Hey, Your Top Automobile News for March 31, 2021

Your Daily Automobile updates From Around The World [  The Automobile News]( You Might Like [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](    [More Consumers Are Shopping Online For Cars. Can Dealerships Keep Up?]( The rise of the internet and online shopping seemed to signal the ignoble end to the ubiquitous car dealership in the 1990s.  Those gloomy predictions from industry watchers turned out to be wrong; consumers continued to flock to dealerships, which largely carried on despite the critics. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, closing showrooms, sending sales teams home and driving consumers online to purchase vehicles.  Insiders again sounded the alarms that dealerships would not survive. In reality, the exact opposite happened.  The pandemic has been a boon for U.S. dealers, which reported record profits in 2020 even with reduced staff and a national recession. Nearly 30% of U.S. new car sales last year were completed online, according to Alan Haig, an automotive retail consultant and president of Haig Partners. Before the pandemic, less than 2% of vehicles were purchased digitally.  “This shift to digital retail is positive for dealers who embrace it,” Haig told ABC News. “For those that don’t, they will lose customers and be harmed by the trend.” [Read Full Article](  [Ford India To Launch Territory SUV To Take On Tata Harrier & New Mahindra XUV500](  Ford has changed its strategy for the Indian market. After the joint venture with Mahindra did not work out, Ford is now planning to bring a slew of all-new cars to the Indian market. While Ford is yet to officially announce the launch of any of the new models in the Indian market, the American manufacturer is likely to launch a slew of SUVs and other cars in the market. Ford even plans to launch the F-150 Raptor but before that, a new mid-size SUV to take on the likes of Tata Harrier and Jeep Compass will be launched.  According to T-BHP, Ford will soon launch the all-new Ford Territory in the Indian market. The car is already on sale in the South Asian markets, including the Phillipines. It is priced at around Rs 18 lakh in that market and is likely to get a similar price tag for the Indian market. The information comes from Annibaddh, who went to a Ford dealership to test drive the EcoSport. The service centre assistant gave them the information that the Territory will be launched in the next few months.  The new Territory will bridge the gap between the EcoSport and the Endeavour, which is too wide at the moment. With the new launch, Ford will be able to target a new audience. The Territory will take on the likes of Jeep Compass, higher variants of the vehicles like Tata Harrier. The all-new Ford Territory will also take on the likes of the upcoming Mahindra XUV500, Hyundai Tucson and similar vehicles in the market.  [Read Full Article](  [Three-Wheelers, The Punchline Of The Auto World, Are Finally Having A Moment]( I press down on the pedal, and the back of my three-wheeler rears up as if to fling me into the street. The hum of the electric motor kicks up a few notches—as does my grip on the steering wheel—but the vehicle glides smoothly into traffic without incident. More than a few heads turn, and while I can’t tell if the SUV and delivery-truck drivers are looking on with envy or amusement, I’m having enough fun to ignore them as I floor the accelerator (0-60 mph in 10 seconds) in my little pie-shaped slice of the future.  At least, this is the future envisioned by people like Electra Meccanica CEO Paul Rivera, who lent me one of the company’s new Solo vehicles to test drive one morning in March. For 20 minutes, I bobbed and weaved through the streets of Walnut Creek, a wealthy enclave not far from San Francisco.  As vehicles go, the three-wheeler is a historical loser. It’s been tried, and dumped, numerous times since the 1700s. But transportation is undergoing its most radical makeover in a century. A new generation of electric vehicles (EVs) is hitting the streets promising low cost and lots of fun—some on three wheels.  A former executive at the engineering firm Ricardo, Rivera once helped global automakers develop new vehicles. He noticed they were always doing one thing: supersizing vehicles to carry the maximum number of passengers and payload they might ever need.  [Read Full Article](  You Might Like [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](    Connect with the automobile news on social media platforms [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Linkedin]( You received this email because you operate or create content for a website/service and based on your website it seemed like this could be important information to you and your users. This newsletter is managed by [Postbox Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd](.C-4/5, IBD Emporia, Kolar Road, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, INDIA, 462042 Want to change how you receive these emails? [Update your preferences]( or [Unsubscribe](