Car Sales In Different Countries

[Jan Evans]

Good morning everyone!

I currently live in the United States and am curious about what it's like to work in the car sales industry overseas! If you work in the industry and do not live in the USA feel free to reply back or ask any questions about what its like.

My questions would be:
- Do you guys make commission, salary, hourly?
- What is sourcing inventory like?
- Any weird rules you have to abide by?
- How do people view car salespeople in your country?
- What is competition like from other employees (any super good salespeople)?
- Is there big profit in your vehicles (pounders)?
- What roles do you typically have at your dealership?
- Anything you feel to add!

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Good morning everyone!

I currently live in the United States and am curious about what it's like to work in the car sales industry overseas! If you work in the industry and do not live in the USA feel free to reply back or ask any questions about what its like.

My questions would be:
- Do you guys make commission, salary, hourly?
- What is sourcing inventory like?
- Any weird rules you have to abide by?
- How do people view car salespeople in your country?
- What is competition like from other employees (any super good salespeople)?
- Is there big profit in your vehicles (pounders)?
- What roles do you typically have at your dealership?
- Anything you feel to add!

@Jan Evans thanks for posting. 95% of our active community members are within the USA and Canada, so my apologies to you for not receiving any responses up to this point.

- What is sourcing inventory like?
In most European countries, dealers carry little to no inventory. Customers typically build to order their new vehicles.

Is there big profit in your vehicles (pounders)?
As far as I know, new vehicles are sold at MSRP. Very little negotiating. Used vehicles may be different.

Maybe one of our European members will read your post and chime in. Unfortunately due to a crazy amount of SPAM, we have had to implement some tight boundaries for members outside of the North American hemisphere...

 

[Jan Evans]

Thanks for the reply Jeff. Love this community and the knowledge you can find here! Watching #Refreshfriday during downtime at the lot has been a real treat. Keep up the amazing work on Dealer Refresh.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

@Jan Evans - we truly appreciate your encouraging words and support. Thanks for participating and joining the community!

 

[peacruz]

Hi @Jan Evans

I'm the the founder of a auto tech company in Brazil, BIP Carros. We provide digital retailing, feed management and in some customers also managed media services.
I can answer your questions based on 6 years experience being on the vendor side and working with hundreds of dealerships and independent stores across the country.

- Do you guys make commission, salary, hourly?
Yes, salespeople are paid a base salary per month and a comission based on car value (around 2% for used cars, less than 1% for new cars)

- What is sourcing inventory like?
There are 3 main sources of inventory for used cars stoer:
. Dealerships (via new car sales) - about 70% of new sales include a trade-in. A big part of these vehicles are negotiated at gross price with independent stores.
. B2B Auctions - Autoavaliar is the top player here, they basically brought the negotiaton described above to the online world.
. Rental companies - similar to US model

Recently, we saw many companies exploring a C2B business model, they will attract customers that want to sell their cars and make that car available for dealers and stores to bid.

- How do people view car salespeople in your country?
The same way they see salespeople everywhere in the world LOL. New cars salespeople are better seen that used cars, also, dealerships salespeople better seen than independent stores.

- What is competition like from other employees (any super good salespeople)?
I'd say the bar is set very low, anybody can be a salesperson with very low effort, knowledge/education, in particular for independent stores.
Usually, top performance salespeople become store owners or partners.

- Anything you feel to add!
We've seen "Carvana's" popping in the market since 2019, but more active on the past 12 months, curious to know how they'll perform and impact on the market.
Many of the problems discussed in the US market, also exist here: 3rd party leads, attribution, integration between different systems...and the list goes on.

To wrap up my first contribution, would like to congratulate @Jeff Kershner & all the contributors here.
I found Dealer Refresh even before starting my company. My head was blown away by the level of discussions here and how everybody contributes to figure out problems and find opportunities.
For a digital media/tech guy, it felt like going to college and graduating in Automotive Retail!
I wish there was a "Dealer Refresh Brazil"! (Maybe there is and dealers don't invite me because i'm a vendor!)

 

[Jan Evans]

Thank you @peacruz for your reply! Found it very interesting especially the way people are paid. I feel like that might be why the bar is set so low for salespeople. Doesn't seem like the car business is worth it if you are smarter than the average person.

 

[KiraMango]

Unfortunately for your question, I work in the United States, but I will still answer it cause I work as a car wrecker and I have my own company selling and buying cars.

 

[smithkara0385]

Navigating car sales in various countries poses unique challenges, but embracing ]car leasing services can provide a flexible and cost-effective solution. Whether in the diverse marketplaces of Europe or the dynamic landscapes of Asia, opting for leasing adds a layer of convenience and adaptability, aligning with the diverse preferences and financial structures across different nations.

 

[Carsten]

Leasing doesn't work in Japan.
they would rather rent.