A rainy morning couldn’t dampen the spirits of the dealers who gathered at the Grand Hall of the Fallsview Resort and Casino on the first day of the TADA’s Automotive Conference and Expo in Niagara Falls on October 19th. The two-day event featured content sessions, and a packed hall of more than 60 suppliers who cater to the automotive industry.
The emcee of the morning was John Scholes, a Toronto radio and television fixture who introduced the morning speakers.
First up was Mathew Growden, Head of Google Canada’s Auto Retail team. His lively session took dealers through data and trends the company is seeing in how consumers shop for vehicles.
Growden quoted a statistic that said 41% of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) say the pandemic has permanently accelerated digital transformations and the adoption of emergent technologies. But he also pointed out that very few car dealerships, and even dealer groups even have a CIO.
Growden said one dealer recently told him that the key learning of the pandemic for dealers and the industry was the MSRP, and the importance of holding your pricing. Growden said the move towards more transparency in pricing can help accelerate the industry towards a more e-commerce-centric model.
“It’s ecommerce that has taught us how to shop. Is it available? How much will I have to pay?” he said, adding that these types of consumer purchase experiences are commonplace in other areas of our day to day life.
For his main takeaway Growden kept it simple: “Save people time and make things easier. We need to make it easier to sell a car and buyers will appreciate that.”
Next up was the Demo Theater, sponsored by Kijiji Autos. That’s when 14 exhibitors, including one automated robot, delivered a 2-minute elevator pitch aimed at educating dealers about what they do and what’s on display in their booth.
Justin Poy, from the Justin Poy agency hosted a “War for Talent” panel, which discussed staffing and human resources challenges the industry is facing and how to meet the future with the right team at your dealership. That panel featured a mix of dealer representatives, including Sarah Rawlinson, VP of Human Resources & Payroll at AutoIQ Network of Dealerships, Dan Deboer, Senior Vice President at AutoIQ Dealership Network, Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Todd Bourgon, the Executive Director of the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA).
Bourgon outlined the steps his association has been taking on behalf of dealer members to recruit, test and bring back technicians from the Phillipines to help offset huge shortages of skilled technicians the industry needs.
Just before lunch, CADA President and CEO Tim Reuss lent his perspective on a range of key issues facing the industry, including the luxury tax ramifications, roadblocks to electrification, data sharing principles,and what CADA is doing to lobby the government on behalf of industry.
Next up was Jeremy Reisler Industry Lead, Automotive and Financial Services with TikTok Canada who showed dealers lots of examples of how OEMs and dealers are using TikTok effectively as another marketing and entertainment channel.
He said a lot of OEMs and dealers were a bit late to the game for TikTok, but are rapidly ramping up efforts as they better understand the platform, which he described as an entertainment platform, not a social platform. He said over the last year monthly TikTok creations related to the auto category grew by as much as 422%.
That was followed by a panel on the future of the auto industry, moderated by Todd Phillips, senior editor of Canadian auto dealer. That panel featured Google’s Matthew Growden, Ian MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer at AutoTrader.ca, Tony Koubridis, Vice-President, Growth at AutoVerify, and Shawn Vording, VP Product & Sales from Carfax.
The panelists looked at what the auto retail industry would look like a few years out in areas like a redefined consumer experience, dealership facilities, the mix of EVs and other propulsion systems, and the role of data and connectivity.
The final keynote of the day was from famed Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. His inspiring tales of space travel, and the journey his life took to get him there had the audience mesmerized.
Look for full coverage in the next issue of Canadian auto dealer magazine!
