AI and car sales, October 11. Tesla drops the Full Self-Driving name in Europe

This is the Sunday issue with world news from the last day. It covers Tesla in Europe, a Geely launch in China, the Malaysian market and Toyota in Australia. There is also a Scottish dealer group and a Volkswagen recall in the US. Then come numbers on demand, buyer disputes and used car prices. I added what I think about each story.

Tesla renames Full Self-Driving in Europe after a complaint from Germany's minister#

Tesla has renamed its driver assistance system in Europe. "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" is now "Tesla Assisted Driving". TechCrunch reported this on October 9.

Germany's transport minister Steffen Bilger said earlier this month that the old name was misleading. He said the software does not perform the entire driving task. A ministry release says Tesla suggested the new name after a talk with the minister in September.

Bilger plans to support approval of the system across Europe before an EU-wide vote. The vote could happen later this year. The Netherlands was the first European country to approve the system. Reuters reported this week that Tesla's European approval campaign was built on faulty company safety research.

My opinion. The name of a function is a promise to the customer. A regulator changed one word, and now a salesperson in Europe cannot say "the car drives itself".

I would go through scripts, listings and reply templates and find every "autopilot" and "drives itself". The agent's reply has one sentence that says the system assists and the driver is responsible for the road. An honest "the car cannot do this" sells better than a nice replacement.

Source TechCrunch

Geely takes more than 10,000 orders for the Battleship 700 SUV in 12 minutes#

Geely launched the Battleship 700 plug-in hybrid in China on October 10. Its Chinese name is Geely Galaxy Zhanjian 700. CarNewsChina writes that the car received more than 10,000 firm orders in the first 12 minutes. The outlet does not say who gave the number.

Six versions cost from 179,800 to 369,800 yuan, which is 26,800 to 55,200 dollars. The car is 5,085 mm long, with 233 mm of ground clearance and an 800 mm wading depth. It can float for up to 40 minutes at up to 7 km/h. The top version has 830 kW and reaches 100 km/h in 3.95 seconds. The combined range is up to 1,770 km.

My opinion. Counting orders in minutes is now the normal launch language in China. The number looks good, but these are orders, not delivered cars. The article does not give the number that will reach delivery.

A dealer can take a different lesson here. Build the waiting list before sales start, not after. The agent keeps the list and records every answer, and a person calls on the opening day. About "floats for 40 minutes" I would give the customer only the factory numbers, with no promises of my own.

Source CarNewsChina

Malaysia heads for a fifth record year, and Proton holds 23.9% of the market#

From January to September, Malaysia registered 640,875 new vehicles. That is 4.4% more than a year ago and the highest total for the first nine months. The numbers come from the road transport department JPJ, and paultan.org reports them. September gave 74,259 vehicles, up 18.6% on last year.

Proton grew 39.2% to 153,318 vehicles. Its 23.9% share is the highest since 2011. Perodua is still first, but it is down 3%. There were 53,537 electric cars and 40,181 hybrids registered. Both numbers are already higher than in all of 2025.

The Chinese brand Jetour took fifth place for the first time in September with 1,830 vehicles, up 47.7% on August. The 2025 record is 870,188 vehicles. To beat it, the market needs about 76,400 registrations a month until the end of the year.

My opinion. The market has grown for five years, and the leader is losing. Proton with its electric cars and new Chinese brands take the growth. For a dealer of an old brand, the market record means nothing.

I would count my share for each month and for each powertrain type. A customer who asked about a petrol car a year ago compares it with a hybrid today. The agent finds old inquiries and writes to these people, and a person works with those who answer.

Source paultan.org

Toyota Australia does not sell China-made cars yet, but does not rule them out#

John Pappas, a vice president at Toyota Australia, said that rivals' price cuts will not push Toyota to bring cars from China. He also said Toyota does not rule out any country if the car meets a market need. CarExpert reports this.

Here is the background. Ford recently announced its first two China-made models for Australia, the Bronco Basecamp and Transit City. The cheapest cars in the country are made in China. The BYD Atto 1 and MG 3 cost 19,990 Australian dollars. Tesla moved Model Y Performance supply from Germany to China and cut the price by 4,500 dollars.

In October, Toyota raised Corolla hatch prices by up to 1,000 dollars. The Japan-made Camry hybrid costs 39,990 dollars before on-road costs. The company answers with quality, resale value and new parts distribution centres.

My opinion. Toyota holds the price and sells what comes after the purchase. That is service, parts and the resale price. Chinese brands sell what you can see in the listing.

I would give a Toyota salesperson a five-year ownership cost next to the price. The customer compares 19,990 and 39,990, and without this cost the argument is lost. I would give a Chinese brand salesperson a written answer on parts and warranty before the customer asks.

Source CarExpert

Ford sells 6.6% fewer cars in the US but grows its retail share to 12.1%#

Ford sold 509,764 vehicles in the third quarter, 6.6% fewer than a year ago. The reason is that the company phased out the Escape and Lincoln Corsair. Without these models, Ford estimates that its retail share grew about 0.4 points to 12.1%. CBT News reports this.

The Maverick Hybrid set a quarterly record with 27,793 pickups, up 59.6%. Sales of Ford Blue Advantage certified used cars grew 44%. Paid software subscriptions passed 1.7 million, up more than 40% in a year. Mobile Service completed more than 701,000 jobs, up 18%.

My opinion. The total fell, and the money grows in three places. These are hybrids, certified used cars and subscriptions. All three depend on the customer base, not on showroom traffic.

I would show a sales manager these three lines apart from the new car plan. The agent writes to an owner whose subscription is ending or whose trade-in date is near. No record of every contact, no sales department, and nobody to renew the subscription.

Source CBT News

Volkswagen recalls 22,524 more ID.4 cars in the US and asks owners to charge to 80%#

Volkswagen filed a recall notice with the US regulator NHTSA for 22,524 ID.4 electric cars of model years 2023 to 2026. The company says part of the high-voltage batteries may overheat with specific charging profiles and a charge above 80%. In the worst case, a fire is possible. The company has not found the cause yet. Electrive reports this.

Volkswagen estimates that about 0.1% of the recalled cars are affected. There were 22 reports in the US between January 2024 and August 2026. Until the repair, owners should charge only to 80%. The first owner letters will arrive by November 27.

This is not the first recall. In January, 44,551 ID.4 cars were recalled in the US. In spring, nearly 100,000 electric cars on the MEB platform were recalled worldwide.

My opinion. The owner will learn about the recall from the news before the letter of November 27. They will remember six weeks of silence from the dealer.

I would not wait for the factory letter. The agent finds owners of these ID.4 model years in the database and writes to them today with what is known and what to do. A person calls those who are worried. A customer who heard from the dealer first will come back to that dealer for the next car.

Source Electrive

John Clark of Scotland keeps turnover above 1 billion pounds, profit falls to 12.9 million#

John Clark Motor Group reported its results for 2025. Turnover was 1.065 billion pounds, the third year in a row above one billion. Pre-tax profit fell from 19 million to 12.9 million pounds. Motor Trader reports this from the Companies House filing.

The group sold 14,641 new cars, 5% fewer. It sold 19,475 used cars, about the same as a year before. Aftersales revenue grew 6% to 110.4 million pounds.

The group opened three BYD showrooms and three Geely showrooms, and two Changan showrooms in 2026. It names higher employer contributions, a shortage of technicians and falling used car values as pressures. Another one is the cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover systems. The group writes that it is exploring how AI can make its processes faster.

My opinion. The turnover is the same, and the profit is down by almost a third. The group answers with three moves. These are Chinese brands, service and a search for savings in processes.

I would replace the words "we are exploring AI" in the report with one measurement. Count the inquiries that came after working hours and the ones that got an answer before morning. In my measurements at dealers in different countries, 40% of inquiries come after working hours. I would start with this number, not with a presentation.

Source Motor Trader

Research#

US new car sales run at 16 million a year, and the 821 dollar payment is a record#

NADA, the US dealer association, published its Market Beat review for September 2026. The seasonally adjusted annual rate was 16.0 million vehicles, 3.6% lower than a year ago. For nine months, the average rate is 16.1 million, down 1.9%.

Electric car sales fell 29.2% in nine months, and their share is 6.2%. Conventional hybrids grew 22.4% and took 15.6% of the market. J.D. Power estimates the average new car payment at 821 dollars a month, up 3.2%. It is the highest payment on record for any September.

NADA expects 2026 to finish at 16.0 million vehicles or higher. The association warns that rates and payments could rise in the coming months.

My opinion. The market is flat, the payment grows, and the buyer moves to a hybrid. A year ago a tax credit pushed electric cars, and now it is gone.

I would put a hybrid as the first option in the reply to every inquiry about fuel economy. The customer will compare 821 dollars with their budget before the visit. The agent names the payment at once, and a person selects the term and the down payment.

Source NADA Market Beat, the review itself PDF, summary by CBT News

45% of EV disputes in Britain are about the sale and the service, and 1% about range#

The Motor Ombudsman, the British body for disputes between car owners and businesses, published its numbers for the third quarter of 2026. From July to September it received 1,271 disputes about electric cars. That is 80% more than a year ago, when there were 706.

45% of the disputes are about customer service and purchase. The examples include missing specification, inaccurate advertising, delivery delays and long repair waits. Charging accounts for 11%, the battery for 9% and range for only 1%. The average claim is 6,806 pounds.

Per car, electric cars cause fewer disputes. In 2025 there was one dispute per 169 new electric cars and one per 26 cars with other powertrains.

My opinion. An electric car buyer complains not about the car but about how it was sold. Range was explained at the purchase, and there are almost no disputes about it.

So the rest can be explained in advance too. I would give the agent a handover sheet where the specification is checked against the listing and the delivery date is in writing. A person signs this sheet together with the customer. With this sheet, the customer has fewer reasons to argue.

Source The Motor Ombudsman

A used Porsche Boxster is up 21.6% in Britain, and a Nissan Ariya is down 17.9%#

Autotrader compared average asking prices by model for September 2026 and September 2025. Motor Trader published the tables on October 9. I covered the overall index numbers yesterday, and this is the spread by model.

The biggest gains are the Porsche Boxster, up 21.6% to 22,063 pounds, and the Renault Zoe, up 15.2% to 9,225 pounds. The MG5 and Skoda Enyaq are also in the top ten. The biggest falls are the Nissan Ariya, down 17.9% to 23,146 pounds, and the BMW i5, down 15.6% to 44,037 pounds.

Marc Palmer, head of strategy at Autotrader, says September shows how important it is to look beneath the market averages.

My opinion. Electric cars are in both lists. The cheap Zoe is rising, and the expensive i5 is falling. The rule "electric cars are going up" does not work at model level.

I would give the used car buyer a list of twenty models with the yearly price change and update it every month. I would ban trade-in appraisals based on the market average. The agent gives the customer a price range for the model, and a person confirms the price after inspection.

Source Motor Trader

Britain's most reliable used van is the Fiat Doblo, a Sprinter repair costs 1,728 pounds#

The warranty company Warrantywise included vans in its reliability index for the first time. The index uses repair requests from July 2023 to July 2026. A model needed at least 150 vans on a plan, aged 3 to 15 years.

The Fiat Doblo is first with 68.2 points out of 100 and an average repair of 894 pounds. Next are the Renault Kangoo with 66.2 points and the Citroën Berlingo with 64.2. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has 58.4 points and an average repair of 1,728 pounds. The most expensive Sprinter repair cost 17,699 pounds.

My opinion. These are numbers from one warranty company about its own customers, not about the whole market. But a business van buyer needs exactly this kind of number. A day without the van costs them more than the repair.

I would give a used van salesperson the average repair bill for the model and its most frequent fault. A customer with this calculation in hand haggles less. I would offer a warranty with the repair number, not with words about peace of mind.

Source Motor Trader

Automotive World expects Tesla output to grow 8% in 2026 and slow growth until 2030#

Automotive World published a production forecast for Tesla to 2030. The open part does not describe the method. In 2026, output will grow 8% to about 1.79 million vehicles. The 2023 record was 1.85 million.

The growth comes from cheaper Model 3 and Model Y versions, high oil prices and a 43% recovery of registrations in Europe. The Model 3 and Model Y make up about 97% of deliveries. From 2027, the forecast says, profit will come under pressure. For 2028, the outlet expects up to 40,000 Cybercabs in a moderate scenario and about 16,000 Cybertrucks.

My opinion. The whole brand stands on two models, and their cheap versions gave the growth. For a dealer of another brand, this is a direct rival on price, not on technology.

I would compare my electric car with the Standard version by monthly payment and keep this answer ready. The customer will bring this number themselves. The agent answers with the comparison at once, and a person invites the customer to a test drive.

Source Automotive World

In short#

Audi opened UK orders for the electric A2 e-tron from 32,200 pounds. The first cars will arrive in early 2027. Versions with 52 and 61 kWh batteries qualify for the 1,500 pound government grant. In Germany, Audi launched the model from 38,200 euros. I would name the grant in the first message together with the price, not at the meeting. Electrive

Renault and EDF will sell an electric car together with home charging in France. Renault Group and the energy company EDF will launch the service in summer 2027. The package has a car, a home charging point and software that manages charging. Customers can buy it at Renault dealers, and the companies gave no prices or savings numbers. The dealer gets a second product in the same deal, and I would teach salespeople to calculate the customer's electricity bill. JustAuto

Honda will start tests of in-motion EV charging in Japan in April 2027. Honda and the companies Taisei and Taisei Rotec will build equipment of up to 150 kW into the road. The company sees logistics as the first use. There is no date for a commercial launch, and CBT News writes that the technology has not shown commercial viability. I would not present it to a customer as the near future, because it is a test and not a product. CBT News

Honda will launch 15 models with its new Honda Hybrid system by March 2030. The rollout starts in 2027, mostly in North America. The system builds on the earlier e:HEV, and the name becomes the same in every market. One name makes the salesperson's talk easier, and I would remove the old names from scripts now. Automotive World

The Unifor union will vote on a strike at Stellantis plants in Canada on October 17 and 18. Talks have been stuck for almost a month. The dispute began when Stellantis signed a memorandum on a possible sale of the idled Brampton plant to the defense company Roshel. Unifor president Lana Payne calls a strike a last resort. A Canadian Chrysler and Dodge dealer should count the cars in stock and not promise delivery dates for factory orders. CBT News

GWM in Australia offers discounts of up to 5,000 dollars or finance at 0.88% in October. GWM lets the buyer choose only one of the two. The finance runs for three years with no deposit, and the comparison rate is 2.71% a year. The offer ends on October 31. The customer chooses between a discount and a rate by the monthly payment, and I would give the agent both calculations in one message. CarExpert

Toyota Australia says highly sensitive information is never transmitted from its cars. John Pappas, a vice president at Toyota Australia, says it is encrypted inside the car. There are more than one million connected Toyotas in the country. The privacy regulator OAIC is investigating Toyota and Hyundai, and there are no findings yet.

The reason for the statement is a Four Corners TV investigation into hacking of cars from three Chinese brands, including BYD. Buyers already ask "where does my information go", and I would give the salesperson a written answer with a link to the brand's policy. CarExpert

BYD patented the design of its first humanoid robot. The patent was published in China on October 9, and the robot looks like the earlier "Xiao Di", which is 1.61 m tall. BYD executives have said these robots could greet customers in showrooms and explain car features. The company has not confirmed that the patent matches the production model. A robot in the showroom is advertising, and the sale still goes to the person who called the customer back. CarNewsChina

The startup PromptPath gives a dealer salesperson prompts during the conversation. Steve Greenfield of Automotive Ventures named PromptPath his company to watch in his CBT News column. The service records calls and showroom visits, gives prompts and sends a summary to the CRM. The company claims 60% more opportunities captured in the CRM and 2 to 3 times more outbound calls, and does not show its method. I support a record of every conversation, and I would test the prompts on ten of my own calls. CBT News

HubSpot described how AI agents find prospects instead of hours of manual research. HubSpot splits the work into three steps. The agent finds accounts, drafts the message and starts the follow-up on its own. The company claims 76% more qualified leads and 80% more meetings booked, from its internal numbers with no sample or period. The agent writes the draft and a person sends it after a check, and I would keep this order in a showroom. HubSpot Blog

The British group Hendy appointed a former Cazoo chairman as executive chair. Tim Isaacs started at once. Hendy posted a loss of 18.1 million pounds in 2024 and breached its banking covenants twice in 2025. Shareholders put in 11.5 million pounds in March 2025. A restructuring treats the debt, not the flow of customers, and at this moment I would look at the inquiries first. Car Dealer Magazine

The payroll platform Remote opened its functions to AI agents. Remote from Amsterdam reports more than 300 million dollars in yearly recurring revenue. CEO Job van der Voort says that ChatGPT or Claude can control all of the platform. His personal agent cannot do destructive things, and SaaStr advises starting agents in read-only mode. I would set the same order in a dealer CRM, where the agent first reads, then drafts, and only then changes anything. SaaStr

Hype of the day#

These are headlines without analysis. They are the stories that the most outlets cover, or the source did not open.

• Reuters. Nvidia in talks to invest further in Reflection AI or buy it, FT reports, 23 outlets
• The Verge. Anthropic is cutting off its internal evaluations from the internet, 16 outlets
• WSJ. OpenAI's ChatGPT for Teens poses "unacceptable risk", nonprofit says, 5 outlets
• WSJ. Chinese auto giant Geely announces Canada entry in 2027 as the US seeks a ban, 3 outlets
• WSJ. OpenAI makes progress in preventing AI-driven ChatGPT delusions, 3 outlets
• Bloomberg. Europe's troubled carmakers get a China boost on the way to the Paris show, 2 outlets
• The Economic Times. OpenAI and Anthropic fear a major AI crisis in the next 6 to 12 months, 2 outlets
• Nikkei Asia. Toyota offers low-cost financing in Thailand to ward off cheap Chinese EVs, 1 outlet
• CNBC. Automation will affect 36 million jobs by 2035, says a new McKinsey report, 1 outlet
• The Economic Times. Tata Motors raises its Iveco takeover offer to 14.40 euros per share, 1 outlet