The Future of Automotive Retail

Executive Summary

Dealers ripped up their business models, embraced efficiencies and slashed waste to survive the unexpected challenges of the past few years, including the chip shortage, COVID, the war and other events that caused cultural changes. At the same time, they shifted processes in sales, service, parts, and F&I to best serve customers with both electrified and internal combustion engines.

Most dealers met those challenges and continue to see profits grow despite ongoing inventory shortages. Those embracing technologies have the best chance of maintaining and accelerating that momentum, especially as EVs populate the sales offerings, during the upcoming years.

This session outlines dealers' concerns about their businesses, EV adoption and what technologies they are anxious to explore as they seek to meet challenges that include staffing shortages, EV service and parts, hybrid sales processes, and F&I transparency that satisfies consumers and regulators.