Welcome back to Drive to Success, our roundup series of trending topics and stories hand-picked to help you navigate the path to profitability. You spent last year battling unprecedented challenges like lockdowns, never-before-seen safety…
Leverage Technology to Take On Margin Compression
Margin compression is an ongoing problem in the auto retail industry. But at least it’s somewhat predictable. Margin compression almost always accompanies economic slowdown—when economic times get tough, profit margins usually start to slim.…
Master Margin Compression: Seven Solutions
The lasting impact of global events on the economy is yet to be determined, but dealerships are already feeling the pinch of margin compression. Even as customers continue to buy cars, margin compression and…
7 Ways to Fight Back Against Margin Compression
When the going gets tough, the tough get going! That’s always been the mentality of auto dealers during difficult times. When a new challenge comes along (a pandemic, for instance), tough-minded dealers buckle down,…
2020 Vision: Integrated Solutions in a Digital World
In this month’s Dealertrack DMS 2020 Vision Series—where leaders and experts share goals, aspirations, and predictions for the automotive industry—our Director of Business Development shares his thoughts on the emerging trends affecting dealers. In…
Drive to Success: Consolidation Woes Leave No Room for the Little Guy
Among the many key issues automotive dealers have tackled in the past decade—the Great Recession, Margin Compression, Staffing Struggles—a new challenger has emerged. Fueled by digital disruption and the changing habits of consumers, small…
Drive to Success: Margin Compression Just One of Many Challenges for Dealers
While shrinking margins continue to plague dealers year over year, a new set of challenges is weighing heavily on the modern franchise dealership. With growing technology costs, privacy concerns, and changing buyer habits and…
Revealed: The Missing Metrics Needed To Fight Margin Compression
Sell more, make more. The formula for dealership profits used to be pretty straightforward. Managers that focused on increasing sales volumes could logically expect to see higher profits. Times have changed. According to a…
Drive to Success: Fight Margin Compression with Improved Operational Efficiency
Auto dealers have heard it again and again: People are buying cars, yet margin compression continues to chip away at dealership profits. In some cases, dealers are selling automobiles at a loss! Could a…
Drive to Success: Margin Compression Continues to Stress Auto Dealers
Automotive dealerships continue to battle for profits every day. With changing consumer buying habits, more options for buying and using cars, and a highly competitive market, dealers are still struggling with shrinking margins. Can…
Maximizing Titling Efficiency to Boost Inventory Turn
Economic trends indicate that plateauing SAAR for new vehicles is likely to continue, which means that used vehicle sales will be particularly important. This isn’t surprising news, but it reinforces the importance for dealers of…
Drive to Success: Will Your Dealership Master Margin Compression This Year?
Dealership owners are betting big this year on new technologies, procedural updates, data-crunching, and high-hopes to combat margin compression. Will your dealership’s strategy prove to be successful in mastering this menace? There’s nothing like…
