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Hey everyone,
Happy Saturday! We’re rolling out a major upgrade to CDG Temp Check — our real-time dealer pulse survey tracking what stores are seeing on the ground.
The survey takes less than 1.5 minutes, all responses are fully anonymized, and participating dealers will receive the data exclusively through CDG Circles.
Deadline to submit is this Sunday (tomorrow) at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Welcome to The Weekly, a roundup of the top five auto industry headlines of the week.
Next wave of car buyers prioritizes value, SUVs, gas-powered vehicles
America’s next wave of car buyers is value-driven, SUV-focused, and still overwhelmingly committed to gas and hybrid vehicles, with digital platforms remaining the go-to research tool for shoppers, according to a new YouGov study.
The details: The report, based on YouGov BrandIndex and consumer survey data, found that 15% of Americans are likely to purchase a car or truck within the next 12 months, led by millennials.
How Tom Wood Automotive is driving toward its MPI goal of 100%
William Demaree aims to hit a 100% video MPI rate across the Tom Wood Automotive dealerships, where he is the group’s corporate fixed ops director. And right now, they’re closing in at 79.8%.
Demaree shared some details about what’s helping fuel the progress, including a little old-fashioned micromanagement.
Driving the news: Demaree first launched the pilot at a Nissan store in January, with a 100% MPI rate target. Now, they’re spreading the practice to the group’s other dealerships, aiming for not just 100%, but top-notch-quality videos, too.
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81% of recent car shoppers considered used options as affordability woes persist
Affordability continues to be a driver in vehicle purchasing decisions, with buyers looking at new and used options to find the top value and arriving at dealerships more informed.
According to the Santander US Paths to Prosperity 2026 Q1 study, 81% of recent buyers considered a used vehicle, and more than half are using AI to research vehicles.
What we know: Santander Holdings’ quarterly study, conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the lender, surveyed 2,150 Americans in March with incomes ranging between $55,000 and $167,000.
Napleton Auto Group Outclasses Field on Internet Lead Response Rate
For Napleton Auto Group, following up on leads with a phone call is essential. The dealership group led its peers with a 97% rate of following up on customer inquiries with a phone call during Pied Piper’s Prospect Satisfaction Index and Internet Lead Effectiveness Behavior, and captured the top overall score for a fifth straight year.
For context: The Pied Piper PSI on Internet Lead Effectiveness compared the response behaviors of 31 large auto dealer groups when receiving sales leads through their dealership websites.
Pied Piper also submitted more than 2,400 customer inquiries and measured responses on 20 measurements. Dealerships were scored between 0 and 100 based on the combined measurements.
Mazda profit plunges as global sales slip
Mazda’s global revenue fell 2% in fiscal year 2025, while profits dropped sharply as the automaker works to regain momentum in North America.
The details: The Japanese automaker, which largely attributed its financial struggles to U.S. policy changes (most notably tariffs), reported declines across most key metrics for the period, Just Auto reported.
