Latest news with #Brauer
Miami Herald
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
You're Not Imagining Things: Cheap Used Cars Are Vanishing
If you're struggling to find a decent used car for under $20,000, you're not alone, and you're not imagining things. A new study from iSeeCars finds that the number of affordable, late-model used vehicles has dropped off a cliff in recent years. Back in 2019, nearly half (49.3%) of all 3-year-old used cars were priced at or below $20,000. Today, that number has shriveled to just 11.5%. The average price of a 3-year-old used car is now $32,635 - a staggering 40.9% jump from 2019, when it was just $23,159. While the pandemic may feel like old news, its economic aftershocks are still distorting the car market. "The pandemic may be a fading memory, but the lack of new car production five years ago has created a 'pandemic hangover' effect," said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. The most affordable segment of the used market - cars under $20,000 - has shrunk dramatically across all major vehicle types. Passenger cars saw the steepest increase in price, climbing 48.7% since 2019. That means entry-level sedans that once anchored the affordable used car market are now largely out of reach. In 2019, more than 70% of 3-year-old passenger cars were priced under $20,000. In 2025? Just 28.1%. SUVs fared even worse, dropping from 39.2% to a mere 8.1% share in the sub-$20K category. The shift in pricing is especially evident in once-affordable bestsellers. A few years ago, it wasn't hard to find a lightly used Honda Civic or Toyota Camry for under $20,000. Now, those same models are averaging well over that threshold. The Civic's average price jumped 44.6% to $23,813, while the Camry rose 43.5% to $23,755. Some of the biggest price leaps came from small sedans: Nissan Sentra: Up 45.7% to $18,224Toyota Corolla: Up 37.7% to $19,792Chevy Equinox: Up 27.5% to $22,228 These were once the go-to models for frugal shoppers. Today, they're inching closer to new-car pricing, without the warranties or latest tech. The used car market has been rising for three straight months, and there's little indication prices will fall significantly anytime soon. The pandemic-related slowdown in new car production from 2020 to 2022 created a ripple effect that still limits the supply of newer used vehicles. Yet demand remains strong, especially for reliable models from Toyota, Honda, and Subaru. For buyers with a strict $20,000 budget, the result is clear: you'll likely need to shop older, higher-mileage vehicles, or rethink what kind of car you can afford. As Brauer put it, "Many car buyers are now priced out of late-model used cars, forcing them to consider older models with more miles to fit within their budget." Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Star
5 days ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Driverless disruption: Tech titans gird for robotaxi wars with new factory and territories
A Waymo robotaxi Jaguar I-PACEs driverless car parks next to The Broad in downtown Los Angeles on March 11, 2024. — Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS As three key players vie for dominance, the race to put driverless taxis on roads across the country is heating up. Waymo, owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, already offers paid autonomous rides in a handful of cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. Amazon's robotaxi effort, known as Zoox, opened a new production facility in the Bay Area this week. The company has been testing its unique pill-shaped vehicles in California and Nevada since 2023. Meanwhile, in Austin, Texas, Elon Musk just started testing driverless Teslas with the hopes of launching a commercial service soon. Musk unveiled a prototype for Tesla's Cybercab late last year, touting his vision for an autonomous future and "an age of abundance." The arrival of self-driving tech could eventually affect society as much as the internet and smartphones did years ago, some experts predict. With Waymo leading the way and Tesla and Zoox trying to catch up quickly, a new status quo could be on the horizon, said Karl Brauer, an analyst with "Tesla has tried to catch up, and Zoox is a more recent competitor that's hoping to be a serious player," he said. "Waymo has been slow and steady and, as a result, is winning the race." According to some industry insiders, the US is about 15 years from seeing widespread use of robotaxis, Brauer said. While Waymo taxis have become a common sight in the cities where they operate, weather conditions and charging infrastructure still limit their expansion. On Wednesday, Waymo expanded its service area in Los Angeles County, where its vehicles now roam an area of more than 120 square miles. The company also increased its service area in San Francisco, expanding access to suburbs and Silicon Valley. Days after Waymo's announcement, Zoox opened a 220,000-square-foot facility in Hayward, Calif., that the company says will be able to produce 10,000 robotaxis per year. Zoox is preparing to launch its public ride-hailing service in Las Vegas and San Francisco this year. Unlike Waymo vehicles, which are retrofitted Jaguars, Zoox is developing a purpose-built taxi with no steering wheel or gas pedals. Zoox also has a manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif., where the company develops its test fleets of retrofitted Toyota Highlanders. Tesla has a manufacturing facility in Fremont as well. Musk has promised for years to deliver autonomous vehicles and a robust ride-hailing service. Lawmakers in Austin requested this week that he delay the rollout of his service in the city. Tesla, Zoox and Waymo are the three remaining major US companies in what was once a more crowded field, Brauer said. General Motors' autonomous taxi company Cruise suspended operations in 2023 after one of its vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco. Last year, Uber and Cruise announced a partnership that could put Cruise vehicles back on the road. A company called Argo AI, backed by Ford and Volkswagen, was also developing driverless technology until it shut down in 2022. The continued expansion of robotaxis depends on safe and successful testing, Brauer said. There have been several incidents related to Tesla's Full Self-Drive mode, a technology currently available but still in development. Waymo has issued recalls of some of its vehicles on multiple occasions. "If there's a tragic result for any of these three companies during the testing and development process, it would likely slow down the entire industry," Brauer said. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
Miami Herald
20-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Driverless disruption: Tech titans gird for robotaxi wars with new factory and territories
As three key players vie for dominance, the race to put driverless taxis on roads across the country is heating up. Waymo, owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, already offers paid autonomous rides in a handful of cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. Amazon's robotaxi effort, known as Zoox, opened a new production facility in the Bay Area this week. The company has been testing its unique pill-shaped vehicles in California and Nevada since 2023. Meanwhile, in Austin, Texas, Elon Musk just started testing driverless Teslas with the hopes of launching a commercial service soon. Musk unveiled a prototype for Tesla's Cybercab late last year, touting his vision for an autonomous future and "an age of abundance." The arrival of self-driving tech could eventually affect society as much as the internet and smartphones did years ago, some experts predict. With Waymo leading the way and Tesla and Zoox trying to catch up quickly, a new status quo could be on the horizon, said Karl Brauer, an analyst with "Tesla has tried to catch up, and Zoox is a more recent competitor that's hoping to be a serious player," he said. "Waymo has been slow and steady and, as a result, is winning the race." According to some industry insiders, the U.S. is about 15 years from seeing widespread use of robotaxis, Brauer said. While Waymo taxis have become a common sight in the cities where they operate, weather conditions and charging infrastructure still limit their expansion. On Wednesday, Waymo expanded its service area in Los Angeles County, where its vehicles now roam an area of more than 120 square miles. The company also increased its service area in San Francisco, expanding access to suburbs and Silicon Valley. Days after Waymo's announcement, Zoox opened a 220,000-square-foot facility in Hayward, Calif., that the company says will be able to produce 10,000 robotaxis per year. Zoox is preparing to launch its public ride-hailing service in Las Vegas and San Francisco this year. Unlike Waymo vehicles, which are retrofitted Jaguars, Zoox is developing a purpose-built taxi with no steering wheel or gas pedals. Zoox also has a manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif., where the company develops its test fleets of retrofitted Toyota Highlanders. Tesla has a manufacturing facility in Fremont as well. Musk has promised for years to deliver autonomous vehicles and a robust ride-hailing service. Lawmakers in Austin requested this week that he delay the rollout of his service in the city. Tesla, Zoox and Waymo are the three remaining major U.S. companies in what was once a more crowded field, Brauer said. General Motors' autonomous taxi company Cruise suspended operations in 2023 after one of its vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco. Last year, Uber and Cruise announced a partnership that could put Cruise vehicles back on the road. A company called Argo AI, backed by Ford and Volkswagen, was also developing driverless technology until it shut down in 2022. The continued expansion of robotaxis depends on safe and successful testing, Brauer said. There have been several incidents related to Tesla's Full Self-Drive mode, a technology currently available but still in development. Waymo has issued recalls of some of its vehicles on multiple occasions. "If there's a tragic result for any of these three companies during the testing and development process, it would likely slow down the entire industry," Brauer said. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Los Angeles Times
19-06-2025
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
Driverless disruption: Tech titans gird for robotaxi wars with new factory and territories
As three key players vie for dominance, the race to put driverless taxis on roads across the country is heating up. Waymo, owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, already offers paid autonomous rides in a handful of cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. Amazon's robotaxi effort, known as Zoox, opened a new production facility in the Bay Area this week. The company has been testing its unique pill-shaped vehicles in California and Nevada since 2023. Meanwhile, in Austin, Texas, Elon Musk just started testing driverless Teslas with the hopes of launching a commercial service soon. Musk unveiled a prototype for Tesla's Cybercab late last year, touting his vision for an autonomous future and 'an age of abundance.' The arrival of self-driving tech could eventually affect society as much as the internet and smartphones did years ago, some experts predict. With Waymo leading the way and Tesla and Zoox trying to catch up quickly, a new status quo could be on the horizon, said Karl Brauer, an analyst with 'Tesla has tried to catch up, and Zoox is a more recent competitor that's hoping to be a serious player,' he said. 'Waymo has been slow and steady and, as a result, is winning the race.' According to some industry insiders, the U.S. is about 15 years from seeing widespread use of robotaxis, Brauer said. While Waymo taxis have become a common sight in the cities where they operate, weather conditions and charging infrastructure still limit their expansion. On Wednesday, Waymo expanded its service area in Los Angeles County, where its vehicles now roam an area of more than 120 square miles. The company also increased its service area in San Francisco, expanding access to suburbs and Silicon Valley. Days after Waymo's announcement, Zoox opened a 220,000-square-foot facility in Hayward, Calif., that the company says will be able to produce 10,000 robotaxis per year. Zoox is preparing to launch its public ride-hailing service in Las Vegas and San Francisco this year. Unlike Waymo vehicles, which are retrofitted Jaguars, Zoox is developing a purpose-built taxi with no steering wheel or gas pedals. Zoox also has a manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif., where the company develops its test fleets of retrofitted Toyota Highlanders. Tesla has a manufacturing facility in Fremont as well. Musk has promised for years to deliver autonomous vehicles and a robust ride-hailing service. Lawmakers in Austin requested this week that he delay the rollout of his service in the city. Tesla, Zoox and Waymo are the three remaining major U.S. companies in what was once a more crowded field, Brauer said. General Motors' autonomous taxi company Cruise suspended operations in 2023 after one of its vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco. Last year, Uber and Cruise announced a partnership that could put Cruise vehicles back on the road. A company called Argo AI, backed by Ford and Volkswagen, was also developing driverless technology until it shut down in 2022. The continued expansion of robotaxis depends on safe and successful testing, Brauer said. There have been several incidents related to Tesla's Full Self-Drive mode, a technology currently available but still in development. Waymo has issued recalls of some of its vehicles on multiple occasions. 'If there's a tragic result for any of these three companies during the testing and development process, it would likely slow down the entire industry,' Brauer said.
Miami Herald
16-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
10,000 people join crazy Tesla class action lawsuit
Consumer sentiment is a fickle thing. Brands can spend years, even decades, building their brand image through meticulous PR work and well-placed advertisements. But one false move, or a series of bad mistakes, can easily derail all of that work. Related: Jeep, Dodge parent has no solution for this emerging problem Tesla is the latest company to find this out the hard way. The electric vehicle maker has gone from brand darling among its core audience, the environmentally conscious, to an absolute pariah among the same group in seemingly record time. Last month, a newly released study of the U.S. EV market showed that American EV buyers no longer trust Tesla. The Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report received over 8,000 consumer responses in April. The market research and sentiment measure seek insight into how consumers feel about the EV market, and their feelings towards Tesla have certainly changed. "A significant portion of the EV consumer and potential consumer base is being alienated from the Tesla brand, with negative perceptions growing faster than positive perceptions and key metrics on trust and safety in worrisome territory," the report states. Honda, Porsche, and BMW were the most trusted brands among consumers, while Tesla ranked as the lowest-trusted EV brand. Honda, Chevy, and Ford were considered the most "family-friendly" brands. Tesla, along with Lucid and Porsche, underperformed in this category. Regarding EV safety, Honda, Nissan, and Chevy took the top spots. Tesla ranked second-to-last on safety, ahead of only VinFast. Image source: Brauer/Bloomberg via Getty Images With a market cap that hovers close to a trillion dollars, Tesla is by far the world's most valuable car company, despite selling a fraction of the vehicles that some of its competitors do. Tesla justifies its valuation by saying that it is much more than a car company. Everything from its full self-driving tech to its driver data and AI systems makes it much more valuable than your average car company. However, a group of Australian Tesla owners is suing the company over software issues that could make driving dangerous. Related: White House makes major decision on cars, escalates California feud A U.S. consumer lawsuit over "phantom braking" has spread to Australia, where about 10,000 Tesla owners have joined a class action lawsuit against the company. Phantom braking occurs when the car's computer suddenly tells the vehicle to brake without input from the driver. "Drivers have reported feeling completely terrified when their vehicles have braked suddenly, and it has led in some cases to collisions," said Rebecca Jancauskas, a class action lawyer, told ABC Australia. "We've had many reports of people who registered for this class action, telling us that they've been driving with their hands on the vehicle, fully alert, and these issues have occurred nonetheless." Despite the size of the lawsuit and the well-documented phenomenon of phantom braking, Australia's federal infrastructure department has only received six formal complaints about the issue over the last two years, Jalopnik reported. The lawsuit seeks compensation for the lower resale values Tesla owners face because potential buyers are aware of the braking issue. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tesla sales dropped 16% year over year in April, according to a new report from S&P Global Mobility. Americans bought 97,800 EVs in the month, a 4.4% decrease from the year prior. Since Tesla is the EV market leader with a 42% market share, the company's struggles significantly affected the industry as a whole. Tesla reportedly sold fewer than 40,000 vehicles in the quarter, according to Automotive News. Related: Ford reports another blowout sales month, but trouble could be ahead The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
