Even as the three U.S.-based auto makers brace for possibly the worst year for sales in a decade, their relationships with dealers are better than they have been for years.
Ford Motor Co. (F), General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC have taken steps to boost revenues at their dealers, hoping success at the dealerships will help the auto makers win new generations of customers so they can return to sustainable profitability. Gone are sales reward programs that promoted dealer infighting; over-production that filled showrooms with unwanted products; and the frothy incentives for consumers that helped move cars but cut into profits.
"The people that are running these domestic manufacturers today are the best that anybody's ever seen," said Denver Chrysler dealer John Schenden. "They know that short cuts just don't work any more."
The moves are all part of a concerted effort to create a healthier base of dealers, which have been hurt as the auto makers lose market share to foreign rivals. These rivals, such as Toyota Motor Co. (TM), are using their smaller and more-profitable dealer networks to move product off their lots and into customer hands.
Toyota, on average, needed only 34 days to sell one of its Toyota-branded vehicles in 2007 while Ford needed 65 days to sell a Ford-branded car or truck, according to JD Power & Associates. GM took an average of 73 days to sell a GMC and 76 days to move a Chevrolet. A Chrysler-branded vehicle sat on lots an average of 102 days.
Read the full article at -
US Auto Makers, Dealers Sticking Together Amid Sales Slump
02-08-2008, 05:05 PM
Car Dealer and Manufacturers Playing Nice
Linear Mode
