Page 60 - BusinessWest November 28, 2022

much faster than manufacturers ramped up pro- duction after 2020’s dramatic slowdown. That problem is easing, to an extent.
“It’s a strange time in the auto industry,” Cosenzi said. “It’s so hard to predict right now, with so many different moving pieces constantly. We have been really fortunate; we have managed to keep a steady supply of inventory, so actually, it’s been a very good year for us. All our brands are doing really well.”
TommyCar’s used inventory has been healthy as well, she said, particularly the certified used inventory that comes with a warranty of three years or 100,000 miles. Because the company relies on market pricing at a time when used vehicles are in demand, both trade-in figures and sales prices are up.
“Business has been better than the past five years,” Cosenzi said, adding that low-but-rising interest rates have been a driver. “A lot of people who wouldn’t have been shopping for a new vehicle have upgraded to new vehicles.”
Pion noted that 2022 wasn’t quite as profit- able as 2021, but with a month of business left in the year, sales have been healthy.
The inventory situation has definitely improved, he said, but getting the ideal mix of inventory can be an issue. “There’s more inven- tory than there was, but the challenge is getting the right inventory — you might have a half- dozen Buicks on the ground that are front-wheel drive, not the all-wheel drive customers might be looking for,” he explained.
“And this is another year end where the heavy- duty pickups are very, very difficult to come by. A lot of companies are looking for that end-of-year write-off for heavy-duty trucks, but they’re up
Rob Pion says the industry’s inventory issues eased in 2022,
but it was sometimes challenging to have
the right inventory in stock.
Staff Photo
against it this year. Even though there’s inventory, the inventory out there is a little bit of a hodge- podge, and not always what customers would want. I don’t know that I see that getting better anytime soon.”
Which is challenging at a time when custom- ers often walk into dealerships knowing exactly what they want, with little flexibility, thanks to the information available on the internet.
“We’re very far from the time when a cus-
tomer walked in the door looking for a $35,000 vehicle, asking, ‘what do you have?’ Instead, they come in and say they’re looking at a 2020 Buick Envision, pre-owned, stock number X, asking to pay Y.”
Cosenzi agreed. “Look how much technol-
ogy has changed the automobile business — a customer can go
online and find
Cars
the exact car they
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