It’s an interesting time for the Australian Motor industry. Ask any Australian Motor dealer and they will tell you that 2020 was the most difficult year they have experienced. The industry as a whole has changed dramatically in the last 12 months but there are still a host of challenges facing dealers going into the back end of 2021.
Stock shortages, increasing competition and changing government regulations are a few of the challenges facing Australian motor dealers. Along with this many dealers have the dark cloud of lockdowns and restrictions hanging over their head.
Here are 5 of the biggest challenges facing Australian Motor Dealers in 2021:
1. Car supply shortage:
We know how you feel! The biggest challenge facing Australian motor dealers in 2021 is a shortage of vehicle stock. With Covid-19 still effecting a large amount of the world, stock is becoming harder and harder to come by. Decreased international production and limited private sellers have been the reasons for car stock shortage.
While finding car stock is hard enough, if you are one of the lucky ones who find a great quality car you will be paying a significant amount for it! Due to the lack of supply, used car prices have skyrocketed across Australia – presenting a further headache for dealers. Australian Car buyers are becoming more and more price conscious. If dealers aren’t willing to budge on price or add-ons, customers will seek other sellers who will give them what they want.
For Australian motor dealers there are solutions available that can help you source new stock. Shop for Cars has introduced a Sell your Car feature that allows dealers to bid on members of the public’s vehicles, if interested. To learn more click here.
2. Cost of acquiring a lead
A concerning challenge facing Australian Motor dealers is the escalating cost of acquiring a lead. With competition growing, many dealers have been forced to up their advertising spend to stay competitive and gain leads. It has been reported some dealers are paying upwards of $600 dollars per vehicle on advertising! The problem with this is if you receive countless dodgy leads that fail to convert into a sale you will be losing money.
For dealers, it’s so important that you are actively reporting on your advertising spend. You should see how many leads are being generated from a particular advertiser against your advertising spend. You shouldn’t just look at the lead number, you should assess how many incoming leads went through to convert into a paying customer, because at the end of the day if a lead does not convert it’s worthless.
The benefit of frequently reporting on your advertising spend is you can instantly implement changes to those advertisers who aren’t providing a return on investment.
3. Growing Competition
We get it, in any industry there is going to be competition. But if your dealership hasn’t got a clear and concise strategy in place to combat competitors - you could face losing thousands of dollars.
As competition continues to grow it's so important you stay on top of everything they are doing. Know when they are offering a deal, have a look at the warranty policies they are offering and evaluate different avenues your dealership can at least match their deals or even give customers something better.
At the end of the day, you need to stand out from the crowd. Car buyers scroll through thousands of dealer listings, you need to give them something that makes them stop and choose your listing over your competitions.
To learn how to make your advertisements stand out for car buyers read our free advertising guide.
Competition is always going to be a challenge for Australian Motor dealers, there’s nothing you can do about others joining the market, but what you can do is stay on top of what they are doing and have a clear strategy in place.
4. Government Compliance
In the last 12 months dealers have seen some significant changes to government compliance. The Australian Motor industry is being put under a microscope and the government is starting to take action. Recently a NSW car dealer was fined $7725 for providing inaccurate PPSR reports, other dealers haven’t been so lucky and have lost their license completely.
It’s a far too common seeing dealers making mistakes on government compliance. We are with you, staying on top of all the latest changes to compliance is tough, with that being said dealers need to implement a system that automates their government compliance and provides them with the latest forms.
Government compliance is always going to be a struggle but there are avenues to minimise the frustration. EasyCars DMS is the easiest all-in-one solution that automates, updates and solves all Australian Motor Dealer compliance in a click.
To learn more about EasyCars Government Compliance click here.
5. Lockdowns
Arguably the biggest challenge facing Australian Motor dealers is the dark cloud of lockdowns. It’s one of those things we can’t control, rewind just a few months and everything seemed like it was fast going back to normal, and when you fast-forward to today it’s the complete opposite.
For any small business owner lockdowns are frustrating, stressful and bring high degree of anxiety. The good news is lockdowns aren’t forever. As you can’t control a lockdown the best thing you can do is limit the impacts they have on your businesses. What’s to say we won’t have another lockdown in 12 months’ time? We just never know.
Dealers should implement systems that allow you to trade and operate remotely. You are still able to sell during lockdown, but it is a far more complex process. Dealers should implement a dealer management system, frequently record virtual tours of stock and see what type of delivery options you can provide if a lockdown ever arrives.
In conclusion,
There are always going to be challenges in business, but what will determine how successful you are is the way you plan and minimise those challenges. Dealers should implement systems that minimise common frustrations as well as have a clear strategic plan in place that opens your doors for future growth.
We hope you enjoyed this post. To read more articles like this, please visit our news section here.
About EasyCars,
EasyCars by Jeal is a complete web-based dealer management system that automates the buying and selling of motor vehicles in Australia. Using the latest technologies EasyCars removes common dealer frustrations, opening your doors for future growth and greater profitability.
EasyCars includes all your everyday features such as stock management, invoicing, advertising, quotes, business reporting, integrated accounting, government compliance and so much more.
With over 38 years’ experience creating simplified solutions for Australian motor dealers we understand your vision and what is needed to run a successful motor dealership.
Want to learn more? Call us today on 1300 473 744 or fill in the form below to get a no-obligation free demo of EasyCars.