Page 41 - BusinessWest July 10, 2023

“It’s back to normal in many respects, but you’re still dealing with some supply issues; it may not be microchips, but other parts
— one widget can hold up a whole vehicle.”
For this issue and its focus on auto sales, BusinessWest talked with several dealers about what’s happening with this market at the halfway point in the year, and what we can expect in quarters three and four — and beyond.
To a Higher Gear
Before addressing 2023, Sullivan first set the tone by recapping 2022, which was, by most measures, and especially the new-car- sales yardstick, a down, or flat, year. And the availability of cars, or the lack thereof, was the biggest factor.
“Every time we thought that someone was going to build enough cars to grow sales, they weren’t able to, or they weren’t able to ship them,” he explained, listing issues ranging from plant lockdowns due to COVID to a computer-chip shortage and backups at the ports. “So the industry was really under some pressure.”
The consensus within this sector was that things would rebound somewhat in 2023, but the bounce would be limited by everything from lingering shipping challenges to higher interest rates to inflation limiting consumers’ buying power.
And all that has come to pass, said those we spoke with, noting that one of the biggest issues still facing dealers is inventory. Indeed, while most all of them would carry fewer vehicles than they did before the pandemic, for those reasons mentioned above, they would prefer more than they have at present — at least with most models.
Cosenzi, like Sullivan, said inventory levels vary with the brand, with some manufacturers faring better at bringing cars to the lot than others.
“Hyundai has inventory, and inventory is becoming more available every month,” she said. “Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s inventory isn’t nearly as robust as Hyundai’s, and with Nissan, we’re slowly seeing it grow, but it’s not faring as well as Hyundai.
“Obviously, we’ve learned to be more disciplined through COVID
and not having as much inventory, and I think that has trained the consumer to
Autos
Continued on page 60
Carla Cozensi says inventory issues are among the many challenges facing dealers today.
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Carla Cosenzi
BusinessWest
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