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Automotive Advertising Survey

Automotive Advertising Survey Reveals TV’s Strengths

A TV automotive advertising survey by the Video Advertising Bureau gave us some eye-opening information on just how much of an impact TV advertising has upon the psyche of a consumer shopping for an automobile. The report is more than 30 pages long, so we’re summarizing it for you here. The study, fielded last […]

Co-Op Process

Navigating the Co-Op Process

The monthly automotive co-op process involving an auto dealer and its corporate entity can be a bit challenging. Don’t believe us? Just ask any clerical worker at an automotive dealership that handles its own advertising. Even in the best of circumstances, it’s an arduous process – but it’s also a very necessary one because the […]

smart

Smart Cars to be All Electric Starting in April

Daimler has informed its Smart dealers in the United States and Canada that, starting in April, it will no longer produce gasoline-powered vehicles. Instead, Smart will focus completely – instead focusing completely on its all-electric version of the two-seat Fortwo model. Once the last remaining gas-powered models are sold, Smart will limit North American sales […]

Millennials

Millennials Love Radio … and So Should Auto Dealers

Millennials are a group about which much has been written and discussed. Why? In terms of sheer numbers, they are now the largest generation in our country. This group (age 18-34) is comprised of about 70 million people, and they are a little different from their predecessors. (Note: Much of today’s blog is taken from […]

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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.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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