Last year, Mike Alford said one of his top priorities as 2022 chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association was to protect the franchise business model — while also helping it evolve to meet changing times.
In October, NADA shared a framework of guiding principles it drafted with input from dealers to help start conversations about the franchise system with dealers, automakers, policymakers and others. The principles outline NADA's position on a number of topics, from subscriptions to over-the-air updates, and reiterate the association's commitment to the dealer franchise system as some automakers consider revamping their sales models for electric vehicles.
Alford, 58, dealer principal of Marine Chevrolet in Jacksonville, N.C., and Trent Buick-GMC-Cadillac in New Bern, N.C., said developing the principles is one of his proudest moments in his year as chairman. And he said NADA is in good hands with Geoffrey Pohanka, chairman of Pohanka Automotive Group in Capitol Heights, Md., who takes over as chairman for 2023.