What can the industry expect through the end of the year? Today on CBT News, we answer that question with Brian Finkelmeyer, senior director of new car solutions at Cox Automotive. Finkelmeyer recently published an article in the Cox Automotive Newsroom titled Everything About 2020 Is Different, Including Year-End Deals, where he explores how December 2020 will look different from previous years.
Finkelmeyer begins the conversation by explaining the purpose of his article. He said that he wanted to encourage car shoppers to act sooner rather than later when it came to buying a new car due to the inventory shortage. Finkelmeyer says that end-of-the-year deals might look different this year as many retailers are in danger of running out of inventory.
Finkelmeyer says that while it may not be a December to remember, sales are also not going to fall off a cliff. He says that the auto industry has weathered the pandemic well and could come out on the other side in a better position than when everything began back in the spring.
When automotive manufacturing plants shut down in the spring, it created a situation never seen before in the auto industry. Factories closing their doors in the month of April brought unit production down to 4,000 units. Now as plants have recovered, Finkelmeyer says the question remains how OEMs will adjust their production to models that are selling fast such as SUVs and pickup trucks.
Finkelmeyer concludes the conversation by discussing how dealers have learned how to operate through the pandemic. He says that the auto industry has seen 5-10 years worth of digital retailing adoption take place in the span of 60 days. Across the auto industry, digital retailing has been adopted by almost every dealer. He references the recent innovations at Asbury Automotive and how bullish they are on digital retailing. As the leaders in retail automotive continue to adopt digital retailing, the auto industry can expect smaller dealerships to follow suit in the present state of the market and in the years to come.
