Hope Springs Eternal

By. Joe Chastang, HADA Chairman

It’s been a decade since I first served as HADA Chairman, and a lot has changed since then. But what hasn’t changed is the high honor to serve one of the best, most effective dealer associations in the county. Thank you.

As I take the reins, we are coming off another successful combined Houston Auto & Boat Show, or “AutoBoative Show” as we call it. Nearly 65,000 attendees enjoyed the opportunity to test drive multiple vehicles while at the show, admire the past of the classic vehicles, and explore boating, fishing, camping, and watersports products.

And with our new Presenting Sponsor, Evolve Houston, the show featured an electric vehicle showroom that focused on EV education and showcased electric cars from a variety of manufacturers. The show was a great way to kick start sales in a year that I believe holds continuing growth.

Although auto pundits are calling 2022 “a mixed bag” for US Sales that was not the case for the Houston Region (MSA), which sold a whopping 310,907 vehicles in 2022 – outpacing 2021 with a total of 274,604, compared to 248,034 units sold in 2020 and 292,606 units sold in 2019, according to InfoNation, Inc. There were 303,385 units sold in 2018, 290,354 units sold in 2017 & 299,461 units sold in 2016.

“We must look back seven years, to 2015 to see numbers higher, 376,481 units sold,” said the latest InfoNation sales report. “Optimism is the word as we head full-on into 2023 with the Houston Region out selling the US National Sales trend of 13.2% vs -7.9%, respectively, last year.” The report concluded: “Hope springs eternal.” I agree.

We still have challenges for sure. We are not past chip shortage and supply issues, but it’s not as bad as it was. I think now it’s all over the board with supply ranging from 20 to 100 days, depending on the products. I expect to see renewed incentives on slower-moving vehicles. Big-volume dealers determine the price and if they have a lot of vehicles they will add incentives.

A shortage of vehicles and higher interest rates have resulted in higher vehicle prices, causing people to extend their payment terms. That means buyers can afford less of a vehicle than they could six months ago. There are other challenges, too like adjusting to these lower inventories and the adaptations we have to make to shift toward more EVs.

However, I believe it is getting better out there. The strong demand keeps me optimistic. We just need to work hard and smart and adapt quickly to the changes. Customer expectations are higher too, which means we are working to provide even better customer service to keep them coming back. The question is if can we change as fast as the customer’s expectations.

Successful dealers will have to find new customers and build relationships with them over time. That means being long-distance runners, not sprinters. And the best opportunity for building repeat business is taking care of customer problems. I am a big believer in this. If you treat people well when they have a problem, they will come back to you for sure.

People value relationships more than they value the lowest price, and they want to feel appreciated for giving you their business. Repeat customers want to visit a dealership and see the same people they usually do business with, and they feel more comfortable when they know they will be treated well and get a fair deal.

People also expect a higher level of service than they used to. Since customers can get the same product from many other places for the same price or less, your level of service is what differentiates your business from other businesses.

My advice is to embrace the changes that are coming and rest assured that your association will aid in that effort. Our number one goal is protecting and improving the franchise.

In that regard, I would like to close with a note that HADA President Wyatt Wainwright is trucking back and forth to Austin for the 140-day Regular Session of the 88^th Texas Legislature that began on January 10.

HADA works close with TADA, and our dealers, to keep legislators informed on our issues and prevent legislative efforts that would have a negative effect on the dealer community. Wyatt invites you to visit Austin with him on ‘Dealer Tuesdays’ throughout the session to see first-hand what walking to your state representatives is like. Throughout the session, we’ll help keep you informed about anything specific to our industry or you can always contact TADA at www.tada.org.

I’m looking forward to an active and successful year ahead!