As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, and the Biden administration enters the White House, many dealers are curious to know how new government leadership will impact the automotive industry. Recently, we spoke with Cody Lusk, president and CEO of the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA), about the new administration and what priorities the association has in 2021.
Despite analysts’ predictions in May and April of last year, the automotive retail industry has experienced an incredbile last six months of business. In fact, experts at Cox Automotive raised their 2021 SAAR forecast to 15.7 million. However, there is a new Presidential agenda to contend with, and there will likely be several notable policy changes in the coming months.
In Lusk’s perspective, the automotive industry is likely to see roll-backs of Trump-era procedure with regards to emissions and tariffs. The Biden administration campaigned heavily on increasing the nation’s electrification, including the support of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. With encouragement from the administration and long-term investment from OEMs, EVs are poised to boom in popularity
Lusk also believes that auto tariff 232, which gave President Trump more unilateral authority over imports, will likely no longer be a concern. With that being said, the AIADA is first and foremost concerned with helping its dealer members come through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Next month, the AIADA will usher in Kentucky dealer Steve Gates as its 2021 Chairman. Additionally, they will be unveiling a new virtual program for dealers in the near future so stayed tuned to CBT News for the latest updates.
