2022 NADA Show final day recap: Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Audi make meetings and F&I focus

The in-person return to the NADA Show wrapped up Sunday with more make meetings, including for Toyota and Hyundai, and the AIADA Annual Membership Reception. EVs, hiring, and inventory were big topics of discussion this year

Here's a recap of the day's news:

As the global auto industry migrates to an electrified future, auto dealers need to step up as environmental consultants -- a role that will upend the traditional model of car sales.

That is the prediction of Dave Gardner, executive vice president of national operations and general manager of auto sales for American Honda. He spoke Sunday to international brand dealers at a lunch hosted by the American International Auto Dealers Association in Las Vegas.

In the meantime, the headwinds confronting the industry -- notably factory shutdowns caused by the COVID pandemic, as well as inventory shortages, will "continue to be bumpy for the remainder of the year," Gardner said.

Hyundai, riding a wave of retail U.S. sales gains behind an expanded and popular crossover lineup, is slashing fleet sales, increasing vehicle output and freezing dealer count as it targets another record year for U.S. retail volume.

The plans, sure to boost store profits, made for a joyous make meeting for Hyundai dealers at the tail end of the NADA show on Sunday.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has been a key performer for the brand for years and has been serving as a gateway to electrification for customers, said Richard Herod III, chairman of the Mitsubishi National Advisory Board.

After taking a quiet victory lap for finishing 2021 as the top-selling automaker in the United States, Toyota and Lexus dealers Sunday started laying out what their dealerships will look like when production issues hopefully begin to ease later this year.

And what the packed room heard from Toyota Motor North America executives was that the profitability lessons imposed by COVID, and later the microchip shortage, were learned by the manufacturer, and that dealerships' days supply would likely remain reduced even after production constraints eased.

Audi dealers Sunday drew closer to the German premium brand and credited it for keeping them informed and assisted as they jointly face production and logistics challenges to most of Audi's lineup.

At their make meeting here, dealers heard what steps the brand was taking to address production issues that range from the microchip shortage to interruptions of raw and finished materials caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They also heard how Audi Financial Services will work with them to lessen the impacts of supply shortages.

Dealers should listen to the perspective of women working in their dealerships and take action to recruit more of them, panelists at NADA's Women Driving Auto Retail Lunch said.