Articles

According to NADA Data 2019, revenue in dealership service departments is steadily growing statistic. Between 2013 and 2019, dealerships’ total service and parts sales have increased from $42.3 billion to $62.5 billion US. The average customer-pay repair order sits at $311. Two out of three car owners find it increasingly difficult to find a trusted mechanic for their cars, citing ‘recommending unnecessary services’ and ‘overcharging for services’ as the top two reasons for their mistrust. However, there seems to be...

On Thursday, August 6th, President Donald Trump announced the United States would be re-imposing 10 percent tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada. The highly controversial announcement comes just five weeks after the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement went into effect, replacing the old North American Free Trade Agreement. After initially imposing the tariffs on aluminum and steel in 2018, they were only rescinded in 2019 after the terms of the new USMCA agreement were settled. However, Trump retained the right to re-impose tariffs...

“Cars are the past, the future is going to be mass transit, biking, walking…I’m never going to own a car again, I can tell you that much,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters during a press conference on Thursday. Many New York residents have omitted their use of public transit systems due to concerns about reigniting a COVID-19 outbreak.  De Blasio conceded, “People are concerned about their health and safety, I totally understand that.” But he also...

There has been a lot of talk and analysis over the last few months about how the car industry has had to adapt to changes in showroom traffic, lower sales, evaporating inventory, and even struggles in the service lane with fewer repairs. The impact of COVID-19 on dealership operations and the bottom line has been far-reaching. F&I has felt the impact as well. Though PVR is actually up on average, there are fewer deliveries and therefore overall fewer deals during...

Despite small glimpses of recent progress, women have continued to be underrepresented across the entire auto industry. According to data collected by Catalyst, women make up less than one-quarter of the automotive workforce, despite making up almost half of the entire US labor force. Women only make up 17.9 percent of automobile dealers and only 9.9 percent of repair and maintenance positions. Female leaders across the industry want these numbers to change as the next generation enters the workforce. “We...

In the race to get cars sold and off the lot, new SUVs and Tesla are leading the pack. iSeeCars published a study revealing a slightly surprising list of new and used vehicles that are selling the quickest. The study examined over 9 million transactions from March to June to see which cars spent the least amount of time on the lot before being sold.  Leading the new car list was the Chevy Trailblazer, followed by a host of other...

Though not unexpected, the continued downward trajectory of car sales this year still hurts. Overall, top brands such as Ford, Fiat Chrysler, and General Motors saw drops of over 30% in comparison to last year. The hope is that as production begins to turn back on and areas open more, the market will rebound. While this remains to be seen, there are some silver linings among the losses.   General Motors While the company was not immune to COVID-19’s effects on the...

The customer experience (CX) in automotive has been an area of growth and investment in recent years. Manufacturers are focusing on improving how they interact with customers rather than simply selling including Hyundai’s Shopper Assurance Program, FCA’s partnership with J.D. Power to create the Customer First Award for Excellence, and targeted strategies by many others to improve feedback and customer care. For dealerships, improving upon CX may not be as much about strategies as it is about who is part...

As our world gets back to work after the initial pandemic shutdown, we are noticing successful social distancing protocols implemented all around us. Grocery and other stores now monitor the number of people in the store, with markings on the floor to remind people to social distance. Many restaurants have been allowed to reopen with tables spaced out to allow for social distance. The bottom line is that life goes on, albeit in a different way than what we were used...

The J.D. Power 2020 U.S. APEAL Study rank automakers based on how excited and emotionally connected people feel to their new cars. Of a possible 1000 points, the spread between first and last position is only 50 points. In the J.D. Power 2020 Initial Quality Study, fewer problems are reported in the first 90 days than previously. Other studies point to the same trend: vehicles today are achieving near parity. Sales professionals in the current automotive climate, pandemic or not,...