WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO STELLANTIS ALLOCATION CHANGES – NO MATTER WHAT BRAND YOU SELL
By now, I assume you’ve heard about the Stellantis Allocation Changes, and every Chrysler and Jeepdealer in the country has been affected. Dealers in the 14 states aligned with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will no longer receive allocations for gas-only Wranglers, Grand Cherokees, and Pacificas. Meanwhile, dealers in the other 36 states will only receive gas model allocations moving forward. Despite restricted allocations dealerships can do the following:
Dealer trade as desired
Customers can place a custom factory order for the gas or hybrid vehicle of their choice
The Background
This news spread like wildfire and forced merchandising and advertising changes overnight. Some Dealerships responded with outrage and prepared challenges through their state dealer bodies while others responded in euphoria at the perceived advantages they were just handed. Fortunately I and CBC had the luxury of learning of this news, from a well-placed source, about 90 days before it went public. That additional time gave our clients an advantage. We were able to plan earlier and create strategies to maximize on the new allocation opportunities.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Analyze The Playing Field
If you are a Stellantis dealership, you should have a plan in place in response to these developments. If you sell a competing brand in the large SUV and minivan categories, I highly recommend looking at your state and evaluating whether there’s untapped opportunity for you to conquest. For example, New Hampshire happens to be the only New England state that is not a CARB state. To the south you’ll find Massachusetts, where Jeep dealers will only receive Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe allocations moving forward. If I were a Ford dealer, I would have those brands squarely on my conquest list given the likely advantage in inventory and pricing between gas and hybrid powertrains.
Educate
It’s also critical to get the word out there. While this development has been public knowledge within the industry, the general public isn’t going to know what’s going on unless you take the time to educate them. It’s also worth keeping an eye on this situation in the event that other OEMs follow suit in similar ways. Understanding the lay of the land now will only aid you in the future should similar changes come to your manufacturer.
Act First
As the cliché goes, “fortune favors the bold” and there will be clear winners and losers with this allocation change. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to speak with your marketing partners about how you can take advantage of this unexpected shift. If you don’t take proactive measures you may find yourself having to respond to somebody else – and that’s never good for volume, grosses, or your bottom line.
Give me a call at 207 283-9191 anytime if you’re interested in talking about your specific opportunity and ways that you can grow your business.