Hold your horses!  We might just be in jeopardy of a recovery breaking out!!! 

After two years of struggling and scratching, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for the automotive industry as the Seven Horsemen of the Recovery have been spotted in cities and towns across the United States.  Below is a brief description of each of the Seven Horsemen of the Recovery.  Be aware and see if you can spot them in your community, dealership or network.

1. Sales Are Up: The National Automobile Dealers Association expects U.S. new car sales to grow to 12% in 2011 (Article).  The Detroit Free Press reported that March sales are up 15.5% over last year (Article).  You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that a rise in sales volume is a good thing for a struggling and recovering economy.  If people are spending money, then there is opportunity to be had and opportunity can be the foundation for progress.
2. Market Penetration is Deeper: Unfortunately, we lost a lot of dealerships during the recession.  The good news to the surviving dealerships is that we lost a lot of dealerships to the recession.  As a result, the radius in which a dealership has an impact has increased due to a decrease in dealership density.  Consumers have to drive further to find a dealership, which means their commitment level to the purchase is slightly more balanced over their commitment to save fuel.  We all know that commitment is a good thing, especially in someone committed to purchasing.
3. Need of Salespeople: With an increase in sales and a larger market radius, there is a greater need for salespeople to manage the increase flow of dealership UPs.  The Manus Group reported a 35% increase in automotive salesperson recruitment campaigns over last year while dealerships in the Jacksonville, FL market have increased their staff by 20% over the past ten months (Article).  Expanding staff volume in turn drives more dollars into the economy as individuals find gainful employment and start their own purchasing cycle. 
4. Turn-over Has Become a Challenge: As sales increase and new sales positions open, employees that once drove a long distance just to have a job are finding new opportunities closer to home.  In the past two years, losing an employee was sometimes seen as a break on payroll.  With a need to keep up with the current demand of new buyers, losing a salesperson equates to find a new one to replace them….and quickly before you are unable to meet the needs of consumers.
5. Service Departments are Expanding: Not every consumer is ready to jump into a car payment.  There are always those that are going to hold back and error on caution.  But those not ready to dive in feet first, are still loosening up the purse strings and spending money on repair work.  Subsequently, dealerships savvy to this trend are expanding service departments to insure the highest customer service to those just not ready to buy a new vehicle…yet.  This behavior is smart marketing for dealerships that cater to winning over their service clients as new vehicle owners in the near future.
6. Inventory Shortages:  These shortages might have been brought on by natural disasters and human calamity, but think about it.  If these events happened just two years ago, the industry might have taken a sigh of relief with a break in production since the recession had already slowed down movement of parts and vehicles.  The fact is there is a demand that exceeds the supply chain, which is a sign that parts are being sold and vehicles are finding happy homes as opposed to collected dust as they have in the recent past.
7. Manufacture Power Play for Market Share:  The news is a flutter with this manufacture or that manufacture taking the lead in market share.  The current favored to host the coveted #1 seat is General Motors (Article).  Being the #1 manufacture no longer means you can rest on your laurels for a few months before opening your ears to the consumers.  The margins between brands are narrow and as a result winning over consumer interest seems to be the mili-second difference to winning the race or coming in second. 

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