1. Where Americans Shop for Transportation
Car and Truck Dealers Profiler 2016
Brought to you by THE MEDIACENTER
© 2016 THE MEDIACENTER. All rights reserved

2. Flying from the Showroom
Throughout 2015, THE MEDIACENTER’s monthly AutoUpdate Reports have shared the industry’s drive to a new all-time sales record. WardsAuto put the total at million units; however, Good Car, Bar Car reported a total of million.
With the dramatic decline in gasoline prices, truck sales also posted a record of 56.7% market penetration. CUV sales were also very strong, with a 30.0% penetration. Imported CUVs accounted for 9.7% of that penetration.
All 11 auto groups listed in the AutoUpdate Reports had positive growth for all of 2015, including the troubled Volkswagen Group, but at a modest 0.4%. The largest year-over-year increase was Jaguar/Land Rover at 26.5%.

3. Big Boys on the Block
According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, there were 16,396 new car dealerships during 2014, generating $ billion in total sales, with 57.6% in new vehicle sales; 31.0%, used vehicles; and 11.4%, service and parts.
Through the end of September 2015, 456 dealerships had changed ownership, or 40% more acquisitions than AutoNation, the largest US dealership group, acquired more than 30 of those dealerships.
The top 5 US auto dealer groups were the same during 2014 as 2013: AutoNation, Penske Automotive Group, Group 1 Automotive, Van Tuyl Group and Sonic Automotive; however, Van Tuyl jumped ahead of Sonic into 4th place.

4. Cars Rolling Out, Money Rolling In
Total sales for the average dealership during 2014 were $49.16 million, a 7.1% increase from The good news continued with an average of $43.47 million for the first 10 months of 2015, or 7.1% more than the first 10 months of 2014.
Through October 2015, new vehicle department sales increased 7.7%; used vehicle department sales, 6.6%; and service and parts departments sales, 5.6%. The average dealer was also spending 6.2% more on advertising.
The 5 states with the most dealerships during were California, 1,296; Texas, 1,121; Pennsylvania, 857; New York, 828; and Florida, 820. California was also the leading state in total sales, at $97.7 billion, but Arizona had the highest per dealer sales, at $79.7 million.

5. Outlier Obstacles
In a January 2016 speech, Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation, cautioned the industry and dealers to be well prepared for the cyclical nature of the auto market. He cited December’s modest sales and growing inventories as warning signs.
Pending federal legislation would require dealers to make all repairs to used vehicles based on outstanding safety recalls before selling or leasing them. A J.D. Power study concluded this could reduce the average used car trade-in value by $1,210 to $5,713.
Dealers face a demographic conundrum: Manufacturers build and market brands/models to target young adults; however, since 2011 adults older than 75 have registered approximately 6 times more new cars than adults, 18–24.

6. It’s How New Car Consumers Roll
According to IHS Automotive, women’s share of the new light vehicle market increased significantly, to more than 40% during the first 10 month of 2015, a 1% increase from and a 6% increase since 2006.
This correlates with the significant increase in CUV sales. Through October 2015, women purchased 53% of all small major brand crossovers, including 57% of Toyota RAV4s, % of Nissan Rogues and 54% of Honda CR-Vs.
According to the J.D. Power 2015 US Automotive Media and Marketing Report, the age-group breakdown of new car buyers who chose a vehicle because of its in-vehicle technology were 31%, 18–34; 28%, 35–54; and 31%, 55+.

7. Digital Drives the Demographics
The J.D. Power 2015 US Sales Satisfaction Index Study found that 81.2% of non-premium and premium car buyers were more satisfied with the sales experience when salespeople used tablets to display vehicle features and pricing information.
According to Capgemini’s Cars Online 2015 report, 55% of consumers surveyed in four mature markets – United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France – said their most-important sources were both the car dealer and dealer/manufacturer Websites.
The Capgemini survey data also revealed that 73% of mature-market car buyers’ preferred communication channel was ; followed by personal contact, 50%; Website/social media, 26%; and smartphone app, 22%.

8. Advertising Strategies
Recommend that dealers selling CUVs target women with 75 percent of the commercials featuring those models and deals. They should consider promoting a gift card incentive from a top retailer for young women to increase the dealer’s share of Millennial buyers of CUVs.
Suggest dealers run an occasional flight of spots that feature their brands/models’ in-car technologies to target the buyers who are attracted to these features. Consider a promotion of a free third-party tech add- on when purchasing a vehicle with a specific tech package.
Show dealers that TV has the highest penetration among seniors. With seniors, especially older seniors, still a significant share of all car buyers, spots targeting this age group could highlight the safety features that allow them to drive until an older age.

9. Social Media Strategies
Social media is the perfect platform to share detailed information, as well as photos and videos, about the in-vehicle technologies that are attracting more buyers. Ask recent buyers to comment on the value of these technologies and how they use them specifically.
Dealerships can use a blog for a rotation of posts from the new and used car salespeople, service managers and technicians and others to provide consumers with a broad range of points-of-view and to promote employees as expertise in their departments.
Find and interview long-term customers on video, so they can share the reasons they continue to buy their vehicles at the dealership. Ask them to tell a story about a particular car trip or other specific use of the vehicles they’ve purchased.

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