Ok, I’ll say it right up front: I would not call Lake Louise, Alberta, a city. It is, however, a great spot for a dealer conference.

A significant chunk of the dealer community clearly agrees, based on the record attendance at the recently-held Western Canadian Dealer Summit. This year’s conference set an attendance record, and the energy and engagement of the dealers, vendors and association staff were clearly evident.

Provincial Association executives Blair Qualey, Larry Heggs, and Gerald Wood put on a great show. I was very pleased to take part.

The content mix was interesting. Many familiar faces (CADA’s team was out in force, as an example) and there were many new ones.

A week later I was at the opposite end of the country, in Moncton, speaking at Darcy LeBlanc’s event as part of the New Brunswick Dealers Association’s President’s Dinner. It was my great pleasure to share the speaking responsibilities with Steve Greenfield from Automotive Ventures. You may recall I invited Steve to join the CADEX event in Halifax last spring, where he was a very popular speaker. It’s great to see him return to the Maritimes at another energized and very well attended event.

At a time of rapid industry change, getting in front of speakers with all kinds of expertise is critical, for the team at Canadian auto dealer as publishers, and of course for you as dealers.

So which topics made an impression on me?

Not surprisingly, the drop in the growth rate of consumer EV adoption is top of mind at both ends of the country. The current wisdom (which I agree with) is that we’ve sold EVs to the early adopters in the market. Further EV sales are going to be sold to early majority consumers who bring a very different set of questions, needs and expectations with them. Early majority consumers will make a lot more demands of your sales teams, and need a lot more information.

Not surprisingly, this drop in the growth rate of EV sales is fueling plenty of discussion around how fast EV adoption will grow, even to the point of a few “I told you so” comments from those still not convinced the transition will happen.

I believe it will, but it will take time. It will be messy. And there will be the same kinds of inventory challenges for dealers that the ICE age held: too many of some vehicles hanging around your lots, while others remain unobtainable.

Perhaps what’s most interesting is the spotlight now appearing to shine on the plug-in hybrid, which for much of the past was seen as neither here nor there, an unnecessary step on the path.

That view is quickly changing, and I expect it will continue to change. As someone who owned one for years, I can say first-hand that it solves most of the challenges a full BEV presents for many consumers, while dramatically reducing carbon emissions. It may be a step on the path, but I think it will become a very important step for many. I expect dealers will find that PHEVs move quickly off their lots.

The next topic that received significant attention was automation. As generative AI tools like ChatGPT and others become woven into the DNA of more
and more software solutions available to you, you’ll find your business gaining time and other efficiencies that you couldn’t have imagined a few years ago.

A Swedish company called Phyron is an example. They demonstrated an AI video platform that creates videos of your inventory for placement across digital marketing channels, at scale, without human intervention. Set the parameters, and the magic happens. In minutes.

As someone with a long career in content creation, I found it pretty compelling.

Thank you again to the provincial dealer associations for putting their energy and creativity into making these events happen. It was time well spent for me and the many others who took the time to attend.

For now, I’m about to board a plane to speak at Cliff Bank’s Autovate event in Scottsdale, and see what other things I can learn. And we’re just a few months from the CADA Summit and CADEX. I hope to see you there!

The post A tale of two cities, sort of… appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

I’ve saved myself some typing this month. My publisher’s note is a multimedia experience this issue.

I was invited to join U.S auto industry analyst Cliff Banks as his guest on his video podcast. Cliff has been at the heart of the industry for a long time, so the chance to connect again and talk about the state of the industry was a welcome invitation.

Please click the link below and give it a listen. From labour challenges to alternate business models and a bit more, we cover a number of topics that are making their way into the headlines. I hope you’ll find it interesting.

I’ll also be onstage with Cliff and many others at his Autovate event December 6-8 in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information on that event, go to https://autovate.org/

Enjoy!

The post A chat with U.S. Analyst Cliff Banks appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

As soon as the 2023 CADA Summit finished, the planning committee (which consists of CADA’s senior leaders and the publishing team on Canadian auto dealer) dove into the attendee feedback to understand where we needed to make refinements, which topic areas really resonated, and which ones were seen as less important by the audience. The committee then spends months debating the topics and considers what is most on the minds of dealers.

In many cases, we look outside our industry, outside our country, and outside the next month’s sales cycle to try to present dealers with thought provoking and challenging perspectives on the forces that pose risk or opportunity. In so doing we run across people with experiences Canadian car dealers might not have had — yet.

Some recent examples include hearing from speakers like James Voortman, head of Australia’s dealer association discuss their run-ins with the agency model, and Norwegian car dealer Sverre Helno, who gave dealers a glimpse of what their future might look like selling and servicing almost entirely electric vehicles.

Being able to look abroad to see markets that are further along the same evolutionary path as the Canadian market is fascinating. A bit like looking into a crystal ball. The popularity with dealers of both of these speakers proves that we would all like a chance to peer into the future. No surprise there.

As we plan the 2024 Summit (February 14th in Toronto, mark your calendars) I can honestly say that we’re thrilled to be back in the rhythm of planning an in-person event.

While full credit needs to be given to CADA, TD Auto Finance (as the exclusive sponsor that makes the Summit possible) and the dealers for pivoting to an online event during the depths of the pandemic, it was simply not the same as gathering the senior leadership of our entire industry in one room and feeling the shared energy and focus that creates.

This is as good a networking opportunity as the Canadian automotive calendar has to offer. If you haven’t been, I encourage you to come. For those loyalists that I’ve seen there for years and years (this will be our 11th Summit) I look forward to seeing you there again.

Save the date. Share any ideas you have that you’d like to see reflected in the Summit’s agenda (you can email me at nhiscox@universusmedia.com). And figure out how you’ll integrate your Valentine’s Day 2024 with the Summit.

I hope to see you there.

The post Bringing the best ideas to bear appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

A few weeks back I delivered a presentation to the Automobile Dealers Association of Newfoundland and Labrador. I was part of the agenda for their annual meeting, and it was a pleasure to be back on the Rock speaking to Marian Templeton and the Dealer and Associate members of the ADANL.

For the presentation I was asked to share what I believed the industry would be facing five years from now. Frankly, that’s a fun assignment.

So that’s what I did. I shared what I believe are key things that will disproportionately impact where we’ll be in five years. I thought I’d share them with you as well.

So in no particular order, here we go:

1. AI is being integrated into everything we do

You won’t be put out of a job by AI. You will be put out of a job by a competitor who uses it better than you. Do not underestimate the importance of this.

Anecdotally, I’m amazed at how many people I meet in this business who don’t have AI on their radar, how many haven’t tried tools like ChatGPT or Mid-Journey to get a taste for themselves just what all the fuss is about. Try them. Read a lot, listen and learn. This is a big deal.

Some automotive impacts of AI?

• Measuring sentiment;
• Using predictive analytics: Power your marketing and link to inventory;
• More accurate information;
• More consumer relevance as a pathway to building trust; and
• Consumer expectations will rise across all sectors.

That doesn’t even scratch the surface.

2. De-globalization continues

The reversal of the globalization trend that dominated the past many decades is just picking up steam. This will be in full bore five years from now.

Here are just a few implications:

• Supply chain impacts: Nearshoring takes time and lots of capital;
• Reduced innovation: Consuming capital that could have been driving innovation;
• Inflation: globalization made things cheaper. Reversing it risks making things more expensive for a sustained period;
• Lower economic growth: Reduced access to foreign markets;
• Geopolitical risk: Warren Buffet and Taiwan, as an example;
• New winners and losers: Is Canada really prepared to compete? Consider the current Windsor spat over support for the Stellantis battery plant, and how publicly messy that was. I can only imagine what it was like behind the curtain.

3. Canada’s population continues to grow. Quickly.

Canada has the fastest growing population of any G7 nation, and one of the fastest growing of any country in the world. Our immigration targets are high and intended to combat an ageing population that isn’t replacing itself.

This is a valid and important strategic choice, and one I fully support. But if we’re going to add more than half a million people a year, who will not be spread evenly across the country, we better be ready for the consequences.

This will create tremendous pressures on housing costs and availability, transportation and infrastructure, and service levels across the economy. Not to mention creating suitable employment and expedited pathways to getting peoples’ skills to work in their chosen fields.

4. Our population continues to age

Notwithstanding the immigration piece mentioned above, by 2030 (the year when the youngest baby boomers turn 65 years), the proportion of the total population aged 65 will be over 20 per cent, and may be approaching a quarter of the Canadian population.

Here are just some of the potential impacts:

• Young, computer-literate workers will continue to be in very high demand, and will be demanding;
• Figuring out ways to engage (or re-engage) older workers will be key;
• Connecting your businesses to pools of new immigrants will bring competitive advantage.

5. We’re headed for an affordability crunch

Housing is having a very hard time catching up with demand fueled by population growth and foreign ownership, which means the correction that we might expect given how overheated Canada’s house prices are may not happen in the way we would expect. And there are plenty of Canadians who will be facing a significant increase in their monthly mortgage payments over the next three years and living with those increases far beyond that.

Vehicles are expensive, and OEMs will be hard pressed to address affordability given their investments in new technology and the cost of running both ICE and EV businesses concurrently as we transition.

Giving consumers tools to help them navigate these affordability challenges will be central to business success.

6. Software and data integration

We work in an industry that works with an incredibly complex and fragmented data environment. Consider a single customer record. You likely have more than one in your own business, with some customer data living in your DMS, some other info living in some of the other tools you use. Your vendors may be creating and updating customer records in their environments that are not reading and writing back to your system, so now your customer exists in more than one place.

And your OEMs have their own data and sources that are not fully integrated into yours.

This is a monumental task to fix, and I can assure you that you’ll still be wrestling with it five years from now. Truly fixing this is complex, expensive and time consuming.

The payoff: truly knowing your customers, creating a customer experience that can rival what consumers get from Amazon and others, and building a platform for OTA revenue.

One last thing I’d love to share. It’s hard to stay on top of change, and to put it all into perspective.

I recommend you listen to this:

And read this:

See you next time.

The post Today, 5 years from now appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

If you’ll allow me to alter and repurpose that well known and oft-quoted Vegas slogan, what happens in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas.

I know that because I’ll be reporting on it.

I’ll be heading down there for Thomson Reuter’s Automotive Retail 2023 event. I’ll be onstage moderating a panel that will stare down some of the financial concerns faced by both customers and the industry and see if we can provide some useful ideas. I’m sure we can.

After three years of low inventory and high demand that has led to record profitability, the industry faces an almighty correction. Stronger availability of inventory will impact and soften pricing for both new and used. There are concerns demand will lose steam in the upcoming months as interest rates soar and consumer demand changes.

And as a number of dealers have spoken to me about in recent months, there is a real awareness that their sales teams have a tough adjustment to make. In some cases, sales people will need to get back to prospecting and selling, not simply taking orders (and yes, I know it’s never that simple but I think the point is still valid). In others, sales people who have been in their roles for less than a few years will be dealing with a set of market conditions that they’ve never had to navigate before.

As one dealer told me, it’s a tough managerial task to tell your team that they need to work harder than they have in years, and will need to do so for less income.

Happily, there are a number of tools and experts available to help. Hence the trip to Vegas.

The event brings together a great mix of dealers, OEMs and retail-focused vendors, so it’s one of the most relevant events in the calendar. Here’s the link for more information: https://events.reutersevents.com/ automotive/retail-usa

If you can make it, I’d love to see you there. It’s always fun to connect with other Canadians from the industry, especially South of the border. If you can’t make it, look to our pages in future issues as we bring you some highlights.

Changing gears, I would like to acknowledge Gerry Malloy’s retirement. Todd has spoken at length about Gerry in his column, so I won’t repeat what he said though I share all his sentiments.

I would like to share one anecdote.

I first met Gerry when the company I worked for bought a bunch of car magazines. I was suddenly the group publisher and needed to dive in and get my head around the titles, the team, and the automotive industry. Testfest gave me the perfect opportunity to start as all our automotive journalists would be in one place, so I dove in.

After three years of low inventory and high demand that has led to record profitability, the industry faces an almighty correction. Stronger availability of inventory will impact and soften pricing for both new and used.

Gerry was the most senior and recognized of the group, and as our most important contributor he was the one I most needed some time with. I managed to corral him and introduce myself just as he was about to take a BMW Z4 for a test drive. He suggested I jump in and talk while he drove, so I did.

After chatting a bit, I asked the question that was most on my mind. As the most respected automotive journalist in the country, Gerry could write for anyone. I wanted to know why he wrote for us. I needed to know what my risk of losing him was, as can often happen in an ownership change.

So I asked the question in as straightforward a manner as possible, and I got an equally straightforward answer: “I’ve written for Lynn Helpard (the magazines’ previous owner and founder) because he pays on time.”

That simple statement formed the foundation of my connection with Gerry for the next two and half decades. What that sentence really told me was that as long as I lived up to my end of the bargain, he would deliver on his. And Gerry, you have. In spades.

And throughout that time, we’ve done it all on a handshake.

You’re a rare bird, Gerry. Thank you for teaching me so much about the automotive world, and for showing an automotive rookie just how special this industry is. Thanks for your wisdom, your words and your whole-hearted commitment.

I’m very grateful that I’ve had the chance to do it with you. I can’t imagine it any other way.

The post What happens in Vegas… appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

In a world of social media, where anyone can publish to the world and any given story can take off and reach an audience of thousands, companies need to be particularly careful about how their actions might be seen.

It is through this lens of brand risk that I find myself looking at something that happened this week. And it left me flabbergasted that this occurrence happened because it’s the company’s policy.

Here’s the good news: we’re not picking on an automotive company. In fact, it’s not automotive at all. It’s an airline. For the sake of this article, let’s call them Flairline.

And why is this story worth sharing with you? Simply because it’s a powerful reminder of how ridiculous some policies, practices and simple habits can look when seen through a customer lens.

The story is simple enough (and in full disclosure, I recognize that this is a first world problem):

My significant other logs a lot of air miles for work, and always flies business class as a perk of the role. So she is, simply put, among the most important and most profitable customers Flairline has.

So imagine her surprise when she got downgraded to the back of the plane due to “an inoperative seat.” Imagine her further surprise when she learned that is a term that actually means a customer paying full fare has been bumped to give the seat to a Flairline employee!

I guess it would be unacceptable to Flairline employees to have to fly the way the vast majority of their customers fly.

This has social media risk written all over it. Seen from a customer perspective, it’s nuts. And yet, it is company policy. Further investigation with the staff at the airport revealed that they are in full agreement it’s a terrible policy, one that causes repeated grief as the decision on who to bump is made at head office. The gate staff are simply the messengers.

So again, why share this with you?

Simple. It’s a very memorable example, for me anyway. I will remember it every time I get on a plane and see an airline employee sitting in an “inoperable seat” and wonder who got bumped and sent the message that they really aren’t valued much at all. I’ll also wonder how many people they will share it with.

And I want it to be memorable for you too, as a reminder to always try and see the things we do through a customer lens.

The service advisor who tells a customer with a wave of their hand that their vehicle is ready and they can go find it somewhere out on the lot… The dealership employee who grabs a prime parking spot right beside the store, leaving customers to find a less desirable spot… etc.

There are lots of examples. Many of them are quite hard to see unless we really look.

The risk in these things is that they seem so minor, so simple, that they continue to happen without us always realizing how much brand risk they carry. They can whittle away at our equity with our customers. Sometimes they burn a bunch of that equity all at once.

They carry real risk. As such, we should always be looking for them. Remember that next time you buy a business class or premium economy ticket, and wonder if you’re going to be bumped to the back of the plane.

The post A story of brand risk appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

Steve Greenfield, Founder and CEO of Automotive Ventures and I sat down to plan Steve’s appearance at CADEX in Halifax in April, and we got to talking. Some of that chat is reproduced here as a teaser to what we’ll discuss on stage.

Niel Hiscox: What are some of the key things you’re thinking about looking ahead through 2023?

Steve Greenfield: If I put on my dealer hat, I’m hearing this more from owners recently about getting back to basics. I think a lot of the dealer owners are concerned that given the last three years where dealers have largely been order takers and there hasn’t been any inventory, now they’re like, ‘have my employees lost the muscle memory to sell cars? How do I ensure that I’ve got to get ahead of that problem with training?’ I got a lot of dealers who are worried about compensation plans because people who’ve made a bunch of money the last couple years are going to be shocked that some of their comps are going to come down as margins get back to normal.

Inventory seems to be coming back and could come back very, very quickly. We’ve already seen a reset on used, right? In the last quarter of last year a lot of dealers were stuck with inventory they’d overpaid on as prices came back down to earth. For certain brands inventory is going to come back quickly. Incentives are coming back for certain brands too. And that wave could come very quickly this year. So we may exit this year looking forward to a very different dynamic than we entered the year.

Niel: And economically?

Steve: I’ve had a chance to live through a couple of these economic cycles in my time. It’s interesting to contrast where we are right now to 2008. The fed in both countries have been on top of it, and have been increasing rates to slow inflation, which seems to be starting to creep down now. So unlike the crazy inflation we saw back in 2008, I think there’s a good probability of a gradual soft landing. Valuations will reset, but I don’t think we’re going to see dramatic, crashing valuations.

Niel: Even if a soft landing brings demand down to 1.6, that’s probably still the max that in 2023 the industry’s going to be able to provide anyway. So in effect, we may still be able to sell a car to almost every customer. What are your thoughts?

Steve: On average, I believe you’re exactly right. But then you’re going to have certain brands where they’re going to over produce and, I’ll say this on stage in a couple weeks with you, but I think the interesting experiment is that we’re going to see another 150 EV models in the next two years. Remember back to the Pontiac Aztec. There will literally be EV models that get launched that won’t sell. The problem is then: how are you going to deal with it? In the past you’ve got two levers. You can throw incentives to try to get consumers to buy them, or you can vent it into fleets. But the fleets are only going to absorb so many EVs right now because there isn’t the demand or infrastructure to rent out EV fleets.

It will be the tyranny of the averages because what you said is a good characterization on average, but I think certain brands are going to have oversupply.

Niel: What about dealership valuations?

Steve: I think valuations are as high as they’re ever going to be. Record profitability isn’t going to persist. Acquirers like Lithia [& Driveway] are voracious and are keeping multiples high. When you multiply those two things together, this is as good as it’s ever going to get. So as long as dealers are clear-eyed about that, and have a plan to find cost efficiencies on the backend and make the whole business more defensible through scale and diversification. 

Otherwise, when earnings come down and valuations come down, it works in opposite to what’s happened recently. The multiplication effect means that your store is going to be worth a lot less.

Join Steve and Niel in Halifax on April 5 at CADEX.

The post Sneak preview of CADEX chat appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

For many of us in the automotive industry, there is plenty of time spent poring over charts and tables of data, trying to glean the insights the data is willing to yield.

The Canadian auto dealer team has the benefit of sharing office space with our sister-company Clarify Group, which spends every day looking at data to inform targets, standards and opportunities in a changing world of customer experience.

And while all that is great, it’s always fun when I get a chance to talk one-on-one to someone about their automotive experience. Even more so when that person is not part of a focus group, virtual or real. 

It‘s simply a conversation.

Now, I’ll state the obvious. You can’t extrapolate that conversation to represent a population. But as journalists have long known, you can tell the tale of a single individual to add flavour and engagement when telling the story of a population.

As human beings, we’re pulled into an individual’s tale more than we are drawn into the abstraction of data.

All that to say, I had a really interesting conversation with a first-time EV owner, and I thought I’d share some of the highlights.

The EV owner in question is thoughtful, bright, and happens to be my Mother-in-Law. So it’s fair to say that the highlights are drawn from a series of conversations, both through the research and selection process and now, after some months of ownership. 

I also think it’s safe to say that she is thrilled with the vehicle and the experience so far. 

Her choice was not driven by climate related issues at all. She simply wanted what she believed would be a better product and newer technology.

She said it was worth the months-long wait for the longer battery, which to me says interesting things about range anxiety. She lives in Barbados so the distances she drives will never challenge the car’s range. But the comfort of having that extra buffer is very real. As we see so often, issues relating to EV range are much more psychological than practical. How much one actually drives in a day is rarely the main point.

The actual driving performance is a huge draw. Long live the flat torque curve!

She finds herself consciously taking note of the gas stations (sorry, petrol stations…) that she used to stop at. Each time she does, there’s a subtle but real reinforcement that she made the right choice. I find this interesting, because it suggests that the ubiquity of gas stations may actually help “fuel” the transition to EVs. (Sorry, couldn’t resist). 

My Mum-in-Law is an older buyer, in her 70s. Let’s make sure our industry realizes that older consumers will be just as important to the EV transition as younger ones. In fact they will be much more important. They are the ones buying vehicles.

Notwithstanding her being very British, she has absolutely no concerns with the fact that her vehicle, an MG, is in fact a Chinese car. I think it’s safe to say that direct product experience will almost always trump country-of-origin concerns. All these new brands that are coming to Canada likely have as big an opportunity as they believe they do.

One concern of hers is that the car doesn’t provide the visual and audible reinforcement that it’s been turned on. So she sometimes has to double check. I’ve heard this from many folks, and the product planners are taking note (think of the glowing globe on the Genesis GV60).

But she really does enjoy the quiet when she’s driving.

In fact, her only real concern was how long it takes to “boot up”. Yes, those are her words. As if there was any remaining doubt, consumers understand that their vehicles are computers on wheels. Even consumers well into their 70s.

So there you have it. Some anecdotes from one EV owner who will never buy an ICE vehicle again. Vive la Revolution!

The post A little bit of one-on-one appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

As I write my last publisher’s note of the year, I’d like to clear out some odds and ends I thought worth highlighting.

Back together again

I’d like to thank the provincial dealer associations across the country for their commitment to great in-person events that bring dealers, vendors and other industry players together. And for letting the Canadian auto dealer team play our part.

From the Western Dealer Summit in Vegas, the TADA’s ACE event in Ontario to the CADEX event in Halifax, we saw strong dealer participation and great speakers. In Halifax, for example, the attendee numbers were right where we left off before the pandemic. In fact, they were stronger.

Your associations put a tremendous amount of effort into organizing these events. Thank you for coming out and supporting them. On a personal level, it’s been great to see many of you face-to-face after too long away.

The event calendar in the new year is looking strong, including a great speaker line-up for the CADA Summit in February. We’re in the final stages of planning that and while you’ve heard me say it before, I think this year’s line-up will be among the best we’ve had in the nearly ten years the event has been going on. The Summit will be in-person again, so be sure to put it on your calendar. I hope to see many of you there.

The pace of change in the industry keeps picking up. The depth of disruption that the industry is undergoing seems to grow month over month. And Canada’s dealers continue to demonstrate the creativity, resourcefulness and resiliency that makes them, frankly, dealers.

Let your OEMs hear your voice

Consumer auto shows have been part of this industry since it started. After a few years of being sidelined by the pandemic, those events are working hard to get started again.

I get to see that up close as we share office space with the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association team as they put together the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto.

Hearing the range of OEM reactions to the return of consumer auto shows is very interesting. Suffice to say there is a range of reactions across the different brands, from wholehearted enthusiasm to something less than that.

Do car shows still matter in a world of TikTok, paid influencers and Google’s Performance Max?

Based on early indications from consumers, yes, they do. There is every reason to believe that consumers will be coming back to these events as they have in the past.

I think it’s important that brands be there for them.

I suspect many dealers feel the same way. Let’s make sure your voices are heard in the halls of OEMs’ zone and head offices. Believe me, your reactions matter and your influence is felt.

Building the brand while you wait

An industry that is accustomed to selling cars from inventory isn’t accustomed to training sales staff to remain in contact with customers while they wait for a vehicle that’s on order. Particularly when the order window extends well into next year and the delivery date is uncertain at best.

We see and hear this over and over. We see it in training our sister firm Clarify is doing, in anecdotal conversation with friends, and more.
It’s a challenge, but one the industry needs to address.

The good news is that it’s easy to do. Finding meaningful, simple ways to stay in touch with a client over those months can be very simple, and very much appreciated.

I find myself in exactly this position. I put in an order and deposit on my next vehicle some months ago, and haven’t heard anything since. In this case, the individuals involved are very high performers, so there’s no issue there. The issue is training.
And process.

Imagine the impact it would have if they sent me a logo baseball cap just before Christmas with a simple note along the lines of “Looking forward to welcoming you to the family next year. Have a great holiday season.” The impact would be considerable. Will it happen? I doubt it, given that I’ve heard nothing since making the deposit.

Cost doesn’t need to be an issue. An email would be an appreciated gesture. It’s not even necessary to have an update on the vehicle. It’s really just about showing the customer is top of mind.

There’s a lot more that could be said on this, but you get my drift. This may represent the lowest hanging fruit available to dealers looking to improve the customer experience they’re providing.

One last thing

The pace of change in the industry keeps picking up. The depth of disruption that the industry is undergoing seems to grow month over month. And Canada’s dealers continue to demonstrate the creativity, resourcefulness and resiliency that makes them, frankly, dealers.

It’s such a great pleasure for me to be part of this industry and work with so many of you. I can’t believe another year has gone by. I can’t believe what an exciting time it is to play a part in Canada’s automotive landscape.

Have a great holiday season. On behalf of the team at Universus, Clarify, and Canadian auto dealer, I wish you, your family and friends all the best.

The post Year end grab bag appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

Over the last six months or so, we’ve seen the economic outlook go from strong to not strong. The expectation now is that we’re facing a recession through 2023. I thought it might be worth a slightly deeper look at this.

In his July 8 podcast “From here to where?” (a great listen, by the way), David Adams interviewed Rebekah Young from Scotiabank. Rebekah is well known to the automotive industry. David and Rebekah did a great job looking at the many factors impacting vehicle sales over the next while, and at that time, shared the view that a “soft landing” was the most likely scenario. 

Things have certainly changed a lot in the last few months.

There is now a clear consensus (about as clear as economic forecasting ever gets in terms of a consensus) that we’re facing a recession. At a meeting in Detroit this morning, a GM spokesperson said it bluntly: “We are entering a recession.” Not much nuance there. But while the overall expectations have clearly eroded, there is still plenty of room for cautious optimism. 

Let me give you a few examples.

This past Monday I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at a dealer event put on by Maxime Théoret, Farid Ahmad and Maria Soklis at DSMA. The day had a great line-up of speakers, one of whom got right to the heart of the economic question.

Erik Johnson, Economist at BMO, spoke at length about their expectations for the economy in general, and the impacts on automotive specifically. 

To sum up: Yes, the economy will be in recession, but the automotive industry is already so far short of being able to meet consumer demand (for all the reasons we know so well) that the expected drop in demand during a recession still leaves the industry with more consumers wanting cars than there is inventory available. This, despite an expected improving trend in days’ supply of vehicles over the next four to six quarters. 

This puts the industry in a very different position than in the downturn of 2008/2009, when in many ways it bore the brunt of a brutal economic contraction.

This difference was reinforced for me a few days later. In a fireside chat in Detroit, Pablo Di Si, President and CEO, Volkswagen of America, highlighted his reasons for optimism. VoA enters this period with a clean balance sheet and a very strong financial position. I believe this is true of most OEMs, and again, very different from 2009.

Perhaps most importantly, Pablo cited the strength of the order bank, which will carry well past 2003. This aligns with Erik’s comments, and with comments I’m hearing from others.

There are additional metrics to highlight that should provide some room for optimism. Among those:

• Canadian household savings are in a strong position relative to where they were pre-pandemic. Evidence suggests that Canadians are continuing to spend despite the economic outlook, and are in a position to do so;
• Unemployment levels continue to be low, with many jobs available and many companies operating at lower staffing levels than they would like and need. Many Canadians will enter this recession feeling secure in their ability to earn an income. In fact, the tightness in the job market will continue to see employers facing wage pressures despite an economic slowdown, particularly in certain key roles.

So where does this leave us? Cautiously optimistic. In fact, the continued unsnarling of automotive supply chains that is well underway and expected to continue will probably be the most important factor in influencing vehicle sales in 2023. There too, there is room for optimism.

See you in Halifax at CADEX 2022.

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For the first time in a few years, I’m looking at a very active in-person fall event schedule. 

Face to face with peers, thought leaders and influencers. I’m very excited about it.

A number of key Canadian events are taking place in person. Notables for me are the Western Dealer Summit in Vegas, TADA’s ACE event in Niagara Falls, and the CADEX event and President’s dinner in Halifax.

All three of these events are important opportunities for dealers, vendors and association staff to convene, learn, and move our ideas forward at a time of incredible disruption and transition. 

Looking a bit further ahead, we’ll be back in person for the CADA Summit and the Canadian International AutoShow. These are significant events in the Canadian automotive calendar, and our industry benefits from their return to in-person formats.

I’m very conscious that I have a privileged position in that I get to contribute to many of them, from helping shape their agendas and inviting speakers, to being on stage moderating sessions and engaging directly with some of our industry’s most savvy and influential players.

Automotive USA unites senior level OEM leaders to address all aspects of the transformations and disruptions we’re all becoming more familiar with.

Frankly, it’s one of the best parts of my job.

This fall, for the first time, my event participation will put me on stage in Detroit. After many years of attending events in Detroit, I’m thrilled to be contributing directly to Automotive USA 2022 (https://events.reutersevents.com/automotive/automotive-usa), Thomson Reuter’s flagship automotive event in the States.

Automotive USA unites senior level OEM leaders to address all aspects of the transformations and disruptions we’re all becoming more familiar with, including how the industry will build software-defined electric vehicles, reshape the OEM business model and plan for an autonomous future.

The speaker line-up is a collection of the who’s who of the senior ranks of automotive industry, with a very strong presence of OEM leaders. Agenda tracks include: Safety & Autonomous Vehicles; Electrification; The Software Defined Vehicle; and the one I am making a contribution to, Customer Experience. I’ll be moderating a session titled Taking EVs Mainstream: Converting Consumers. 

On stage I’ll be working with: Allyson Witherspoon, Chief Marketing Officer, Nissan US; Amira Aly, Director of Financial Services, Lucid Motors; and Ferry Automotive, a mobility company offering an app for short-term EV leases. Very different companies, but each should have interesting perspectives that all dealers could benefit from in terms of supporting growth in EV sales.

I’m also proud that this magazine is a media partner for Automotive USA, CADEX, the CADA Summit, and the TADA’s ACE Conference. In striving to deliver you thought leadership, it’s critical we stay on the front lines. As you participate in these industry events, look for Canadian auto dealer and Universus team members. We’ll be eager to connect with you.

The post Join me in Detroit (and other places) appeared first on Canadian Auto Dealer.

Over many years and many roles, I’ve had the chance to collaborate and commiserate with a remarkable list of professionals, partners and friends. I’d like to take a moment to recognize three of those people. Two of them played pivotal roles in my career. And I’m confident one is about to.

First, I’d like to share a bit of my history First, I’d like to share a bit of my history with John Carmichael, who just retired from his role as CEO of OMVIC. As we’ve reported in this magazine, John had a remarkable career. If you aren’t familiar with some of his achievements, I encourage you to learn more. Take a look on canadianautodealer.ca.

John always made himself available to me for questions large and small, but there is one particular meeting I would like to focus on. Interestingly, it was our first one.

When I initially had the idea for Canadian auto dealer and Affaires automobiles, I needed to understand whether others thought it would be a valuable addition to the industry. Three stakeholder groups were key: advertisers; CADA and the provincial dealer associations; and above all, dealers.

John was my first call. He agreed to meet, hear me out, and share his thoughts. He gave generously of his time and feedback and more than anything, he showed enthusiasm for what the magazine could become. 

The wind he blew into my sails was instrumental in making it all happen, and I’ve never forgotten that. Thank you, John. For that meeting, and the many that followed. 

I’d like to highlight another retirement, the end of a career that might be less well known but that for me was foundational. Ron Salmon has retired from his role as a member of our advertising sales team at Canadian auto dealer and Affaires automobiles.

When I started my career in advertising sales in 1992, I joined a small but successful publishing company focused on the heavy truck market. Their success was in no small part due to their primary sales resource. That was Ron. 

I joined the team as a junior who had never sold an ad in my life. Ron mentored me, showed me the ropes, and made it a lot of fun. We covered a lot of miles, worked a lot of trade shows, launched new magazines, and grew the company.

Years later, long after I’d left that company, I again found myself needing a seasoned ad sales pro. I reached out and was thrilled that Ron accepted and joined the team at CLB Media. He quickly became a central figure in a large business development team of more than 20 people.

You can see why I made the same request of Ron a third time, years later, to bring his skills and experience to Universus. Ron, I’m grateful that you again came to help. Thank you for being my teacher, my partner, and my friend. 

And I’d like to highlight a new start.

Ricardo brings a powerful combination of experience, energy and drive to our team. 

Universus is thrilled to welcome Ricardo Hernandez to our team. Ricardo will fill Ron’s shoes, working with our clients to develop the digital and print campaigns that power our magazines and make it possible for us to serve this remarkable industry.

Ricardo brings a powerful combination of experience, energy and drive to our team. In fact, many of our clients may recognize him from previous automotive roles. Ricardo knows dealers, and knows automotive. We can’t wait to see the impact you’ll have on the Universus team.

So thank you, John. Thank you, Ron. And welcome, Ricardo.

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