Bob Ulrich

Editor

Bob Ulrich was named Modern Tire Dealer editor in August 2000. He joined the magazine in 1985 as assistant editor, and has been responsible for gathering statistical information for MTD's "Facts Issue" since 1993. He has won numerous awards for editorial and feature writing, including five gold medals from the International Automotive Media Association. Bob earned a B.A. in English literature from Ohio Northern University and has a law degree from the University of Akron.

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Car dealer bay watch: 61,000 less by year's end

By: Bob Ulrich

General Motors Corp. is cutting 2,600 dealerships from its ranks. Chrysler LLC is “only” breaking ties with 800 or so.

The average car dealership averages 18 bays, says the National Automobile Dealers Association. So the potential loss in bays across the United States is more than 61,000 bays!

That continues a trend in the car dealer segment that has been going on for 20 years. According to Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) research, the bay count in that segment decreased by 75,000 bays from 1989 to 2002.

Some of the car dealerships will start selling other brands or, as St. Petersburg (Florida) Jeep-Chrysler did on June 9, transform into a used car “super center.” But it wouldn’t be surprising if the number of targeted dealerships that survive is offset by moves made by other vehicle manufacturers.

So the net loss of bays sounds like a good number. Maybe even a conservative number.

Fortunately, there are 28,000 independent tire dealers to pick up the slack. They average 6.4 bays per outlet, or 179,200 bays nationwide.

According to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, there are more than 130,000 independent repair shops nationwide.

I still think 2009 will be a good one for the independent tire dealer. Automotive service dollars will almost certainly be up by year’s end. After a sluggish start for many, tire sales have started to pick up as well.

Still, GM’s 3,900 remaining domestic dealerships and Chrysler’s 2,392 franchisees represent more than 113,000 bays. That means for some of you, it will be business as usual.

Related Topics: Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, Car dealerships, Independent Tire Dealers, National Automobile Dealers Association