Dealer associations convene to review national government relations and industry relations agendas and member programs

Dealer associations convene to review national government relations and industry relations agendas and member programs

Concern about dealer franchise relationships with OEMs was a recurring theme at the annual summer meeting the Automotive Trade Associations network (ATAE) whose representatives came together in Salt Lake City last week.

Notably there were interactive presentations between NADA and state and metropolitan area dealer association members of ATAE relative to such things as OEM requirements for dealership facilities, second generation warranty reimbursement laws and factory new car sale incentive programs.

NADA also gave a status report on the aftermath of the FTC Roundtables held for the public in three cities last year that spotlighted dealership vehicle sales practices in finance transactions. The Federal Trade Commission had been charged by Congress to scrutinize vehicle finance issues when NADA and other dealer organizations got new car dealers exempted from Finance Reform and its newly established regulatory arm, the Bureau of Consumer Finance Protection pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act of 2011. Despite the best efforts of consumer groups and plaintiffs lawyers to portray automobile dealers as anti-consumer in order to inspire the FTC to further regulate dealer finance transactions systematic dealer advocacy orchestrated by NADAs legal team appears to have succeeded in persuading FTC that additional regulation of the automobile business is not required.

A matter that has OEMs and dealers very much of one mind that was reviewed at this ATAE meeting is the industrys opposition to right-to-repair legislation being vetted in some states. Of concern currently is right-to-repair legislation in Massachusetts that appears to be headed for the ballot in that state where voters will decide whether it becomes law this November. Such legislation is designed to require automakers to share service repair information currently reserved for franchised dealers with independent repair shops.

A portion of the ATAE meeting was devoted to the Auto Shows of North America (ASNA) which sponsored a focus group comprised of dealer associations, like WANADA, which stage auto shows such that dealer association show producers had the opportunity to interact with each other, OEM exhibitor representatives and various auto show vendors. The ASNA focus group, like other programmatic ATAE meetings which occur in the course of any year, is an especially helpful way for dealer association staff leaders to share best practices and interact with partner and contractor groups to sharpen and enhance dealer association operations.