With all of the challenges presented to dealers by the Coronavirus, Street Volkswagen in Amarillo, TX decided to face them head-on and re-invest in their customer community. They offered free vehicle inspections and opened up their service drive to all car brands. John Luciano, Head of the VW of America Dealer Council and Managing Partner for the dealership, wanted to make sure that front line workers and other essential personnel had reliable transportation.
Even with factory closures, John says that Volkswagen sales are up about five percent year over year. Largely in part because CPOs playing a bigger role today due to new car shortages. First reported by WardsAuto, about 60% (103,524) of used vehicles sold last year at VW’s 650 U.S. dealerships were CPOs.
Many dealers tend to think that used car sales take away from new car sales, but in the current lending conditions, they don’t, says John. At Street Volkswagen, salespeople are more likely to flip potential buyers from used to new vehicles. Not the other way around. Customer retention around the CPO program is phenomenal as well. It builds brand loyalty, and John finds that many customers return to purchase new vehicles later on.
He explains, “A 17 million SAAR that we had for so long, and now maybe going to be 12.1, that 5 million transactions that I think all of us thought wouldn’t happen…Last month [dealers] sold record numbers; it’s all coming back. They’re making up for lost time.”
To hear more insight and advice from Volkswagen dealer John Luciano, be sure to watch our full interview above.
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