The latest Cox Automotive survey found that car dealers see effects of future mobility as a positive for revenue growth. Cox surveyed 430 franchise and independent dealers for its Cox Automotive Future of Mobility Study. In the release of the second phase of the study, the survey found that only one in 10 car dealers believe that advances in mobility will negatively impact sales despite expectations that personal-car ownership will decline.
Though the survey indicated that car dealers expect a steeper decline in personal-vehicle ownership than the general public does (28 percent versus 18 percent), they are hopeful that trends in future mobility will help rather than hurt revenue. In other words, dealers see the trends in mobility as an opportunity and not a threat.
For ride-hailing, car-sharing and subscription services, roughly 45 percent of dealers believe such advances will add revenue streams. Nearly three out of four dealers think offering such services at their dealerships will add to the bottom line. Moreover, 59 percent of dealers surveyed believe vehicles used for ride hailing and car sharing will log more miles than personally owned vehicles, generating additional dollars in the service department.
About 72 percent of dealers don’t view the evolution from traditional ownership to the "sharing" model as a threat to the current dealership system. However, about 57 percent are convinced such a change will reduce the number of dealerships across the country.
Dealers are uncertain about offering such services at the dealer level. This is uncharted waters for the majority of dealers, and some fret that they will fail to take full advantage of the coming changes.
The Cox Automotive Evolution of Mobility Study was conducted during July 2018.
