Digital Dealer - May 2019 - 20

D E A L E R OP S & M ANAGEM ENT: In d u stry Tr ends & R egul ati ons

By Robert Glaser
President,
North Carolina Auto
Dealers Assn.

Top 5 Reasons
Dealers Need
to Engage Their
State Dealer
Association
With the automotive
retail industry a full
decade from the depression
of 2008-2009, and with
vehicle sales relatively flat
over the past few years, a
series of industry trends are
emerging that will drive the
local franchised dealer and
their state dealer associations closer together.
State dealer associations,
along with local metro associations and NADA, play a
vital role in protecting, promoting and educating the
Nation's franchised car and
truck dealers. From annual
family conventions to insurance program, from the
local DMV to lobbying the
Statehouse, the state and
local dealer association has
a very hands-on approach
to pro-actively identifying
and solving dealer issues
and concerns.
Additionally, while the
history of state dealer
associations can span
greater than a century,
the emerging issues that
dealers face today, and the
interconnected trends faced
20

M AY 2 0 1 9

by dealer associations, may
be unprecedented. The
following are five industry
trends that will likely compel
dealers to reach out and
engage their state or metro
dealer association.

DEALERSHIP
CONSOLIDATION

With more than 10,000
baby boomers retiring daily,

versus passing the store
down to younger family
members.
This dilemma, compounded with a marketplace
that is experiencing profit
margin compressions, and
increased demands by
the OEMs, may lead local
independent dealers to look
favorably on dealership

...A SERIES OF
INDUSTRY TRENDS
ARE EMERGING THAT
WILL DRIVE THE LOCAL
FRANCHISED DEALER
AND THEIR STATE
DEALER ASSOCIATIONS
CLOSER TOGETHER."
and the leading edge of
the baby boomers now
approaching their mid-70s,
a generational transition is
fast approaching for many
of America's small to midsized franchised dealers.
Nationwide, dealers are debating the merits of selling
their dealership to a larger,
consolidated chain of stores

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

consolidation.
Dealer consolidation,
however, often leads to
challenges for the local or
state dealer association.
Whereas in the past, the
local, community-based
franchised dealers were
generally most active in the
State association, the larger, multi-franchise, multi-

state dealer groups, are
generally not actively engaged in the policy-setting
roles of the association.
As such, with fewer
dealers to direct and oversee the policies and programs of the state association, it will be progressively
more important that the
remaining local dealer, as
well as the larger stores,
take a more active role
in crafting the policies,
programs, and legislative
initiatives of their state
dealer association.
INCREASED
REGULATIONS

Regardless of the
political landscape of the
dealers' state, countless
regulations are passed
at the Federal, state, and
local level that impact the
day-to-day operations of
dealerships. The local
dealer association, as a
core tenet to protect their
members, has an incumbent responsibility to work
in partnership with their
membership to address
these regulations and if
needed, educate the dealers on their operational
impact. As additional rules
are promulgated, it will
be essential that dealers
and the dealer association
work together to address
the ever-changing regulatory landscape.
EMERGING
DISTRIBUTION
CHANNELS

For the past 20 years,
there has been a constant
dialog between OEMs
and their dealers about a
better, more effective way
to sell today's vehicles.
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Digital Dealer - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - May 2019
