Gabe Aldrete
Vice President
EFG Companies
Bob Dylan said it best – “If your time is worth saving, then you better start swimming, or you’ll sink like a stone.”
We’re over 10 days into the 4th quarter and the news is out. According to Business Insider, analysts expect the year to close out at 17.5 million vehicle sales. Automotive News recently stated that in comparison to last year’s growth, 2016 represents a flat market in terms of vehicles sold, revenue and profitability. Overall, the industry is still healthy. We are still at the peak of auto sales. And, dealers are still very profitable.
However, while dealers have benefited from six years of growth, the positive trends that kept vehicle sales momentum going are puttering out. The pent-up demand that everyone was talking about in 2010 and 2011 is virtually gone. After extensively broadening credit standards, lenders are starting to pull back from subprime. In addition, lenders are concerned about extending credit terms much more without affecting loss ratios.
Dealers who’ve been around for a decade or two are used to the cyclical nature of the industry. Any dealer worth their salt knows that when you get into challenging times, it’s time to look at other streams of revenue. Through the last recession, dealers became very good at pre-owned sales, service, and finance. Now is the time to take those skills and hone them even further. For example, used-vehicle prices are falling once again as a surge of off-lease vehicles enter the market, creating a greater demand for used than for new. It could be time to once again evaluate your floorplan to better determine your ratios of new to used vehicle inventory.