of “Autoline After Hours” with “Autoline’s” John McElroy, Cars.com editor-in-chief Jennifer Newman, the Wall Street Journal’s vehicle expert Dan Neil, and me.

Other topics include whether Apple is going to get into the vehicle business (Neil and Newman both think that it is a when not an if), and whether electric vehicles are going to be the end of muscle cars as we know them.

And there’s much more in one of the more animated shows in some time.

Which you can see right here.