AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

High April New Car Sales

Industry Boasts High April New Car Sales; What About You?

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News, Automotive Advertising Advice /

April 30, 2015

The preliminary numbers are out, and the forecast calls for high April new car sales. According to this article from Automotive News, new vehicle sales in the United States will finish at their highest April level in 10 years. Further, projections show the best four-month start overall since way back in 2001. Major prognosticators speculate a year-over-year increase between 5.2 and 6.1 percent, which would yield a return of about 17 million units, a number not seen since 2001.

Part of the high April new car sales is due directly to increased numbers in the light truck segment. Overall, sales of compact utilities are expected to rise about 11 percent, while sales of midsize utilities should go up 9.6 percent; and full-size pickups are projected to see a 6.3 percent jump. Conversely, midsize cars – usually a strong segment – are projected to fall 3.1 percent.

Of course, the low gas prices are helping persuade people to purchase a larger vehicle … and as long as the prices at the pump stay down, this is good news for auto dealers. Simply put, stronger truck sales mean better profit margins! It’s no wonder that JD Power, the nation’s leading independent research company, estimates that automotive transactions are on pace to set a new April record. Last year’s then-record transaction price was $29,948, while this year’s projection eclipses that number at $30,680.

How Were Your April New Car Sales?

How did your dealership do during April? Did you have big sales numbers? How about high profit margins? The fact is, you can have both; you don’t have to sacrifice one to get the other. There are a number of factors that ultimately determine an auto dealer’s profits, many of which you may not even be considering at the moment. JKR Automotive Advertising can show you what they are, and get you on the right path to success. Take the time to make one simple phone call that will change the direction of your dealership almost overnight. Get the wheels in motion today by calling Eric Tigner at (321) 397-0777.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

Press Categories

Recent Posts

Post-Pandemic Dealer Gross Profits are Down – But They Don’t Have to Stay There!
March 13, 2024
It is no secret that dealer gross profits per vehicle are down sharply in the post-COVID automotive world. According to a recent article in Automotive News, gross profits of the six largest publicly traded dealership groups plunged significantly from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023. One of them was actually down 35% per vehicle!

The article explains: High interest rates, more expensive vehicles and a steadier post-pandemic supply chain continue to soften demand and bring it closer to pre-pandemic levels. Still, new-car buying has remained strong overall …

This means that, while sales volume is similar, overall bottom lines are lower for many dealers due to the reduced gross profits. What about your dealership?

Being Realistic
It’s time to turn the page! The time for dealers to simply be order takers for people willing to pay MSRP for a vehicle (and in some cases more) has passed and dealers have to work hard once again to achieve acceptable gross profits.

Selling a high volume of cars doesn’t control gross profits, no matter how much you wish this was the case. Correct processes and menu pricing – and strict adherence to them – do!

What kind of processes?
∙ Slow down the transaction! Your sales staff has to once again sell the customer on the features and benefits of every new and pre-owned vehicle on your lot.

∙ Your salespeople and managers should devalue the customers’ trade-in value (politely, of course) as much as possible. After all, if the customer expects you to lower your price, shouldn’t you be able to do the same on their trade? Remember, you’ll have to fix it up, put your name on it and resell it to someone else with all the tenacity you would a brand-new car. So make sure you buy it right … because the profit is made when you buy it, not when you sell it!

∙ To that end, management should be ready and willing to leave the desk and do thorough walk-arounds on each trade to ensure the best outcome for the dealership.

The Cure for Low Gross Profits
If you are like a lot of dealers these days, you could use some good news. Here it is: while you may not have the capability to achieve profit margins similar to those you enjoyed during the pandemic, they could likely be improved. JKR’s clients enjoy the benefit of attracting not only more customers, but better ones, too!

If meeting and exceeding your sales goals (and increasing gross profits at the same time) sounds great to you, you need to call us. Don’t settle for reduced gross profits when help is out there to get you closer to where you’d like to be.

Want to know how we do it? Reach out to Senior Partner Richard Brauns (407) 701-4233 or Partner/Vice President Jon Albert (407) 718-2494 today.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

Read more