As the new year quickly approaches, many auto dealers are firming up their projections and business goals for 2023. Making projections for the next 12-24 months is likely harder than most years in the past. Dealers need a clearer understanding of how many EV models will be produced and allocated in the next two years. There are also lingering questions regarding stocking levels for new vehicles, consumer direct sales models, and if build-to-order has any real staying power. But what can dealers do now to prepare for the year ahead?

In this episode of the David Spisak Show, we will discuss the future for Auto Dealers as Adam answers the big question of whether now is a good time for dealers to rethink and reinvent to go into 2023.

There are a lot of dealers that have unprecedented uncertainty in their brains. What do I do? How do I react to autonomous? How do I react to the potential of the agency model? External disruptions, electrification, connected cars, software as a service, all those things.

But Adam believes it's a time of unprecedented opportunity. He says that in times like this is when real opportunities present themselves.

"We all grow through our setbacks and challenges, not necessarily through our success. And we're in an incredibly fertile time. Maybe the most exciting time I've ever contemplated in the car business, you know, with digital manufacturers, electrification, autonomous vehicles, all the things that are building momentum or losing momentum around the retail model.

The threat of outside competitors coming in and, you know, driving change, the need to be competitive around that could be in some of the most exciting times we've ever been in."

If I'm that dealer out there and I'm wondering, what's my priority? And there's a great saying, "keep your eye on the mountain but mind the path" with all the change going on, Execution is key in executing your plan.

Many dealers have very different plans out there. But minding that path and making sure we're taking care of our facilities, our people, our partners, like the OEMs and the customer is as important, if not more important, than ever before because there's a very small line that we have to these potential customers of ours and that we can differentiate that experience and still make it personal and still make it local. 

Adam also supports the concept of Processes in the auto business. He says that "processes are key, and the process will collapse and reorganize and come back together almost as quickly as it falls apart. But minding that path daily. Cause you can't manage what you can't measure. And without process, you get chaos, and you get none of the organization, the efficiency, and the sustainability.

The power and the importance of having a great relationship with the OEM and serving the OEM to help them achieve what they want.

Creating win-win solutions for both our OEM partners as well as the other stakeholders that we have in the business is always going to be key. We are not entitled to be here. It's a privilege to be here. It's a privilege to represent these manufacturers, but they still need to come up with some great ideas and wonderful products, then bad products and really bad ideas. We see these cycles where when business is very good, and the auto manufacturers advance into our business, And then when business gets a little tighter, they go back and hunker down and build some great products. And they've done what it is that they're supposed to do.

So there's that, there's that, that blurry line all the time. But the linkage between these major worldwide brands and the dealer's local connection is still as important as ever.

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