Disruption was the theme of the day at CADEX 2016
It was a packed house at the fifth annual CADEX East Management Conference, as Nova Scotia dealers convened at the Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax on April 15th to discuss the issues of the day.
The annual half-day conference, organized by the Nova Scotia Automobile Dealers Association (NSADA), was then followed by a President’s dinner to celebrate the auto industry.
Event organizers confirmed this year’s conference drew the biggest crowd, not afraid to deal with the ice and snow that had piled up on the streets of Halifax overnight.
The overarching theme of the day was disruption within the auto industry, which really came through in the first presentation— a keynote address from Stephen Carlisle, President and Managing Director for GM Canada.
New opportunities
Despite a delayed flight due to the inclement weather in Halifax, Carlisle was able to deliver his much-anticipated keynote address to kick off the day.
“There’s never been more disruption in the auto industry. We’re in an era of massive opportunity,” said Carlisle.
Carlisle talked about the different ways GM is exploring mobility and the ownership model globally, as seen through its recent partnerships with Lyft and its new car-sharing service, Maven, for urban dwellers.
His presentation also explored electric vehicles and the move to reduce emissions, as well as the migration from the connected car to autonomous vehicles.
Though Carlisle believes the conventional car ownership model is here to stay for a while, dealers can also capitalize on the ride sharing economy.
For example, Carlisle pointed out that shared vehicles will still need to be managed as a fleet and serviced. “We need to not just think of selling vehicles, but kilometres driven as well,” he added.
While Carlisle’s keynote struck a chord with all the dealers in the room, GM dealers were able to get the most from it.
“It was great to hear from our General Motors President Steve Carlisle and see where the business is headed. Everybody has nice looking vehicles these days but it’s really what’s in them and what we are going to do with them in years to come,” said Jeff Little, partner of Murray Auto Group in Dartmouth, N.S., and a GM retailer.
Modest growth
Michael Hatch, Chief Economist for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), presented his overview of the national economy and his outlook for Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia should continue to see modest growth for the rest of 2016, though Hatch said the province’s share of national sales is fairly flat. Sales hit a new record for the province but they rose only 1.7 per cent from last year.
The province continues to have a strong appetite for trucks and SUVs, mimicking the rest of the country. The used car market is also fairly strong in the province, said Hatch.
He also brought up some of the demographic challenges the province is facing, joking there are “not enough newlyweds and too many nearly deads.”
The province is also struggling to attract immigrants and bring young talent into dealerships, even though employees on average are making around $959 a week.
But overall, Hatch said Nova Scotia is doing better than some of its neighbours.
Time for new processes
A panel session on dealership information technology looked into lead generation and other digital technologies that shape automotive retail.
The discussion was moderated by Niel Hiscox, Publisher of Canadian auto dealer, who probed panelists Alan Bird, Chief Executive Leader for SCI MarketView and Dave Bates, VP of customer support for Reynolds & Reynolds, on topics related to mystery shopping, transparency and the role of mobile phones in the store.
Dealers also heard a panel discussion with Robert Karwel, Senior Manager of Automotive Practice in Canada for J.D. Power and Dave Arnold from CARPROOF, on how consumers feel about the dealership selling process.
What’s to come
Hiscox then sat down on stage with Rick Gauthier, President & CEO of CADA, for an informal fireside chat.
Gauthier announced last November that he would be stepping down from the association, and much of the chat surrounded the issues his successor will be facing, like the next Bank Act review.
They also spoke about dealer consolidation and the issue of the need for dealers to form a succession plan. Gauthier said that even consolidators will need to figure out their exit strategy once the buying frenzy settles down.
The conference wrapped up with an announcement from Hanif Dharamsi from TD Auto Finance, which has committed to three more years as CADEX presenting sponsor.
