Lyft and GM; Google and Ford; What's Next?

[Cullen C]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...teaming-up-to-create-fleet-of-driverless-cars

With the announcement today of GM's investment in Lyft and the recent discussions of a partnership between Google and Ford what is next for the car business.....or should I say, the transportation industry?

 

[Chris Leslie]

 

[Chris Leslie]

I think it's really interesting to see how all of this unfolds over the years. It's smart on GM's part to get in on this although I think the Google/Ford partnership may have more fruit to bare. I don't know how much Lyft brings to the table versus say someone like Google.

Was there an opportunity to work with Apple in some capacity or a Microsoft? Would that have made more sense than Lyft?

 

[Alex Snyder]

Although I can't speak to the astuteness of GM's investments @JoePistell and I were having this exact conversation earlier today. We believe the future is in driverless cars and Lyft and Uber are in prime positions to help facilitate a model where regular consumers no longer "own" cars. Being that we're all making a living on the selling and servicing of automobiles this is a scary thought eh

 

[joe.pistell]

...@JoePistell and I were having this exact conversation earlier today.

Here's some parts of our morning chat...

Wall Street's valued Uber at $70 billion. Ford and Honda combined are are worth about $60 billion.

Number of employees

• Uber: 1,200*
• Ford: 187,000
• Honda: 198,000

Uber is only 6 yrs old. It's only in 330 cities.
Uber has no inventory, owns no cars.

Industries Uber poised to disrupt:

• Taxi's
• Car Rentals
• Parking (less demand)

Uber's looking at

• Local Delivery
• Trucking
• Car-pooling

refs:
http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/27/investing/uber-ford-gm-70-billion-valuation/
http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/03/in...all-for-the-customer-interface/#.hxrew7y:0sCd
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/uber#/entity


*estimated

 

[joe.pistell]

So... WTF is going on here? The big bet on wall street is Uber (& Lyft) are perfectly positioned to usher in Self-Driving transportation.

Make a note to yourself, when that day comes, give yourself 5-10 years to find a new career, because self-driving cars will change everything. Buying a car will become a redundant expense... kinda like owning a land line phone. It didn't happen over-night, but, the trend was irreversible.

 

[Alex Snyder]

This was an ad that played for me this morning:

At Faraday Future, we believe that today’s cars do not meet today’s needs. Technological innovations, energy constraints, urban crowding and demanding lifestyles have each contributed to a fundamental shift in our relationships with our cars.

By placing equal emphasis on automotive and technology disciplines, our team of experts is uniquely positioned to take a user-centric, technology-first approach to vehicle design with the ultimate aim of connecting the automotive experience to the rest of your life.

We will launch with fully-electric vehicles that will offer smart and seamless connectivity to the outside world. Beyond traditional electric vehicles, we are also developing other aspects of the automotive and technology industries, including unique ownership models, in-vehicle content and autonomous driving.

Now we have some ex-Tesla folks working toward a driverless, non-car-owning, future. I'm excited about this for my consumer life and polishing the resume at the same time

 

[ryan.leslie]

I was really hoping this would be discussed. I have a lot of questions as I am trying to find a silver lining for dealers, but that lining seems really thin.

Do you think this is a shorter term play for GM? It seems to me that they are betting on the second fastest horse in the stable with Lyft but they get an immediate revenue stream as an exclusive provider of vehicles until driverless becomes a functional reality.

"Lyft and GM also announced that starting immediately, they're rolling out a new service for the human Lyft drivers of today to rent vehicles, instead of use their own."

Rental direct from the manufacturer? These vehicles will presumably need service, is that the silver lining for a dealer? By making your service drive the most efficient and painless option for a Lyft driver, will that allow the dealer to capture some revenue share in a metro market where ride-share is expected to eclipse ownership?

Since joining the DealerRefresh Forum in 2009 I think I can count on one hand the number of Fixed Ops related posts that I've seen actually generate interest and discussion. Driverless cars and ride-sharing solutions are still going to require service. I wonder if the industry is going to be forced to finally treat variable and fixed more equitably from a digital marketing perspective in the years to come.

 

[joe.pistell]

Hi Ryan,

I agree, that silver lining is very thin. From my chair, looking way down the road, service demand will be challenged as the new electric drive systems take greater share. We all know that they've got 1000's less moving parts and a lower frequency of maintenance. Repairs will be mostly modular swaps (less labor, higher parts costs).

 

[joe.pistell]

I've been telling Alex the zenith of the dealer industry is the day shoppers are deciding whether to buy the self driving package or not. In 2012, just 3 yrs ago, research said we had till 2020. In 2016, Tesla blew up the self-driving timeline with a damn overnight wi-fi upgrade at NO CHARGE. wow.

For our industry, the detonator for the bomb is fully autonomous (robotic) driving. If/when that happens, GTFO.

p.s. keep an eye out for 400 mile battery range (a gas tank's range). If that happens, the gas engine is headed for highly specialized, low volume use.