Rhett Ricart, 2020 Chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), officially handed the reins to Paul Walser of Walser Automotive Group in Minnesota, to become the association’s new 2021 chairman on February 11.
Walser discussed the importance for automotive retailers to start with a “clean sheet of paper” this year, and aims to focus on four areas of improvement that will help strengthen the franchise system: the OEM-dealer relationship, diversity, dealer involvement and participation with NADA, and the transition to a new NADA president.
“I want to work very closely with the Alliance of Automotive Innovation and try to share the manufacturer-dealer relationship going forward,” said Walser in a recap of his morning session.
“So if we get together in the room and start to talk about what would we do if we had a clean sheet of paper, what would this relationship look like?” said Walser. “And we can be talking about what the customer really expects, because that’s the main driver for us.”
He said the relationship should not fully be about what the OEMs or dealers want, but rather what their customers are looking for — and how the manufacturers and dealers can work together to strengthen the franchise system by looking at it through the customer lens.
Walser also talked about the importance of figuring out how the industry can adopt a more diverse dealer body. He believes this issue will involve working with other organizations, such as NAMAD (National Association of Minority Auto Dealers) and the Alliance of Automotive Innovation to try to solve the problem at its source.
“Why is it that our efforts to increase minority representation have failed?” said Walser. “To me we have to solve the problem by making sure that we have more people entering our industry. We have to have training that is in place, and we have to have the resources for them to financially own and to be sustainably successful in dealerships.”
He believes that working with other organizations will help the industry find a better path that delivers more sustainable results.
The last area Walser aims to work on is increasing dealer involvement and engagement with NADA by spreading the message about what the association can do on behalf of dealers in the United States.
Walser said one of his favourite U.S. presidents is James K. Polk, who had four ambitious goals for his one term in office and accomplished them — only to die 90 days later. “I’m going to pattern myself after Mr. Polk, with the exception of the dying 90 days later part,” said Walser.
That last goal was introduced when Walser welcomed the new NADA President, Mike Stanton. He succeeded Peter Welch on Jan. 1, 2021.
Stanton hails from Washington, D.C. where several members of his family were government lobbyists. He said the mission at NADA will remain the same: working on behalf of dealers, strengthening the franchise system, and educating and advocating for dealer interests.
On challenges facing NADA, Stanton said the pandemic will remain the association’s first priority, but working with the OEMs and putting the customer first will be important as well. Proactively educating policymakers and making sure they understand the auto retail business is also on the agenda.
“The value we create for customers, the positive effect that dealers have in their communities and really the economy overall in the United States — the bottom line is that the franchise system is the most competitive and efficient system to sell and service vehicles, and our lawmakers need to understand that.”
The virtual 2021 NADA Show runs from Feb. 9-11, 2021. Stay tuned for more coverage of the event, which will appear on our Canadian auto dealer website and in our March issue.
