As the nation’s auto dealers gathered for their annual convention, the mood was driven by growing profits, the anticipation of new vehicles and the potential of social networks to boost sales as the bad memories of 2009 fade.
From 2008 through last year, domestic automakers trimmed their dealer networks in the wake of the industry’s financial meltdown.
Four General Motors brands and Ford’s Mercury brand no longer exist. But in a National Automobile Dealers Association survey last March, 57.4 percent of dealers said they expected to be more profitable in the next year, the highest percentage expecting better results since the mid-1990s.
With the news that the nation’s unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 8.3 percent in January, the optimism is more sustainable.
“The energy coming out of the Detroit auto show and heading into the dealer convention is a reflection of a stronger industry,” said Rod Alberts, executive director of the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association. Last weekend, more than 20,000 dealers, auto executives and exhibitors attended the NADA convention. They came in search of information on future products and marketing plans, as well as tools to improve their businesses, especially online cars-shopping services and how to use social networks to lure buyers.