Page 12 - GIADA-April2017

3 Ways Luxury

Dealers Can Sell

Slow-Moving

Inventory

BY: BRIAN GEITNER,
PRESIDENT, COX AUTOMOTIVE
MEDIA SOLUTIONS

Some luxury dealers probably wonder These three tips will help dealers protect the same rules apply to new cars, too. A
what happened to the segment they used profits and keep inventory moving while new car listing that’s missing key infor-
to know. awaiting OEM production mixes to re- mation will get overlooked. It won’t even
balance: show up in most online searches. This
As the lines between automotive main- doesn’t have to be a complicated project.
stream and premium blur, the mix of con- Find and fix issues in new- and Just focus on the basics: photos, descrip-
sumers shopping for luxury has changed used-vehicle listings. tions, retail prices, and relevant incen-
– and so have the types of vehicles they Optimizing listings is always a good tives for every sedan listed, every time.
want to buy. Consumers are purchasing 1idea, but it’s even more important The more compelling, the faster it will
midsize luxury SUVs faster than dealers when supply outweighs demand. While sell.
can stock them, while sedans linger on selling luxury sedans against the tide,
the lot for weeks or months. It’s a simple listings have to be even more compelling Move more new sedans by
supply-and-demand issue that doesn’t to catch consumers’ attention. Unfor- leasing.
seem to have a simple solution. How can tunately, many listings are incomplete. More attractive online listings will
you stay profitable if you’re stuck with in- In a recent review of more than 10,000 2help consumers find luxury se-
ventory your market won’t buy? dealerships with listings on Autotrader. dans, but not necessarily help them pull
com, 27 percent of listings had no pho- the trigger. Plenty of consumers won’t
Automakers are working to solve the tos, 29 percent were missing vehicle de- choose to buy a luxury sedan for various
imbalance by adjusting production mix. scriptions, and 16 percent were missing a reasons. But they might feel great about
That takes time, though, so some luxury price. Of listings that included prices, 86 leasing one. Leasing has always been a
dealers are relying on OEM incentives percent only listed MSRP and 52 percent powerful force in the luxury market. It
and rebates on slow-moving inventory as didn’t include relevant live specials or in- lets consumers get the new luxury vehicle
a short-term fix. But a dealer can’t profit- centives, making those vehicles look less they want for a lower monthly payment,
ably discount much more than an OEM competitive than they actually were. and it makes it easy to upgrade to a new
is willing to incentivize. Simply put, solv- model every few years. As sales volumes
ing this complex problem is going to take As dealers know with used vehicles, com- slow down a bit in 2017, dealers can lease
more than discounts. plete and compelling listings drive inter- new luxury vehicles to bring in a contin-
est in inventory traffic to showrooms. But uous stream of revenue.

10 | GIADA Independent Auto Dealer APRIL 2017