The last 100 days have felt like quite a year. The car business effectively shut down in March, however as of May, some dealers are seeing record numbers of used vehicle sales. When it comes to new vehicles, it’s a rare time when retail demand is greater than the current inventory size sitting on dealers’ lots. Here to discuss how dealers can position themselves successfully in this uncertain market is Randy Kobat, Vice President of operations and inventory management solution for Cox Automotive.
According to Randy, most dealers have shown tremendous resilience and moved on from the hardships they experienced in the past few months. There are three common characteristics among dealers who are finding success in the current market.
The first characteristic relates to inventory size vs retail sales. The dealers who entered the pandemic with a 1:1 ratio between their inventory size and their retail sales sold more cars than those who had loaded up on inventory in anticipation of spring.
The second characteristic is how dealers can do more with less and do things differently. Right now, many dealers expect to operate with smaller sales and service teams. The adjustment comes from a lesson many learned in the pandemic, they could sell and service more cars with fewer people.
The third characteristic is a relentless focus on local market data that helps dealers identify each vehicle’s investment value. For a better look inside your local market data, check out the CBT News Market Center powered by LotLinx.
For more great insight from Randy Kobat, be sure to watch our entire interview above.
Did you enjoy this interview with Cox Automotive’s Randy Kobat? Please share your thoughts, comments, or questions regarding this topic with host Jim Fitzpatrick at jfitzpatrick@cbtnews.com.
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