On today’s CBT Newscast for Thursday, April 5th 2018:
March Sales Numbers Beat Automotive Industry Expectations: Jessica Caldwell
“This was the month where automotive sales beat all expectations,” says Jessica Caldwell, Director of Industry Analysis with Edmunds.com, to Jim Fitzpatrick, of CBT News. March rounds out with a 17.4 SAAR. The number comes in a lot higher than what we excepted for 2018. General Motors and Fiat-Chrysler (the Jeep Brand) were two big outliers this month. These two brands can be credited for exceeding the expectation as all the other brands held their own as expected. Watch Now
Tracking How Dealerships and Customers Connect
Shawn Rajabi, and Louis Towry, of Total Customer Connect, took time at the NADA Show to join CBT News for a discussion about the importance of tracking dealership’s connections with their customers and how well they are functioning. With the online buying presence, consumers are more likely to operate a mobile device from home than shopping around in a store. Consumers want a special one on one experience that is both timely and productive. According to Louis Towry, that’s why dealerships need TCC. Watch Now
Dealership Management – The Generation Shift
By the numbers, if U.S. auto dealerships want to solve the problem of the lack of trained and qualified managers for their divisions and stores, all they really have to do is wait for the next generation. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they would have to wait about 10 years before seasoned staff come on in the ranks or graduate from accredited training programs. Read More
The Automotive Industry Looks to Rebound with High March Sales
The automotive industry experienced sluggish sales and low declines in the first two months of 2018. Many were beginning to wonder how the rest of the year would shape up as analyst projected lower sales numbers for the whole year. However, if March is any indicator of what is to come, then automakers may not have much to worry about. According to Autodata, in comparison to the previous year, auto sales of new vehicles increased by six percent. This data flew past the projections of Edmonds and Cox Automotive which estimated an increase of three percent and a little over two percent respectively. Read More
