The National Automobile Dealers Association announced last week that President and CEO Peter Welch will retire at the end of 2020.
Welch has been with the association since 2013, following more than 20 years at the California New Car Dealers Association. He joined CNCDA as their director of government and legal affairs, and served from 2003 to 2013 as the association’s president and CEO.
Since moving across the country to work at NADA’s headquarters in Tysons Corner, Peter Welch helped amplify the voices of franchised auto dealers across the country, and worked to deliver several important legislative victories important to the members he serves. Under his leadership, NADA ensured that the 2017 tax reform bill adequately protected car and truck dealers, helped ensure fair access to GAP insurance products for active-duty military members and their families, and advocated strongly for auto dealers when meeting with Trump Administration officials on energy and trade policy matters, including the Administration’s decision to supersede California’s CARB emissions standards.
To that end, NADA fought valiantly to have the federal government declare auto sales and service staff to be “critical infrastructure” components during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency agreed, and auto dealer services were deemed to be essential by the federal government. Auto sales have been able to continue uninterrupted in most U.S. states throughout the pandemic, while other retail industries have seen their work restricted far more dramatically.
We at WANADA are grateful to Peter Welch for his years of service advocating on behalf of franchised new auto dealers. We greatly appreciate all he has done to enhance NADA’s influence as an advocacy group, and all franchised dealers have benefitted tremendously from his leadership.
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