What are the three biggest drivers of change facing car dealers? The move towards EVs has to be up there. The arrival of Chinese brands, another. And the post-pandemic market, with falling used car values is also in with a good shout.
EV first. Dealers have been investing a lot of time and money into their electric vehicle infrastructure and developing innovative ways of reaching consumers. This became apparent in the latest NFDA survey which looked at how the average dealer is performing when it comes to infrastructure, EV, investment and return on investment. It found that dealer sentiment around EVs is being weighed down by the high levels of investment required for EV preparation, in conjunction to manufacturer support. In particular, dealers have raised concerns with their manufacturer’s support for on-site EV charging infrastructure.
Chinese cars. This month we scooted up to Mayfair to check out the Stratstone flagship BYD store. BYD is on the radar for dealers who can see an ambitious Chinese EV brand intent on taking a slice of the UK market, and one that has ambitious growth plans in Britain. As these words are written BYD’s dealerships number single figures but the aim is to top 30 outlets by the end of 2023.
The post pandemic market is one where new car supply is becoming normalised with more push marketing and used car values going down. BCA was among the many this month flagging up the challenges faced by dealers in the used market with trade values falling from historic highs. The impact has already been seen in retail with the closure of eight Bravoauto outlets, Peter Vardy shutting two supermarkets earlier this year and Motorpoint putting its expansion on pause.