with Focus on Safer Vehicles ����������������������

“From our neighboring dealerships, the going rate charge is cost plus 15%, which is a premium price and a little steep,” he said. “If you’re selling the part to one of our wholesale shop customers, we’re already giving them a deep discount. So, we are taking a real beating on those orders and selling those parts at a loss. Serving the customer is our priority here, and this is one of the realities we have to deal with.”

In today’s wholesale parts world, the contenders are separating themselves from the pretenders, a trend that will continue, Monteleone said.

“The differences between a parts manager who is a strong retailer and focusing on profitability versus someone who is slinging a lot of paper to sell at a high volume are becoming more and more evident,” he said. “We definitely want to be on the right side of this and that’s why we work so hard to be keep our wholesale customers happy while being profitable overall.”

What’s the solution?

“I can buy the parts from Walmart and make more money, so that’s what I did,” he said. “I made a big purchase and when my factory rep came in for a visit, she was surprised and a little perplexed to see a wall of parts I bought at Walmart. I told her I won’t be buying certain parts from you anymore because I can get them cheaper at Walmart. She didn’t know what to say! I originally discovered this a few years back in Florida and the same thing is happening now in Texas.”

Right now, Walmart isn’t retailing crash parts and is focusing on marketing DIY types of parts. But no one would be surprised if this trend could gain momentum in some states to the point where certain collision parts and products could be undercut by large retailers.

“The OE wants to cut out the middle man and eliminate the jobbers, to be honest,” Monteleone said. “They all want to go direct and that’s why they’ve done things like cutting their return allowances in half, for example. Why are we selling our parts at a deep discount while the manufacturers have decided to work with Walmart? It makes no sense.”

by SEMA Washington, D�C�, Staff

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has released a new national strategy for addressing roadway safety, saying it has an “ambitious long-term goal of zero roadway fatalities.” The National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) is a five-pronged approach to safety focused on safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and postcrash care. Sec. of Transportation Pete Buttigieg maintains the NRSS is a first, noting it is a “comprehensive plan to significantly reduce injuries and deaths on America’s roadways.” In the first half of 2021, roadway deaths were up 18.4% compared to the first six months of 2020, which was likely integral in DOT’s creation of the NRSS. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an agency within the DOT, will play a vital role in ensuring the NRSS is successful. To address vehicle safety, the NRSS incorporates safety provisions already required by the infrastructure law passed in 2021. This includes a directive that NHTSA update the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) to include newer safety technologies within the five-star rating program such as automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assist. These advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) help prevent or mitigate the impact of crashes. SEMA will continue to monitor these updates and promote consumers’ ability to modify their vehicles that have ADAS equipment installed. The agency is also scheduled to begin a rulemaking by 2024 to require installation of automatic emergency braking systems as standard equipment on new vehicles to avoid collisions with other vehicles or pedestrians. NHTSA will also consider ways in which alcohol-detection systems and systems to detect distracted driving may be installed on new motor vehicles. As NHTSA moves forward with these regulatory actions, SEMA will closely participate in the rulemaking process. For more information, contact Caroline Fletcher at carolinef@ sema.org.

Source: SEMA

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