AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

JD Power APEAL

JD Power APEAL Study Highlights Porsche and Hyundai

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News /

July 24, 2014

The annual JD Power APEAL study results are in. That’s right … the highly anticipated study done by the nation’s independent research company that measures new-vehicle appeal have been released. The acronym APEAL stands for Automotive Performance, Execution & Layout.

Now in its 19th year, the JD Power APEAL study data is collected from new-vehicle owners who evaluate their cars based on 77 specific attributes, ranging from fuel economy to the attractiveness of its interior materials. A perfect score would be 1,000 points … and overall this year’s crop of new vehicles averaged 794, a one-point decrease from last year. Breaking it down further, the average score for a premium car was 840, while non-premium average was 785.

For the 10th consecutive year, Porsche is the top overall brand, while Hyundai took the top spot among non-luxury brands. (Porsche and Dodge led the way with top scores in three categories each.) On another positive note, new-car customers seem to be content with their fuel economy, as this year’s survey saw a six-point uptick from the previous year.

JD Power APEAL Results

So which vehicles won the JD Power APEAL study in their respective segments?

Compact Car – Dodge Dart

Compact Multi-Purpose Vehicle – Kia Soul

Compact Premium Car – BMW 428i

Compact Premium SUV – Audi Q5

Compact Premium Sporty Car – Porsche Boxster

Compact SUV – Nissan Rogue

Compact Sporty Car – Volkswagen GTI

Large Car – Dodge Charger

Large Heavy Duty Pickup – Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty

Large Light Duty Pickup – Ford F-150

Large Premium Car – Audi A8

Large Premium SUV – Land Rover Range Rover

Large SUV – GMC Yukon

Midsize Car – Mazda6

Midsize Pickup – Honda Ridgeline

Midsize Premium Car – Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class

Midsize Premium SUV – Porsche Cayenne

Midsize Premium Sporty Car – Porsche 911

Midsize SUV – Toyota Highlander

Midsize Sporty Car – Dodge Challenger

Minivan – Nissan Quest

Small Car – Hyundai Accent

Small SUV – MINI Countryman

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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.

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