🚗 What’s Really Driving 2026 Demand?

TOGETHER WITH

Howdy Fam!

NADA is less than a month away, and for a lot of you, it’s the start of new partner relationships. Before we get into today’s news, I want to share a quick thought from our Auto Collabs conversation with our friend Jade Terreberry at Cox Automotive:

She shared that dealers often make partner decisions based on just 10–15% of the facts in view.

So it felt timely to write up Jade’s insights with all these new partnerships on the mind. If you want the quick “show up ready” checklist, I dropped it in this LinkedIn article.

Alright, into the news.

Keep Pushing Back,
-Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi

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TOGETHER WITH FOUREYES

Foureyes just launched something big—and it’s changing how dealers manage their data.

See a spike in price-sensitive shoppers this week?

Now, with Foureyes, that insight doesn’t just sit in a dashboard—it powers your tools. Build smarter campaigns in Google, trigger personalized emails, and alert your BDC team in real time. All from one connected data platform that pulls in CRM, website, DMS, phones, and inventory.

It’s the kind of data foundation dealers have always needed—one that works with any tool or vendor you want.

See what Connect can do.

THE NEWS

Market Reality, Industry Strategy, Store-Level Constraint

Today’s news reminds us that prices change, tech “advances,” and demand fluctuates, but service is a commitment to keep adjusting for the customer, not just reacting to the market.

When we execute on affordability and service with consistency, we serve our community today while protecting the space and time needed to build the technician pipeline that tomorrow’s vehicles will demand.

In short, how you show up for today’s challenges is an invitation to the people who will show up for tomorrow’s.

That’s how we know retail auto is an industry worth fighting to get into.

Enjoy.

Market Outlook: New Holds, Used Stabilizes

In data conversations, that “New Year Smell” lasts a month.

What matters most for 2026: affordability

We keep seeing it: everybody’s mantra for 2026 is affordability. Folks are willing to wait for the right price.

2025 demand proved resilient, but 2026 looks shaped by payments, not scarcity.

• 2025 U.S. light-vehicle sales: 16.3M (+2.3%, best since 2019)

• Q4 2025: –4.3% YOY

• Average new payment: about $760

• EVs: Q4 EV sales estimated –37% after the $7,500 credit ended

New sales held up through tariffs and uncertainty as some buyers moved earlier than planned. That pull-forward effect is likely smaller this year, and analysts expect incentives to rise as OEMs try to keep volume moving without giving away margin.

Used market: stability, not drama

Cox sees wholesale values finishing 2026 about 2% higher than December 2025, which is close to long-run norms.

Used sales are forecast slightly lower year over year, but the key for dealers is predictability: fewer shocks, more consistent depreciation, and clearer pricing confidence.

EVs remain a smaller share of the index today (about 3.3%) but are expected to grow in influence as more units cycle back through wholesale.

Industry Strategy: Open-Source Collaboration Expands

More companies, shared code, lower cost

OEMs and suppliers are treating software as shared infrastructure to cut expenses and move faster. Which seems like the best choice if your goal is to deliver solid software to consumers.

Reuters reports that Germany’s VDA expanded its open-source auto software initiative to 32 companies, up from 11 last year, adding firms including Stellantis, Traton, Schaeffler, Infineon, and Qualcomm, alongside VW, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. The group is aiming for up to 40% lower development and maintenance effort and up to 30% faster time-to-market.

This may mean new software is coming quicker, but with more of the issues already worked out. It may mean that. May.

Fixed Ops: The Technician Bottleneck Remains

High pay exists, but the pipeline is thin

You're gonna need techs for all that open-source, software-defined car service.

Paul and Kyle talked yesterday morning about a WSJ article with some weird math.

Dealers can pay well at the top, yet the industry still cannot staff enough bays.

A WSJ profile highlights a Ford senior master technician who said he earned about $160,000 in 2025, while Ford’s CEO has cited roughly 5,000 open technician jobs across dealerships.

The story lays out the friction points: flat-rate pay volatility, the high cost of tools, years to reach top certification, and the physical toll of the work.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the 2024 median pay for dealership technicians at around $58,580.

As new and used markets normalize, service remains one of the clearest profit centers and acquisition channels dealers can control, and it’s the most frequent customer touchpoint.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Dealer Conferences and Industry Events (2026)

• January 22: Public Policy Day, D.C. Auto Show, DC

• February 3-6: NADA Show 2026, Las Vegas, NV (Looking for a party?)

• May 12-15: ASOTU CON 2026, Hanover, MD

Other Trends for Dealers to Track

• 🤖 AI: OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health, a dedicated health space with extra privacy protections that can connect medical records and wellness apps so guidance is grounded in your own data.

• 🌍️ Global: Norway hit a new EV milestone in 2025, with 95.9% of all new cars registered being fully electric (97.6% in December), as buyers rushed ahead of tax perks being phased out by 2027.

• 👽 Weird: A DIY solar “powerwall” made from 1,000+ recycled laptop batteries reportedly kept one home off-grid for eight years.

Today in Automotive History

• 1924: Ford was valued at over $1 billion, powered by cheap, mass-produced Model Ts, record output, the 10-millionth car, and assembly-line innovation.

• 1958: Toyota and Nissan (Datsun) officially debuted in the U.S. at LA’s Imported Car Show, launching early sales, with Datsun gaining traction faster.

Thanks for reading, Friend. I hope you found something useful. Or at least ran off to apply for one of those $160K-a-year service tech jobs. 🛠️