2-Minute Tune-Up: The Party Crashers Have Arrived, but the Auto Retail Celebration Isn’t Over Yet.

We have launched a new series called “2-Minute Tune-Up,” where I will do my best to highlight the industry’s most interesting stories and trends. Check out the first episode below.

I think dealers across the country would agree that the pandemic years, although challenging, proved to be some of the best financial years that dealers had ever seen. Dealers are still enjoying strong tailwinds today, with new car sales remaining very positive. But despite these positive tailwinds, there’s no doubt that the party crashers have arrived, and those party crashers are rapidly rising inventories across many brands, high interest rates and a dramatic drop-off in lease turn-ins. Despite these party crashers, everybody’s still having a good time at the automotive retail party, and dealers I speak to are very optimistic about the second half of this year.

Let me know what you think. Email your questions or comments to advisory@coxautoinc.com.

Brian Finkelmeyer

Senior Director of Enterprise Insights and Advisory

Brian Finkelmeyer is Senior Director of Enterprise Insights and Advisory at Cox Automotive. Brian leads a team dedicated to providing car companies with actionable business intelligence to drive their performance. Brian has spent his entire career in the auto industry, working at Nissan for nearly 20 years in various sales leadership positions. Upon joining Cox Automotive, Brian was responsible for the vAuto New Car Inventory solution – Conquest. Brian lives in Nashville, TN.