As a business, you have to be concerned about the future. No successful business has ever been the result of pure luck and throwing caution to the wind. You must evaluate the facts on the ground, look towards the future, and meticulously plan. When doing this planning, it’s always good to focus in on a specific sector of the market and see what you can learn.
Here’s what you need to know about pickup trucks — how the market is performing and what the future has in store:
2018 Was A Good Year For Used Trucks
Although the year is far from over, it’s been great so far for the used truck market. Why is this? For starters, quite a few trucks from 2015 hit the market this year. 2015 was a strong year for sales of new trucks and many of these were 3-year leases.
In general, the popularity of pickup trucks has been climbing upward. They accounted for 15.3 percent of U.S. auto sales in 2016 and that number increased to 16.4 percent in 2017. That increase in popularity ripples into the used market as well.
This Year’s Most Popular Truck
The big names in the pickup truck game have remained largely the same this year and it’s no surprise that the Ford F-150 — America’s favorite truck — remains on top of the sales charts, beating out offerings like the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the Dodge Ram 1500. A few months yet remain, but it’s unlikely that the king of pickups will be dethroned.
What Does The Future Hold?
Market research shows that the demand for pickup trucks, particularly performance-model trucks, is slated to increase through 2023. Most of this growth will be seen in conventional pickups with features such as:
- Fuel efficiency
- High-performance engines
- Enhanced driver experience
Although people are primarily drawn towards pickup trucks for their powerful engines and hauling ability, these days it’s also important that they are relatively fuel efficient and have some modern conveniences for the driver.
Getting The Most Out Of Your Used Trucks
So, demand for trucks continues to increase. What does that mean for your business? Well, as you know, profit margins from used vehicles are often razor thin already so you can’t afford to make any mistakes if you want to capitalize on this. It’s also important to realize that people buy trucks for their dependability and their suitability for hauling and towing. That means your reconditioning process must be highly efficient, not only in moving trucks through the line but also making sure they are ready to perform the work that buyers expect.
In general, streamlining your used vehicle reconditioning process is one of the most important things you can do as a used vehicle dealership. But first, in order to streamline your process, you need be able to track it. You need to know where each truck is in the process and how long it takes to move through the pipeline. This allows you to find the areas in your process that are slowing you down or eating up inordinate amounts of resources.
With our ReconTRAC® program, we believe we’ve found a solution to used car reconditioning that works. Our low-cost tracking and real-time reporting remove the mystery from your reconditioning process, allowing you to optimize the flow and get the most profitability out of your used vehicles. Please, contact us at Green Cloud today for a free demonstration of our powerful ReconTRAC® software.
