Automotive Ventures CEO Steve Greenfield breaks down the major themes of 2020

On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome Steve Greenfield, CEO and founder of Automotive Ventures. Greenfield specializes in advising founders, owners, and CEOs on mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises. He is also the host of The Friday 5, a weekly CBT News series, which recaps the week’s action in automotive technology deals

Greenfield begins the conversation by reviewing all that happened in 2020. He says it’s crazy to believe that only a year has passed since the 2020 NADA Show took place in Las Vegas, NV. At that point, no one knew the impact that COVID would have on the industry and the rest of the world. After the spring shutdowns, dealers were concerned about what would happen to their businesses. Fast forward to Q3, dealers and automakers all started to report record-breaking sales numbers. With the vaccine being distributed, many people in the industry are feeling good moving into 2021.

Greenfield says the major theme of 2020 was the transition to online retailing. Any dealer that wasn’t committed to digital retailing was forced to commit in order to stay relevant in the market. Digital retailing solutions were strongly aided by those dealers and received large funding rounds. Greenfield also says that online retailers such as Carvana and Vroom burst onto the scene as many consumers preferred to conduct business outside of dealerships.

Greenfield concludes the conversation by discussing the used-car market. He says that he expects big dealer groups to be very strategic in the way they market the used-car segment of their business. As more EVs enter the market and fuel regulations tighten, used cars will help dealers tremendously.  

Be sure to watch our full interview above to hear more great insight and advice from Steve Greenfield.