Autos

Mexican unicorn Kavak raises a $485M Series D at a $4B valuation.

Kavak, the Mexican startup that’s disrupted the used car market in Mexico and Argentina, today announced its Series D of $485 million, which now values the company at $4 billion. This round more than triples their previous valuation of $1.15 billion, which established them as a unicorn just a couple of months ago in October of 2020. Kavak is now one of the top five highest-valued startups in Latin America. The round was led by D1 Capital Partners, Founders Fund, Ribbit, and BOND, and brings K...
Tags: Startups, Transportation, Ecommerce, Apps, Mexico, Finance, Funding, Articles, Tech, Colombia, Automotive, Used Cars, Brazil, Argentina, Online Marketplace, Logistics

Ford Follows GM’s Financing Lead, but Not Entirely

We told you earlier this week how the month of June brought changes to General Motors’ pandemic-era financing offers. No longer is the automaker tempting buyers with zero-percent, 84-month loans on nearly everything in its lineup. Over at Ford, it seems the same strategy is underway… with one very notable exception. Whether or not you […] The post Ford Follows GM’s Financing Lead, but Not Entirely appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: General Motors, Ford, Autos, F-150, Financing, Ranger, Ford Ranger, News Blog, Ford F-150, Auto Loans, Coronavirus, Ford Follows GM

Slashed Rates Factor High in Premium Push

As you read last week, the U.S. auto industry continues its climb out of the coronavirus ditch, with foreign automakers pushing back at a briefly dominant Detroit in a bid to restore sales sanity. The domestic three managed to unload an awful lot of big-margin trucks during the lockdown, propelling scared customers into dealers with […] The post Slashed Rates Factor High in Premium Push appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: Deals, Sales, Interest Rates, Lexus, Autos, Loans, Detroit, Financing, Premium, News Blog, Premium Automakers

As ATPs Rise and Loan Terms Grow Obese, Trade-ins are Less of a Trade-off

Auto loan terms have been creeping up for as long as anyone can remember. Back in 1997, the average financing period on a new car was somewhere around 54 months. That crept up to over 60 months by 2004 and has only continued to climb. Over the past decade, the typical automotive loan term has […] The post As ATPs Rise and Loan Terms Grow Obese, Trade-ins are Less of a Trade-off appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: Studies, Autos, Financing, Auto Sales, Edmunds, Reports, News Blog, Auto Loans, Average Auto Loan

Uber Completes $8.1B Public Market Debut in Spite of Tumultuous Past

Ride-hailing giant Uber secured $8.1 billion in new capital late Thursday as it priced an initial public offering that set its market capitalization at $82.4 billion, according to calculations by The New York Times and other news outlets.Uber announced late Thursday it will sell 180 million shares of common stock at $45 apiece when it completes the IPO. That price is near the lowest end of the range Uber set at $44 to $50 in the amended prospectus it filed on April 26.Uber (NYSE: UBER) will sta...
Tags: Google, Deals, Transportation, Mobile, Lyft, Uber, Hardware, Marketplace, Workplace, Internet, Entrepreneurship, Ipo, Funding, San Francisco, Trends, Tech

Chinese Auto Market Continues Its Decline; U.S. Future Also Looking Bleak

China’s auto sales declined for the ninth consecutive month in March, further proving that the market isn’t as infallible as once thought. The assumption was that, as North America surpassed peak growth and flattened out, Chinese auto sales would continue an upward trajectory. But, while China did surpass the U.S. in becoming the world’s largest […] The post Chinese Auto Market Continues Its Decline; U.S. Future Also Looking Bleak appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: China, Autos, Automotive Industry, North America, Financing, Auto Sales, Forecasting, News Blog, U.S. auto sales, Auto Loans, Car Prices, Chinese auto sales

As Interest Rates and New Vehicle Prices Rise, Loan Terms and Payments Reach for the Sky

Image, for a moment, that the trailer pictured above is filled with debt. It’s a good representation of the average new vehicle purchase. Looking at last month’s stats, you’d have to go back to the safe and comfortable pre-Twitter era to find a January in which fewer people got their hands on a zero percent […] The post As Interest Rates and New Vehicle Prices Rise, Loan Terms and Payments Reach for the Sky appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: Debt, Car Buying, Autos, Loans, Financing, News Blog, Car Loans

Time to Stock Up On ElioCoins

Earlier this year, Elio Motors said it would launch its own cryptocurrency as a way of funding its troubled three-wheeler. During the initial ElioCoin announcement in April, Elio also said it partnered with Overstock.com to relieve some of its debt. The website claimed it purchased $2.5 million of the startup’s newly issued shares. As helpful as a few million dollars would be […] The post Time to Stock Up On ElioCoins appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: Startups, Corporate Strategy, Autos, Automotive Industry, Financing, Cryptocurrency, Elio Motors, Overstock, Elio, News Blog, Paul Elio, Elio E-Series

Openbay Developing AI-Enabled Solutions Designed for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Secures Series A Financing

Openbay Developing AI-Enabled Solutions Designed for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Secures Series A Financing CAMBRIDGE, MA, June 25, 2018 – Openbay, an award-winning online marketplace for automotive repair and services and a provider of SaaS based solutions for the automotive aftermarket industry, today announced it closed an $8M Series A round of financing. Shell Ventures LLC led the round with participation from existing investor Stage 1 Ventures and an additional strategic investor. T...
Tags: Funding, Atlantic, Autos, Press, Google Ventures, Financing, Series A, Automotive News, Auto Repair, Openbay, Automotive Repair, Rob Infantino, Auto Care, Openbay Inc, Openbay News, Auto Mechanic

Time to Revive TTAC’s Tesla Deathwatch? Tesla Could Run Out of Cash This Year

  Tesla Motors is 15 years old and it is still not profitable. Hyperbolic stock values have encouraged investors to keep showering Elon Musk and his crew with billions of dollars to keep the EV company afloat and develop new products, but now the Bloomberg news agency says that Tesla’s cash burn is severe enough […] The post Time to Revive TTAC’s Tesla Deathwatch? Tesla Could Run Out of Cash This Year appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: Elon Musk, Tesla, Bloomberg, Cash Flow, Autos, Financing, Tesla Motors, News Blog, TTAC, Tesla Deathwatch

Japan’s TDK Scoops Up Berkeley’s Chirp, Maker of Sonar Micro-Chip

Tokyo-based electronics giant TDK today announced its agreement to acquire startup Chirp Microsystems, whose miniaturized ultrasonic sensors are being tested in drones, robots, virtual reality systems, and smart home devices. David Horsley, co-founder and CTO of Berkeley, CA-based Chirp, says the company’s sonar chips have been drawing interest from companies in a range of emerging fields where navigation, depth sensing, and 3D mapping are key elements. The Chirp chip senses the environme...
Tags: Deals, Startups, Mobile, Japan, Hardware, Internet, Entrepreneurship, San Francisco, Trends, Web, It, Devices, Vc, Sensors, Automotive, Drones

Generational Study: How Will Your Five-year-old Finance an Automobile?

People love generational studies. The notion that being born a few years away from another person creates a disparate, irreconcilable identity is an appealing one and is, to some extent, backed by plausible evidence. After all, growing up in 1975 was different than growing up in 2005. However, when exactly those subtle differences surface to an […] The post Generational Study: How Will Your Five-year-old Finance an Automobile? appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: Millennials, Studies, Autos, Financing, Reports, Dealerships, Generation Z, News Blog, Dealer News, Studies & Reports, Automotive Insurance, Generational Gaps, Generational Studies

Canadian Borrowers Seeing More Loan Debt While U.S. Sees Subprime Loans Rise

Car buyers who borrowed money to finance their purchase are seeing higher loan debt per borrower rates, along with higher delinquency rates. And it’s happening on both sides of the border. Let’s start with Canada. Automotive News picked up a report from TransUnion showing that average auto-loan debt per borrower has gone up in the […] The post Canadian Borrowers Seeing More Loan Debt While U.S. Sees Subprime Loans Rise appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: Sales, Industry, Autos, Financing, TransUnion, News Blog, Auto Financing, Auto Financing Subprime Loans, Auto Lending, Auto Loan Debt, Canada Automotive News

Uh Oh, Your Car’s Worth Less Than You Owe – What Comes Next?

Years back, after the desire to purchase one particularly fetching model became too great, you walked into the dealership, marched right over to the salesman’s cubbyhole, and signed over several years’ worth of payments on your ride du jour. Bliss ensued. Unfortunately, come trade-in time, your once-desirable ride isn’t even worth the amount left owing. […] The post Uh Oh, Your Car’s Worth Less Than You Owe – What Comes Next? appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: Study, Car Buying, Autos, Financing, Consumer Surveys, Customer Relations, News Blog, Lease, Negative Equity, Trade-in Values

American Car Buyers Can’t Get Enough of Long-Term Car Loans

The low, low monthly payments offered by spreading the cost of a new or used vehicle across a vast gulf of time is certainly an attractive one, even though the practice is fraught with hidden danger. For U.S. car buyers, it has also become a very popular one, with data showing just how many people […] The post American Car Buyers Can’t Get Enough of Long-Term Car Loans appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
Tags: Sales, Used Cars, Car Buying, Autos, Loans, Financing, News Blog, High Finance, Car Payment, Long-term Auto Loans