Intel Report: June 15 2026

Steve caught up with Danny Zaslavsky from our portfolio company VINCUE to discuss his management philosophy. | LINK

Most cars lose value the moment they leave a dealer’s lot. The RAV4 hybrid gains it. Used, late-model versions of the RAV4 hybrid often list for more than their original sticker prices, even with thousands of miles on their odometers. In some cases, they cost more than a new 2026 model fresh from the Toyota factory. CarMax recently advertised a 2024 RAV4 Hybrid XSE with 29,000 miles for $46,998, which is higher than that trim’s original $38,735 sticker price. The price inversion seems to defy a natural law of used-car economics. But it illustrates some of the most powerful forces driving the U.S. auto market this year. | Bloomberg ($)

From Kerrigan Advisors' latest Blue Sky Report: "Following its acquisition of a CDJR dealership in Casa Grande, Arizona (population 68,000 and 50 miles from Phoenix), Carvana increased new vehicle sales twentyfold in 14 months, becoming the highest-ranked Stellantis dealer in the U.S. | Kerrigan Advisors

BASF CEO Markus Kamieth said rising inflation and the risk of supply chain disruption from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran have darkened the outlook for both the auto sector and the broader economy. Shortages of materials are becoming more likely and could halt tightly run supply chains such as car production, Kamieth said at a gathering for journalists in Frankfurt. The conflict is already contributing to a scarcity of inputs such as sulfur and helium, he added. BASF is a major supplier to the global auto industry, making coatings, plastics, catalysts, battery materials and other chemicals used by automakers and their suppliers. Shortages of basic inputs could raise the risk of assembly line stoppages in an industry that depends on thousands of parts from multiple sources. The comments highlight the challenge facing policymakers and companies as they try to gauge the fallout from the Middle East war. Purchasing teams at Volkswagen Group, Mercedes-Benz AG and other automakers are trying to mitigate the impact, but disruptions can be difficult to detect when they begin far upstream in chemicals, metals or other basic materials. | Automotive News ($)

The fight surrounding "Right to Repair" regulations has been catapulted to the forefront of the automotive world once again following a recent meeting between President Donald Trump and auto industry executives. Specifically, the president publicly stated that General Motors and Ford desired to limit consumers from working on or repairing their own vehicles in a statement following the meeting. Ford CEO Jim Farley has now officially clarified his position on the matter following a week of less-than positive sentiments from owners and buyers alike. The uproar from consumers began following a June 3 meeting between Trump Administration officials and senior members of the auto industry. The president was quick to describe the meeting itself as “great”, but made it clear he did not share the same opinion on vehicle repairs as the business leaders. "We had the auto industry in yesterday,” Trump said, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press. “They don’t want people to fix their car. I said, 'That’s strange. I’d never heard of that.' They have a thing to … Nobody’s allowed to fix their car, they gave a man seven years in jail actually because he fixed his own car. So I thought we’d do something about that. But we’ll get it all straightened away." It remains unclear what case the president was referring to when it comes to an individual serving jail time for repairing their own vehicle. There are no known cases in the United States in which an individual has been criminally punished for repairing their own vehicle or equipment, though unlicensed businesses performing scam repairs are a different matter entirely. "You believe it?" Trump continued. "They want a bill that prohibits people from fixing ... so if you’re mechanically inclined ... you know, I grew up, I went to school with some guys, they were in some cases horrible students, but they could fix an engine blindfolded. They could take a car apart blindfolded. But they weren’t too good at arithmetic and other things. But they were great, and so there’s a move on to stop people from fixing their cars." Consumers were naturally aghast by the sentiment explained by Trump, as rules pertaining to an individual's right to repair their own car are not currently codified into law. With vehicle prices already reaching record highs, it’s easy to understand why buyers wouldn't want to be locked into the expensive dealer service network. | Road & Track ($)

Automakers are forming partnerships to share software development costs, electrification infrastructure and vehicle platforms as the industry confronts technological upheaval and flat sales, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report. Partnerships, including joint ventures, codevelopment programs, technology alliances and supplier collaborations have become “essential to navigate what’s ahead,” namely technological upheaval and economic uncertainty, the group said in a May 29 report. The shift marks a departure from decades of failed automotive partnerships. But industry analysts say this time is different because automakers are aligning on strategic goals before finalizing deals — a lesson learned from past failures. As vehicles become more software-centric and electrified, automakers must juggle complex software architectures, validation frameworks and technological developments across dozens of vehicle programs. Plus, sales volumes are flat while excess capacity grows in China and Europe, forcing automakers to support more variants per platform with less volume per model, the report said. By pooling volume, automakers can share technology architectures and common components while differentiating brands via design, features and software experience. | Automotive News ($)

For many loyal Ferrari collectors, the big question is not whether to splash out for its controversial new electric sports car — but whether doing so might put them in the pole position to buy more exclusive petrol-burning models later on. Some Ferrari owners have bought lower-range models in the past as a way to gain better access to more exclusive supercars later on. Now the question is whether buying the Luce will elevate them in the carmaker’s highly secretive client ranking. Ferrari has issued strict orders, both verbal and written, to prevent dealers from suggesting that buying the €550,000 Luce would give customers a stronger position on its loyalty list. But many potential buyers in various locations still believe that to be the case. Clients may still assume that “buying a Luce is a very good way of signalling to Ferrari . . . that you believe in the mission”, said Bernstein analyst Stephen Reitman. | Financial Times ($)

Behind the demand for members-only race courses is a sharp rise in sales of big-ticket, high-performance automobiles. Between 2016 and 2025, roughly 2,400 vehicles were sold at various global auctions for $1 million or more, according to data from Hagerty, a Michigan-based auction house and classic-car insurer. From the early 1980s to 2015, the figure was about 1,350. But in the past year alone, the auction market for cars valued at more than $1 million underwent a seismic shift, said John Wiley, director of valuation analytics at Hagerty. For the first time, cars less than 20 years old accounted for the biggest share of the market. | The Wall Street Journal ($)

Higher gas prices are adding to the affordability crisis. This could make EVs a more attractive option for cost-conscious drivers. Sales of used EVs rose 54% in March over the previous month, according to Cox Automotive Inc.. While EVs remain more affordable to power, they’re 42% more expensive to insure than gas-powered cars, according to an analysis of Insurify’s database of more than 235 million quotes. In 2026, EVs cost an average of $3,159 per year to insure with full coverage across all model years, Insurify data shows. Gas-powered cars cost $2,218 per year on average to insure. Tesla maintains the single largest share of EV sales nationwide, but its models also rank among the most expensive to insure. EVs often cost more to insure because they cost more to repair. Many older gas-powered cars with less technology are still on the road, contributing to that cost gap. The median vehicle age in Insurify’s database is 11.5 years. But the EV cost gap shrinks to 18% when comparing newer models (model year 2024 or newer). Broad industry adoption of assistive technology across newer vehicles is narrowing the insurance cost gap. | Insurify

General Motors is releasing a software update that allows some U.S. electric-vehicle owners ​to pipe power back to the electric grid, another example ‌of car companies pursuing business opportunities in the energy sector. The update gives owners of GM's vehicle-to-home energy system, which allows the EV to power the ​home during a blackout, the expanded capability of feeding electricity ​to the power grid. However, it remains unclear whether doing ⁠so will be popular with drivers, who may also want ​to keep their cars charged. Vehicle-to-home system owners would be able to sell ​power back to the utility at times of high demand, with GM getting a cut of those payments. A GM spokesperson said it has thousands of ​vehicle-to-home users, but declined to provide a specific figure. Very few ​utilities offer such capability today, and the practice essentially is still in a pilot ‌phase. ⁠GM is in discussions with around 10 utilities, GM Energy Chief Revenue Officer Aseem Kapur told Reuters at an event in San Francisco. GM will need utility cooperation for the vehicle-to-grid access to work. ​Commercial rollout of ​the technology will ⁠likely happen in the next few months, starting with California and Texas, Kapur said. In Michigan, GM ​is partnering with utility DTE Energy on a ​vehicle-to-grid pilot ⁠with 30 GM employees. | Reuters ($)

China has rewritten the rulebook on how to design, develop and manufacture new cars. It’s called “China Speed,” and it represents an existential threat to legacy automakers. A 2025 study by AlixPartners shows that Chinese automakers can develop new products twice as fast, with 40% to 50% less investment and with a 30% cost advantage. Automakers in China have a different operational philosophy built on common commodity parts and radically simplified supplier relationships. | Wards Auto

Chinese automakers have long dreamed of selling in the U.S., the world’s second-biggest light-vehicle market, with BYD, Geely, Byton, Chery and Changfeng Motor occasionally exhibiting at auto shows in Detroit or Los Angeles. As recently as 2019, one Chinese automaker, GAC MOTOR, participated in the Detroit auto show. They’ve skipped every major U.S. auto show ever since, only displaying at CES in Las Vegas each January. At this year’s CES, Geely allowed journalists to drive Zeekr sedans at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Chinese automakers are ramping up operations in Canada. Starting this year, Canada will allow up to 49,000 Chinese-made vehicles to be sold at reduced tariff rates. The Canadian market could eventually make it easier for Chinese automakers to enter the United States. U.S. and Canadian safety and emissions regulations are largely aligned. AlixPartners says China’s automakers are working to manufacture in at least 16 countries, mostly in Europe and in Latin America, in a bid to boost local production to 3.4 million units by 2030, up from 1.2 million made in 2025. The United States is not in the mix. And no Canadian plants have been confirmed. SAIC, Chery, JAC, BYD and Great Wall Motor have announced plans to build vehicles in Mexico. AlixPartners’ China experts believe the Chinese auto industry will expand globally by creating independent overseas operations, a process already underway in many regions. So, with the prospect of entering the U.S. market dead —for now — why are Chinese automakers still maintaining a presence in the United States? Stephen Dyer, Ph.D., managing director in the automotive & industrial practice at AlixPartners in Shanghai, says Chinese automakers have planted American stakes to keep up with what’s going on in the auto industry. Chinese automakers operating R&D centers in the U.S. are looking for talent and learning how to get access to the supply base, Dyer added. | Automotive News ($)

Wang Chuanfu, chairman of BYD, said he expected the Chinese firm to become the world's largest automaker within five years, as he sought to ​reassure investors following a steep decline in the company's share price. BYD, which ranked ‌sixth globally in 2025 with 4.6 million vehicles sold, has struggled to restore growth after its domestic sales were hit by intensified competition with local peers over the past year. Shares of the ​company have dropped more than 45% from their peak in Hong Kong over ​the past year, while its Shenzhen-listed stock has fallen 33%. On ‌Wednesday, ⁠BYD confirmed that Wang said he wants the company to be the world's No. 1 automaker, but didn't respond to additional questions from Reuters about other details discussed at the meeting. To achieve that goal, the firm would need to overtake Toyota Motor Corporation, which sold more ​than twice as many ​vehicles as BYD ⁠in 2025. Toyota has seen its overseas market share erode in regions like Southeast Asia and the Middle East, where Chinese automakers ​have recorded significant growth this year, according to data from the ​China Passenger ⁠Car Association. | Reuters ($)

Chinese cars are making waves worldwide for several reasons. In America, they're big news because they're cheap, they seem to offer incredible value compared to anything currently available, and perhaps most importantly ... they're effectively banned. Now, a pair of Michigan lawmakers wants to go a step further; they don't want those who own a Chinese car in Canada or Mexico to be able to even drive it into the U.S., even on day trips. The proposal comes as selective concerns continue to grow in Washington over the amount of data modern vehicles collect. According to the bill's sponsors, Representative Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), connected vehicles can gather location information, map out infrastructure, record video, and transmit data back to manufacturers or other parties such as the Chinese government. The legislation argues that such capabilities pose both national security and cybersecurity risks if controlled by foreign adversaries. | Road & Track ($)

Nissan aims to halve the development time for new models, emulating Chinese automakers' strategy of leveraging artificial intelligence for speedy product launches, President Ivan Espinosa told Nikkei. Slow vehicle development has left the Japanese automaker struggling to offer popular cars, dampening earnings. Espinosa, who took the post in April 2025, targets 30 months for development. The next-generation Skyline, to be unveiled this winter, represents the first model developed under that effort. Its development period will be 26 months, down from 55 for the previous version. "A big part of this is built on AI capabilities and the utilization of new tools, more digital tools in the design phase, in the testing phase, in the manufacturing phase," Espinosa said in a recent interview. The automaker will introduce similar processes to 90% of vehicle development within fiscal 2026. Faster development will allow the company to respond flexibly to consumer preference and governmental policy changes. Chinese automakers develop new models in about two years. Nissan has incorporated the expertise of its joint venture partner in China, Dongfeng Automobile Co., Ltd. Development time for the Dongfeng Nissan N7 electric vehicle, launched in April 2025, was halved to two years. | NIKKEI Asia ($)

Shocked by China’s surge in electric vehicles (EVs) following the pandemic, European politicians have since pushed Chinese carmakers to set up joint ventures on the continent and transfer technology to their Western peers. The demand is so familiar it has been coined “Reverse Deng Xiaoping”, echoing what Beijing required of European carmakers decades ago. But one industry veteran told the South China Morning Post SCMP that Europe may be getting exactly what it once gave: not the crown jewels, but a factory. “So it’s like Germany and France 30 years ago. China will consider what to keep in China and what to industrialise elsewhere,” said Weiming Soh, CEO of Renault China. “I would foresee that Chinese OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) will set up factories in Europe … then are you really bringing the technology out? It’s factory, it’s industrialisation.” | South China Morning Post

BYD Executive VP Stella Li told CNBC that China’s market could “very quickly” push close to 80% EV penetration, helped by new technology in the space and a growing wave of electric options. That would be another significant leap for a nation that the International Energy Agency (IEA) says has already grown at an “extremely rapid” pace over the past five years. In 2020, China barely registered among the world’s EV leaders by sales share, with electric cars taking just 6% of new car sales that year, according to IEA data. Just five years later, that share has surged to 53%, putting China behind only a handful of early adopters, where years of tax breaks and purchase incentives have helped push EV adoption higher. | Sherwood

Tesla may be widely associated with its very public quest to automate driving, but the origin of self-driving cars goes back to before the Silicon Valley startup even existed. A Mercedes drove autonomously on public highways for 1,000 miles between Germany and Denmark—sometimes at autobahn speeds—back in 1995. Before that, in 1987, Ernst Dickmanns’ VaMoRs research vehicle drove itself down an unopened stretch of autobahn using cameras, onboard computers, and automated control of the steering, throttle, and brakes. It reached 60 mph, covered more than 12 miles, and did so with less computing power than your smartwatch has. The first true experimental semi-autonomous car is even older, though. In 1977, the Tsukuba Mechanical Engineering Laboratory in Japan made an early vision-guided autonomous test vehicle. It used images from two onboard cameras and followed guide features on the road. It was primitive and slow, but it drove autonomously (albeit in a controlled, structured environment) using on-board tech. | Inside EVs

A 26,000-pound box truck loaded with Doritos and Frito-Lay chips rolls out of a distribution center, bound for a Walmart store about 4 miles away. It looks like any other truck, but there is no one at the wheel. This is one of the 35 driverless trucks PepsiCo is running on Arizona roads, marking it as the first major U.S. consumer-goods company to disclose the real-life, large-scale use of autonomous trucks on public roads. They are traversing busy highways and local streets as they transport PepsiCo products between bottling plants, storage facilities and stores like Walmart and Dollar General. At least nine autonomous-truck companies are operating in Southern and South-Central states, especially Texas, but many still have human monitors at the wheel, or are being used only in limited tests. PepsiCo’s operation, using trucks outfitted with sensors and computers from an autonomous-truck company called Gatik, is a step beyond, on par with the technical hurdles being cleared by much smaller, lighter driverless passenger taxis from Waymo, Tesla and other companies. | The Wall Street Journal ($)

Japan led the world in robotics for decades. More than 50 years ago, Japanese researchers captured imaginations with the first robot capable of grasping objects and walking on two legs. In 1984, a team in Japan built one that could read sheet music and play the piano. When Honda unveiled its first humanoid in 2000, it seemed to cement the country’s lead. But now, just as tech investors, start-up founders and government officials around the world are betting that artificial intelligence will spur growth for robots, that lead no longer belongs to Japan. It belongs to China. Last month at the Humanoids Summit, a robotics conference in Tokyo, what could have been a victory lap for an industry built on decades of development and investment instead centered on a different topic: how Japanese companies can break through in a market increasingly dominated by Chinese rivals. | The New York Times ($)

Jack Clark, an Anthropic co-founder, thinks there is a 60% chance that, by the end of 2028, an AI system will be capable of creating its own successor with no human involvement. That moment would mark the beginning of a process called “recursive self-improvement” (RSI), a closed loop. Version one of a model produces version two, which is faster and more capable; version two produces version three, which is more so again. The loop continues, and the improvements grow with each iteration. Build an AI system capable of this, and your human engineers never need to build another one again. “What can seem to many like a fanciful story may instead be a real trend,” says Mr Clark. Nobody knows for sure what the consequences of RSI would be. Because AI can, unlike humans, work tirelessly and constantly, some think it would in short order lead to a superintelligent AI—a “fast take-off”. (It has also been onomatopoeically dubbed “going foom”, for the sound one might imagine an intelligence explosion making). AI doomers fear the superintelligence would be beyond human control, and that the start of RSI is the moment at which humanity’s fate is handed over to the machines. Yet a self-improving AI would probably face speed limits, at least at first. | The Economist ($)

The increasingly widespread belief in techland is that AI presents an existential threat to the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry, which only a few years ago looked unstoppable. Since the brutal sell-off in their shares in February, its bosses have been desperately trying to persuade investors that fears of a so-called “SaaSpocalypse” are wildly exaggerated. Over the past month or so the share prices of listed American software companies have, on the whole, begun to recover some lost ground. Yet many investors remain cautious. Their worries are unlikely to dissipate soon, as AI agents that can operate other computer programs become cleverer and more capable. It doesn’t help that the threat to SaaS incumbents is coming from four directions: large AI labs; AI-native startups; DIY software development; and the industry’s own disruptive efforts to reinvent itself. Call them the four SaaSquatches of the apocalypse. It is the AI labs that loom largest over the landscape. Led by Anthropic and OpenAI, they build models with the most advanced capabilities, are raising mountains of capital and employ the leading AI boffins, whom middle-aged SaaS companies find hard to attract. | The Economist ($)

As soaring jet fuel prices triggered by the Iran war send ripples across ​the global travel market, a wealthy elite of CEOs, celebrities and sports stars is flying by private jet in greater numbers than ever ‌before, to glitzy events from the Monaco Grand Prix to the Cannes film festival. The phenomenon is another sign of the so-called "K-shaped" economy that is showing up across consumer markets from luxury to dining, industry watchers say, as high-income travellers spend more while middle- and lower-income groups tighten their belts, with budget carriers in particular feeling the squeeze. Jet fuel costs have roughly doubled since the start of the ​war in late February, forcing global airlines to cancel flights and raise ticket prices, while missile and drone strikes around the Gulf have seen flights ​almost halve in a region that was a global connection hub. | Reuters ($)

The Automotive Ventures “Car of the Week”: a 2003 Ferrari Enzo (1 of 1 in Rosso Dino) with 3,700 Miles. | duPont Registry

Automotive Ventures portfolio company Citian is working with the City of Bozeman to leverage AI to make the city's streets safer. | KTVQ

What will ubiquitous (and cheap) autonomous vehicles mean for automotive dealerships? | CBT News ($)

AutoTrainer empowers every employee in your dealership with AI-powered real-time coaching, role-play, objection handling and performance analytics, so they never go into a deal alone. | AutoTrainer.com

IBIS Global Summit 2026 June 16-18  | Vienna, Austria | Speaker | LINK

AIM Group AI Panel June 17  | Virtual | Speaker | LINK

Ai4 2026 Aug 4-6 | Las Vegas, NV | Speaker | LINK

AMPLIFY Aug 10-11 | Carlsbad, CA | Speaker | LINK

Automotive News Congress Sep 28-30 | Detroit, MI | Speaker | LINK

CIECA CONNEX Conference Sep 29 - Oct 1 | San Antonio, TX | Speaker | LINK

MEMA Aftermarket Technology Conference Oct 4-6 | Dallas, TX | Speaker | LINK

AICPA Dealership Conference Oct 19-20 | Nashville, TN | Speaker | LINK

Wholesale Auto Supply Annual Meeting Nov 10 | Florham Park, NJ | Speaker | LINK

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