Alford: Dealers are risk-takers and entrepreneurs — not 'robotic agents'

Dealers are risk-takers. They're entrepreneurs. And, increasingly, they're collaborative partners with the automakers whose vehicles they sell, said NADA's outgoing chairman, Mike Alford.

They are not — and never will be — “robotic agents of far-off manufacturers,” Alford said Friday during his keynote address to mark the end of his term.

“Agents can’t provide a unique retail experience,” he said. “Only a local dealership network can provide the personal relationship that consumers want. And that’s why the work will continue long after I leave this stage.”

Alford said NADA’s commitment to the franchise system comes at a transitional time in the industry, as more automakers electrify their vehicle lineups and experiment with new sales models. At the same time, dealers and automakers are moving toward online sales to improve customers’ car-buying experience.

During his chairmanship, NADA developed a framework of guiding principles, drafted with dealers’ input, that outline the organization’s position on topics such as subscriptions and over-the-air updates.

That playbook is a way for dealers and allies “to move forward in the same direction,” said Alford, dealer principal of Marine Chevrolet in Jacksonville, N.C., and Trent Buick-GMC-Cadillac in New Bern, N.C.

“We’ll never agree on everything, but these principles show us how to disagree well,” he said. “If we can effectively demonstrate how these principles will benefit our customers, 90 percent of the heavy lifting is done.”

Dealers and automakers are working toward a shared interest “to provide an unrivaled customer experience,” Alford said. But both groups also are living with uncertainty. Not every risk taken works out, he added, nor is there agreement on every issue.

Multiple areas of concern, from electrification and digital sales to recent supply chain and inventory constraints, have dealers on edge, he said. Working through them requires collaboration and recognition that auto manufacturing and retailing are part of the same process.

“This is why we have been so committed to dialogue with our OEMs. When we work together, we win,” Alford said. “This is why we constantly say that dealers are truly essential to the future of ICE and EVs. And that’s why virtually all OEMs recognize publicly that their dealers are a competitive advantage that direct sellers can only dream of.”