Just over half of dealers surveyed by Automotive News think stricter regulation of dealership advertising and finance and insurance practices would have a negative impact on the industry, but opinions are mixed on changes to day-to-day business.
Roughly 54 percent of dealers surveyed believe the Federal Trade Commission's proposed regulations would be a net negative, according to the 2023 Dealer Outlook Survey of 264 dealers and dealership managers. About 15 percent believe the change would be positive, and 19 percent think it would be neither. The remaining respondents were unsure.
The survey respondents had mixed thoughts on what the impact would be on their own business practices, with nearly equal percentages recording moderate, mild and no impact.
Under the proposed regulations, products that do not provide additional benefit would be banned, and dealers would be required to disclose both an offering price and a list of add-on prices to the customer.