Toronto, Ontario — In this week’s Tuesday Ticker, GM pauses it’s Twitter advertising as it navigates the platform’s new position alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk, B.C. grapples with a new used car buying tax and the Boyd Group appoints a new executive VP and COO for its collision repair business.
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General Motors has ceased advertising on Twitter, choosing to evaluate Twitter’s new direction under its new CEO.
“We are engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership. As is normal course of business with a significant change in a media platform, we have temporarily paused our paid advertising,” said General Motors in an emailed statement.
Since acquiring Twitter, Musk has fired at least three executives.
In other news, Tesla’s stock has plummeted by 30 percent after lowering prices in China and acquiring Twitter. This also translates to a 50 percent drop from its peak in November 2021.
Pacific pricing
In an effort to curb tax evasion, the British Columbian government introduced a new rule for consumers purchasing used vehicles directly from their previous owners. Rather than calculating sales tax based on PST, taxes will now be placed on the wholesale value of the vehicle.
Prices will be dictated by the Canadian Black Book. George Iny, director of the Automobile Protection Agency, told CityNews that this could increase how much consumers pay for used vehicles, in a year where used vehicle prices have increased between 40 and 50 percent.
“If you buy a used car privately with this change you’re not likely to pay more for the car but the overall transaction could be more,” Iny explained to CityNews.
He also said maintenance will likely impact the sale price.
“In some cases, the car needs some important maintenance, maybe $1,000 or $1,500, it’s otherwise very good, they don’t want to spend the money. Maybe they’re selling it with no air conditioning, for example. Black Book wholesale value assumed the vehicle is in running condition.”
B.C’s Finance Minister Selina Robinson says the government is taking significant steps to reduce used vehicle costs for the province’s drivers.
New faces at Boyd
Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Boyd Group Services announced the appointment of Brian Kaner as executive vice president and chief operating officer on Friday. Kaner will be responsible for Boyd’s collision operations in both the United States and Canada, effective October 31.
“This change to our top-level structure is being made to add further strength to our executive team and to align our organization with the needs of the business, given our planned growth and the changes we have experienced over recent years,” said Timothy O’Day, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boyd Group. “Brian’s experience with large organizations as an executive officer in both operational and financial roles will be an asset to our business, adding breadth and depth of experience and knowledge at the executive level.”
“I look forward to working closely with Brian and the rest of the executive team over the next several years, as we continue to grow our business, with the goal of doubling the size of the business over the five year period from 2021 to 2025, based on 2019 revenues,” added O’Day. “At this time, the previously announced search to succeed Mr. Pat Pathipati in the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer is proceeding along planned timelines and will be announced upon its conclusion.”
Kaner was previously CEO & President of Pep Boys & Icahn Automotive Services where he led all functional disciplines and field leadership teams overseeing 1,000 company owned and nearly 800 franchise locations. Before joining Icahn Enterprises L.P., Mr. Kaner worked for Sears Holdings Corporation as President of Sears Auto Centers. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Illinois State University.
“I am very excited to be taking on this new role,” added Mr. Kaner. “The opportunity to learn and add value at a company with a long track record of consistent performance and growth is a tremendous one. I look forward to working with Tim and the rest of the executive team as we continue growing the business and creating value for our shareholders.”
