What can Canadians learn from the European experience with selling electric vehicles? The Canadian auto dealer team asked me to reflect on lessons learned from the growth of electric vehicles (EVs)—battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)—over recent years …
Global disruptions pose many challenges, but dealerships have to continue to adapt Two years into a pandemic that continues to surprise and disrupt the world, the auto industry, like so many others, is grappling with a host of complex challenges …
Let’s imagine two dealers talking about selling their businesses. What does that chat sound like? The world has changed over these past few years and it’s unclear whether it will revert to pre-pandemic norms. Many of us are positioning …
A look at the sales numbers reveals some interesting trends to watch. 2021 was by no means a “normal” year for Canadian dealerships. With supply chain issues and varying COVID restrictions at different times of the year, it would have …
A look behind the scenes helps shed light on why lenders reject many good clients, and what dealers can do about it. Some finance managers at dealerships are mystified when seemingly good financing applications are rejected, but in the hustle …
Voicing dissent is part of democracy. Disrupting the economy is another matter altogether. It seems to me that nothing has polarized our society more than the oversight governments have imposed with respect to requirements and restrictions related to the COVID-19 …
There are pros and cons to different approaches, and it all depends on your people. During a recent assignment at a Toronto Cadillac dealership, I asked the Dealer Principal how many walk-in customers they had the previous month. He told …
Battery is the future, but there is still room for more innovation We’ve all heard the mantra. The future of the automobile is electric! But what of the venerable internal combustion engine (ICE) and its 160 years of development? Will it …
Lax policies and a lack of internal controls are driving fraudulent behaviour. It’s time to tighten up. Let’s talk about fraud. It’s the dreaded “F-Word” of the business language. While this issue exists in all industries, it is particularly prevalent …
Few Canadian provinces are investing in consumer incentives for EVs. It’s time to change that. The good news: The number of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) in Canadian driveways grew by 58 per cent in 2021 according to a recent Automotive Insights report …
The pandemic has opened eyes and disrupted the buy/sell game. Certainly 2020 and 2021 were very interesting times. The pandemic created an environment for significant consumer and business pressure. Some of this materialized in many industries as numerous small businesses …
Without the early hype and fanfare the technology is moving ahead A couple of years ago, vehicle electrification and autonomous, self-driving capabilities were the two hottest topics in the field of automotive technology. Since then, the trend toward electrification has …
