Navigating Dealer Trends in the Automotive Industry

Dealer trends in the automotive industry are reshaping the landscape of car buying and selling. From the integration of technology to novel business models, these trends are bringing unprecedented changes to dealerships across globe. This article takes a comprehensive look at these trends and their implication, preparing you to navigate effectively in the transformed automotive market.

Navigating through Emerging Dealer Trends

With consumers’ preferences shifting and competition heightening, understanding industry trends becomes pivotal in staying ahead. The ability to adapt and shift gears quickly depends on deep insights about the latest trends in the dealership space.

Table of Contents

1. The Rise of Digitization
2. Emergence of Omnichannel Retailing
3. Increased Demand for Used Vehicles
4. Trend towards Electrification
5. Push towards Autonomous Vehicles

The Rise of Digitization

In the age of smartphones and smart devices, consumers have grown accustomed to the convenience brought by digital solutions. This digital culture has naturally infiltrated into the automotive industry, transforming traditional dealership models. Let's examine what this trend means in the dealer space.

Online Auto Shopping

Increasingly, customers are starting their car buying journey online. Dealers are tapping into this opportunity, offering 360° vehicle views, virtual test drives, online financing and more. Today's tech-savvy consumers expect transparency, price fairness and personalized experiences, and dealers that keep up with these demands can gain a competitive edge.

Dealer Management Systems (DMS)

DMS's are becoming a necessity for dealerships. A DMS integrates critical operations like sales, inventory management, and customer relationships, fostering seamless operations. Modern DMS’s also offer cloud services, offering dealers access to crucial information anytime, anywhere.

Emergence of Omnichannel Retailing

Omnichannel retailing is a strategy where the customer’s shopping experience is consistent across various channels - be it in a physical store, a website, a mobile app, or visuals on social media. In terms of automotive sales, this translates to offering a holistic and seamless experience whether a customer is visiting in-person or checking out vehicles online.

• Customer Data Collection: Omnichannel retailing involves collecting data from multiple sources to have a better understanding of customer's behavior. This data can be leveraged to provide personalized deals and recommendations. The collected data is also crucial for predicting future trends to stay ahead in the game.
• Seamless Transition: Whether a customer begins their journey online or in-store, an omnichannel approach ensures the transition between various channels is smooth. For instance, a customer might start a purchase process online and complete it in the physical store with all the information being seamlessly transferred.
• Improved Customer Engagement: With multiple touchpoints, dealerships can engage with customers more often, providing tailored content and enhancing customer satisfaction.

Increased Demand for Used Vehicles

The pandemic has forced consumers to tighten their purse strings, fueling the demand for used vehicles. These budget-friendly options have gained popularity among the cost-conscious and environmentally aware customers. But the dealer trends for used vehicles aren't just buyer-driven – here's how dealerships are fostering the used vehicles market:

Certified Pre-Owned Programs

Dealerships are revamping the image of used cars through Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) programs. These programs offer used cars with guaranteed quality and additional benefits like extended warranties, thus adding value to the second-hand car market.

These rapidly transforming dealer trends and transitions pose their own set of challenges and opportunities. In the second half of this article, we’ll delve deeper into trends towards electrification and the growing interest in autonomous vehicles. Stay tuned to equip yourself with details on navigating the evolving automotive world.

Trend towards Electrification

As awareness about environmental sustainability is vaulting, demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is skyrocketing. Governments worldwide are pushing for cleaner, greener transportation. Dealerships must adapt to this evolving market scenario to seize new opportunities.

Selling Electric - The New Salesmanship

Selling EVs differs fundamentally from selling traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. EVs come with distinct features like battery range, charging infrastructure, and the concept of regenerative braking. Prospective EV buyers often have queries tied to these elements and hence demand a more educational approach, requiring sales personnel to up their skills.

Push towards Autonomous Vehicles

A cutting-edge frontier in the automotive industry, autonomous or self-driving cars are touted as a transformative force. As various tech behemoths and car manufactures forge ahead into perfecting and commercializing these vehicles, dealer trends in this space are worth keeping an eye on.

• Preparation for New Sales Processes: Autonomous vehicles come with unique selling points and distinct safety features. These parameters form new bases for negotiation, implying the dealers need to be well-equipped with knowledge about them.
• New Service Procedures: The technology-intensive nature of these vehicles will require specialized maintenance, potentially impacting the dealership's service department.
• Regulatory Changes: Autonomous driving brings along a host of legal and legislative aspects. Dealers need to be aware of these factors to protect their business interests.

Conclusion

Navigating through these emerging dealer trends in the automotive industry requires both an open-minded perspective and a firm grasp on the technology transforming it. Agile adaptation strategies are going to be the key to success as the automotive industry accelerates into the future. While digital transformation is brewing intense competition, it also presents a huge potential for dealerships to reinvent their roles in the auto retail ecosystem.

As we decipher these dealer trends and their implications, the real question is - Are we driving the change, or is the change driving us? As they say in the automotive industry, "the only constant is change." Staying informed and engaged with the latest dealership trends will ensure you're in the driver's seat when these changes arrive in full force.