dozens of hiring companies. “One of the biggest hurdles for adjusters to getting work is getting in front of enough companies that have work opportunities,” Stanley said. “We decided to bring the companies to the adjusters so they wouldn’t have to track them down. The event was 100% online utilizing a state-of-the-art platform and interviews will be conducted using the industry-leading Zoom technology. Adjusters scheduled online face-to-face interviews with 30-plus nationwide and regional hiring companies.” The job fair was brand new territory for Stanley, but he’s never been afraid to take on new endeavors like this one. “This type of event has never been done before online in our industry, for adjusters,” he said. “Typically, events are centered around the hiring companies or technology companies, but we wanted this to be all about the adjuster.” The adjuster admission also included on-demand adjuster training, live adjuster workshops and speakers.
“We have big plans for this platform in the future, but we’ll start with this first event and the follow up during the first quarter of 2022,” Stanley said. “The pricing was designed to offer opportunities to the adjusters year-round, not just for the three days of live online interviews.” When he isn’t motoring around on his boat, Stanley is focused on creating the independent adjusters of the future. “It’s a good job that can lead to a long and wonderful career, so if you’re smart, fast on your feet and detail-oriented, this might be a good match for you,” he said. “And I can show you how to do it!” For more information, visit www.iapath.com.
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‘Cheap’ Volkswagen ID.4 Coming ‘in the $35,000 Range’ by Mark Kane, Inside EVs
Volkswagen closed 2021 with almost 17,000 ID.4 sales in the U.S. but the number could be four times higher, according to the company’s representative. The company has more than 40,000 reservations but is supply constrained, as the cars are imported from Europe. “We could have sold four times that amount,” Volkswagen Group of America CEO Scott Keogh said via Automotive News. “What VW dealers are saying is that this is the most excitement they’ve had on the shop floor since 1998, when we brought the Beetle back.” Currently, the Volkswagen ID.4 is offered in RWD and AWD versions, with a single 82 kWh battery version. In 2022, the car will get an upgrade, including range, while the lineup will be expanded by a new, less expensive version with a smaller battery, probably 62 kWh or so. This new entry-level ID.4 with RWD will start at around $35,000.
That would be about $5,000 less than in the case of ID.4 Pro. The key element of Volkswagen’s expansion of the MEB-based electric cars is the Chattanooga, TN, plant, which will start production of the ID.4 later this year using battery cells from the new SK Innovation’s SK On plant in Georgia. It will not be enough to replace 100% of the imports at the beginning, and made-in-Germany ID.4s will be sold through 2022: “VW will continue to import ID4s into the U.S. from Europe as it ramps up local production of the BEV compact crossover in Chattanooga this year, with locally produced versions beginning to appear in dealerships in the second half of the year,” Keogh told Automotive News. The good news for more than 4,000 employees in Chattanooga is a 10% wage increase in 2022. The average return on sales in the Volkswagen dealer network in 2021, according to the article, was nearly 5%--three times more than in 2020. Hopefully, it will encourage to push electrification.
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