Digital Dealer - July 2019 - 35

THIS BUSINESS MODEL WILL DRIVE MARGINS UP,
AND BE PROFITABLE FOR THE RETAIL AUTOMOBILE
DEALER, AS IT WILL TAKE AWAY ALL THE HAGGLING
AND CREATE ONE-PRICE SHOPPING ON A NATIONAL
BASIS."
models. Tech is advancing
as well in all cars across the
industry, creating a driving
platform experience. Our
customers are starting to
choose the platform that
they like most versus only
the brand they are loyal
to. This brings more of an
advantage to the manufacturers that invest in tech in
their lineup. I see this trend
continuing as battery cost
will come down and competition rises, and battery
life will increase allowing
for the EV to travel greater
distances without the fear of
running out of electric.
Consumers know what
they expect out of their
experience. They want to
feel special, in control, and
that they are important in
the car buying experience.
Customers have high
expectations and dealerships need to meet those
expectations. Dealerships
need to adjust their marketing and business plans
in order to adjust to our
changing environment. This
also means changing their
marketing plan to a digital
marketing plan that targets
their intended markets. Making everything digital for the
consumer creates a more
personalized experience.
As I see it, technology will
continue to impact the car
business and all aspects of
the retail automobile market.

Self-driving cars and autonomous driving will continue
to change the marketplace.
The tech industry already
has had a major impact on
the car business and will
continue to have a major impact on how our consumers
purchase automobiles online. In the past, consumers
would do their research and
drive to multiple dealership

industry, this business model
will drive margins up, and be
profitable for the retail automobile dealer, as it will take
away all the haggling and
create one-price shopping
on a national basis.
On the topic of ridesharing, while I have read
many white papers on the
ridesharing and car sharing,
I do not see a bright future

CONSUMERS KNOW
WHAT THEY EXPECT...
THEY WANT TO FEEL
SPECIAL, IN CONTROL
AND THAT THEY ARE
IMPORTANT IN THE CAR
BUYING EXPERIENCE."
showrooms. In 2019 they do
most of their research and
shopping online, including
finding the dealership that
is right for them. In the end,
our customers ultimately
wind up in the dealership
showroom to finalize the
purchase and take delivery of the vehicle. I see
this trend as a continued
evolution and ultimately see
retail automobile dealers as
delivery and service centers.
In the future, consumers will
take delivery of the vehicles
by F&I product and have
their vehicle serviced but
will do all of their shopping
online. The good news,
although a disruptor to our

with this concept outside of
a metro market. While this
might work with Citi bike.
I think there are too many
hurdles to jump to make this
a successful business model. Parking, maintenance,
vehicle cleanliness, and
fueling are all factors that
impact the success of this
in-market.
One of the other disruptive trends for retail automotive dealerships or brokers
who enter the industry
without any investment in
this, is the wrapped margins
of a franchise automobile
dealership who has spent
millions of dollars for each
franchise and it's manufacD I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

ture compliance facility. This
needs to be regulated and/
or stopped as it is putting
thousands of jobs at risk in
each state.
As far as the future is
concerned, the digitalization
of the process of designing
a car and ordering a car is
something to be concerned
about. If consumers are
going online to purchase
their cars instead of coming
to a dealership, the need
for monster dealership brick
and mortar as required
by the manufacturer, will
become obsolete. On the
flip side, if consumers are interested in electric cars, car
companies have a new opportunity. They can start to
produce electric cars, which
will increase their sales.
TOM MAOLI is the president and
CEO of Celebrity Motor Cars,
LLC, a luxury dealership group
based in New Jersey and New
York. His dealerships include:
Lexus of Route 10, Maserati of
Morris County, Alfa Romeo of
Morris County, BMW of Springfield,
as well as Mercedes-Benz of
Goldens Bridge. In addition to his
growing automotive empire; Tom
is the president and CEO of Real
Estate Opportunity Investments,
LLC, a residential and commercial
real estate development and
investment company, along with
being founder and CEO of Joe
Zone coffee company. Tom also
hosts the "Go Big or Go Home"
radio show every other Sunday at
10 AM on iHeartRadio. Readers of
Dealer Magazine may reach him
via email him through his website:
(http://tommaoli.net)

J U LY 2 0 1 9

35
http://www.tommaoli.net http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Digital Dealer - July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - July 2019
