Surprising to find that one of the more digitally advanced sectors of retail is automotive retail. Yes, car dealers.

As I gaze into the next decade, it seems to me that automotive retail outlets are ideally suited to take advantage of the growing interest in car sharing and autonomous cars. As OEMs start to experiment with how they can deliver mobility services, car dealers likely will play a pivotal role. After all, mobility service providers will need a large variety of vehicles in inventory, lots of space to park those vehicles, and plenty of garage stalls to repair and maintain them. And they will need thousands of facilities like this scattered from coast to coast. Anyone come to mind?
Car dealers fit the bill perfectly. Maybe this is why long-term investors like Buffet and Soros are investing now. They’re getting in on the ground floor before there even is a ground floor.
Historically, car dealers have had an unfortunate reputation as being sleazy or not reputable. But with Big Money, hi-tech and new mobility services converging on this space, car dealers could emerge as the smartest looking people in the room.

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