Carvana’s Record Run, Zoox Unleashed, Techs Starting Young

Episode #1410: Today we’re talking about Carvana’s record-setting quarter and massive growth ambitions, Zoox becoming the first paid U.S. robotaxi approved without human controls, and a hands-on summer camp helping middle schoolers discover the skills and careers waiting inside the automotive industry. Show Notes with links: Carvana just put up its biggest quarter ever, selling more than 197,000 vehicles and generating $7.4 billion in revenue. The online retailer is scaling production, expanding ADESA capacity, and still says its long-term target of 3 million annual sales is firmly on the table. Q2 sales jumped 38% year over year to 197,325 units, nearly double the company’s volume from two years ago. Carvana is now pacing toward roughly 800,000 vehicles this year, while reaffirming its goal of reaching 3 million annual sales sometime between 2030 and 2035. Three more ADESA sites joined Carvana’s retail production network, bringing the total to 19. Current capacity supports 1.5 million units, with room to eventually reach 3 million. Higher-income shoppers are becoming a bigger growth engine. Customers earning more than $100,000 increased more than 60% year over year as Carvana expanded its mix of higher-priced vehicles. CEO Ernie Garcia summed up the opportunity: “That sales volume puts us at just 2% market share of the used car market, and 1.5% of the auto retail market as a whole.” Amazon’s Zoox just cleared a major regulatory hurdle, becoming the first company approved in the U.S. to commercially deploy paid robotaxis built without steering wheels or pedals. The approval is limited, closely monitored, and still requires state and local clearance before passengers start opening their wallets. NHTSA approved Zoox to commercially deploy up to 2,500 purpose-built robotaxis per year for the next two years. Unlike Waymo’s modified passenger vehicles, Zoox uses a fully electric, carriage-style design with inward-facing seats and no traditional human controls. Zoox already carries test passengers in Las Vegas and San Francisco. The exemption allows it to charge fares, pending state and local approvals. The approval comes with added reporting requirements covering crashes, improper stops, and other unusual behavior. NHTSA says it can revoke the exemption if major safety problems emerge. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said, “We have the ability to pull the exemption if we see major safety issues.” Sinclair College is giving middle school students an early look under the hood and into the industry’s future. Its three-day Automotive Technology camp mixes practical ownership skills helping dealers and schools build tomorrow’s workforce before students even reach high school. Fourteen students ages 12 to 15 learned how to change oil, jump-start vehicles, remove batteries, and rebuild small engines. Campers also experienced ride-alongs in electric and self-driving vehicles, connecting traditional shop skills with emerging automotive technology. Voss Auto Group sponsors the camp as part of its long-running partnership with Sinclair and sees the program as an early technician recruiting pipeline. Sinclair says roughly 110 students work in local repair shops during any given semester, and 95% of graduates find industry employment within one month. Voss service manager Tim Whelan said, “We like to bring young people in and help them become a professional technician.”