Entrepreneur from Moscow Ruslan Gityazev talks about how to open your own successful car dealership. Ruslan started his business ten years ago, organizing a salon for the purchase and sale of used cars, renting a small open area in a former closed establishment. A few years later, his showroom began to sell new foreign and foreign cars. domestic production. Now Ruslan has two car dealerships, one of which is located in the Moscow region.
The car sales business is a very profitable business!
Opening your own car dealership is a very promising, interesting, but at the same time risky type of business. When organizing such a business, you need to be prepared for a certain amount of paperwork and very impressive costs.
In addition, it is advisable to draw up a business plan for a car dealership, without which all further actions will look like a gamble.
Instructions for opening a new car dealership
Purpose and goals
The tasks and goals of the car dealership are quite clear - the sale of cars of one or several brands, the sale of accessories for them and car parts, as well as further maintenance.
At the same time, your task is to decide which cars you will sell and which dealer network to work with.
Writing a business plan for a car dealership and its step-by-step execution is the key to the success of such a responsible and risky business.
You must clearly understand what the expected costs are, what profits you can expect, what documents to collect and how to implement the rest of the tasks.
Main stages of registration
When opening a car dealership, you need to go through a few simple steps:
- find land for the construction of a new building (rent and refurbish an existing building);
- select a suitable distributor for further cooperation;
- buy everything necessary equipment and install it;
- hire and train staff;
- carry out the necessary advertising campaigns to attract customers;
- form pricing policy and conduct successful trading.
We create an inexpensive business plan for a car dealership
Ruslan Gityazev says: “As the owner of successful car dealerships operating in the market of Moscow and the Moscow region for more than ten years, I have been declaring with full responsibility that every entrepreneur must have his own business plan for the business that he is going to develop.
Necessarily!
Even if it is a small beer outlet, with one or two taps. Without a business plan, you can burn out very quickly and never “get up” to a new business again.”
Selecting a location
One of the most critical moments is choosing a location for the salon. Best option– opening a business in a crowded place, for example, on busy highways.
Pay special attention to the ease of access for cars and the availability of stops public transport. At the same time, there is no point in spending money on searching for and renting a building in the city center.
The main reason is the high cost. As practice shows, it will be very difficult to recoup high rent. As a rule, most people live in residential areas - this is where the main emphasis needs to be placed.
There are several options– purchase an abandoned car park, erect a new building, buy (rent) and restore existing premises.
When choosing, rely solely on your financial situation. For beginners, the most promising option is renting.
When choosing a site, proceed from the fact that the business will develop in the future, so there should be room for opening a service center, car spare parts, tire service, car wash and other retail outlets.
Do not rush to equip the building and buy equipment - first coordinate all issues with the dealer.
First, you must have a business plan for a car dealership.
Second, the dealer must approve it.
If comments are made, they must be promptly corrected. Thirdly, the design of the building should be agreed upon at an early stage.
For example, when organizing a small car dealership selling economy class cars, it is mandatory to organize all signs and logos in the required color.
As for the interior of the salon and the facade of the building, there are no special requirements - the owner can plan the design of these elements himself (of course, coordination with the distributor is mandatory). When selling luxury cars, the requirements may be more stringent.
If your decision is to build a car showroom, then you need to plan at least 600-700 square meters of space.
At the same time, half of the area is allocated for cars (showroom), 80-100 square meters for rooms for administration and employees of the car dealership, and the remaining area for a car service center, store or other premises.
Please note that on average one car occupies about 30-35 square meters of space. This is very important point. A person should have the opportunity to approach the car, examine it from all sides, open the trunks and doors.
The showroom should have a counter with workstations for administrators, salespeople and managers.
As for the cost part, when re-equipping existing buildings it is necessary to spend 2-3 million rubles.
If we are talking about capital construction from scratch, then the costs will be more significant and amount to tens of millions of rubles. Don’t forget about the cost of rent, which will cost from 40 thousand rubles per month.
Preparation of documentation
Please note that to open a car dealership you need to take several steps (regarding documentation):
- Conclude a lease agreement for the selected premises (we do not consider the construction option due to the high cost);
- Register the subject with the tax office;
- Open a bank account, install a cash register and register it;
- Obtain permission to open the premises from the fire inspectorate;
- Enter the newly formed car dealership as a dealer.
The total cost of processing all documents and approvals is from 100 thousand rubles.
Agreement with the manufacturer
A very important stage is concluding a deal with the manufacturer. In this case, it is advisable to work directly, without any intermediaries. Otherwise, you will have to seriously overpay, and big profits you can't even dream.
The sequence of actions should be as follows:
- Contact an official representative of the selected car brand. This can be done through the official website or by dialing the representative’s phone number;
- Fill out the form sent by the dealer. Usually it notes the location of the future salon, the current situation, and the prospects for the business as a whole;
- Negotiate with company representatives, study and sign the preliminary protocol. Please pay attention to this document – it provides all the nuances of further cooperation. It is better to immediately understand the intricacies of the work than to discover unacceptable aspects for yourself much later;
- Conclude the final version of the deal - a dealer contract. This is the basic document.
Staff
Very important point– hiring qualified personnel, on whom the success of the business and the number of sales directly depend. It is necessary to recruit people who know how to listen to the client and understand their wishes at a glance.
Important criteria are politeness, absence of bad habits, cleanliness and responsibility.
Hire a HR director.
Such a specialist must control the process of hiring people, demand that they comply with the requirements of the salon, punish and reward the staff.
A good director will be able to build a truly effective and efficient team that will bring you income.
A small car dealership should employ 8-10 people - accountant, manager, sales managers (2-3 people).
In addition, you will need a marketer, technicians (provided there is a car service), salespeople (if there is a store). Average payout costs wages– from 170 thousand rubles.
Advertising
One of the main and most important expense items is competent advertising company. It is necessary to form an opinion potential clients, inspire their trust and bring them to your salon.
The most important stages in promotion are:
- organization of outdoor advertising;
- carrying out various PR campaigns;
- creating your own resource on the network and promoting it;
- ordering advertising in specialized (automotive) magazines and other printed materials;
- advertising on radio and TV (if appropriate opportunities exist).
How to open your own car business?
Authorized service station
A very important point is to create your own service at a car dealership. This will attract the most distrustful customers to purchase, as well as provide qualified service.
For a car service, you need to find a room measuring 200-300 square meters. Additional costs for re-equipment – from 3 million rubles.
Please note that the cost of a lift alone starts from 150 thousand rubles, and the purchase of a wheel alignment stand starts from 130 thousand rubles. Testers for checking electronics will cost much more. Their purchase can cost from 700 thousand rubles.
As for the parts, the warehouse must have all the necessary items. In this case, delivery times should not exceed one (maximum two) weeks.
If there are problems with delivery, then it is better to order the most popular parts in reserve - this will avoid many controversial issues in the future.
Results: the business of buying and selling cars is profitable!
Cost:
- rent - from 40,000 rubles;
- paperwork – from 100,000 rubles;
- refurbishment of premises, purchase and installation of equipment – from 3 million rubles;
- salary – from 170,000 rubles;
- advertising – from 100,000 rubles;
- authorized service station (repair, purchase of equipment - from 3 million rubles).
Income:
- from a car dealership – from 200 thousand rubles per month;
- from service stations – from 80 thousand rubles per month;
- from the store - from 60 thousand rubles per month.
Conclusion
Remember that opening a car dealership is a serious and expensive type of business that requires special attention and a serious approach to all organizational issues.
The automobile market is currently experiencing a period of stability. Demand is moderate. There is no rush or decline in sales. For businessmen who decide to open a car dealership, this situation is quite favorable.
How profitable is this business?
On the one hand, with proper business management, a car dealership can bring significant profits. True, this only applies to large-format outlets equipped with a parking lot, a car wash, a service center, and a spare parts repair store. The main income (about 70%) comes from after sales service.
On the other hand, according to experts, the average profitability of a business is about 10%, so its payback period is quite long - 4 years or more. In addition, it requires significant costs. Opening the most modest car dealership (500 m2) to sell cheap cars requires significant investments (from 15 million rubles). It is possible to talk about the profitability of a car dealership with a high degree of certainty only with a detailed business plan in hand. Its preparation is mandatory.
Where do you need to register a car dealership?
1 At the tax office. Select a legal form. For a car dealership, this will be an LLC - the form most suitable for working with car manufacturers. We will have to apply the basic taxation system for trade (since the entire factory-dealer chain works with VAT) and a single tax on imputed income for service.
2 The tax office needs indicate codes OKVED. We recommend checking all subsections included in the sections:
- 50.10 Trade in motor vehicles;
- 50.20 Tech. maintenance and repair of vehicles;
- 50.3 Trade car parts, components and accessories.
- 65.23.2 Activities of dealers
3 Registration in Pension Fund and all others off-budget funds
4 In Rospotrebnadzor and Gospozhnadzor
6 Register a cash register with the tax office
7 In local government consumer market get a Certificate in entering the dealer company into the commercial register.
8 In Rostest (www.rostest.ru) obtain certificates for individual species works (in case of parallel opening of a car service).
Which car supplier do you prefer?
This is the main question. The entire car dealership business will be based on working with a specific supplier. It is worth considering that when selling machines little-known and inexpensive brands you don’t have to hope for a high profitability of the business (manufacturers set low margins), but the start-up investments when creating a business will be minimal (about 15 million rubles).
When implementing cars of world brands you will have to budget at least 150 million rubles for the start, and also be prepared for the fact that the manufacturer will dictate its terms for organizing the business at all its stages.
In conditions of strong competition, it is worth thinking about selling brands that are not yet represented on the market in your region. In a large city, they can be quite promising trucks from Renault, Man, Volvo.
It is also worth focusing on the solvency of the region’s population. In small populated areas Inexpensive cars (within 10-25 thousand dollars) will be in greater demand. In cities with a population of over a million, where most of the country's wealthy people buy cars, it makes sense to organize dealer outlets selling elite brands. You can also enter the auto business from the cheap car segment, and then, after gaining experience, move on to a higher-class vehicle dealership.
It is imperative to develop a concept for the salon in order to know exactly what it will be like: multi-brand, representing one company, selling new or used cars, etc.
How to start working with a car manufacturer and as a car dealer?
- In order to become a car dealer, the first thing you need to do is: send a request to the official representative office of the automaker in Russia. On the website of each representative office there is an address intended for correspondence with potential business partners. It is to him that you should send a letter of your intention to become a car dealer of this brand.
- Then you'll have to fill out formalized forms that come in response. They usually indicate detailed information about the company and its current activities, the size of investments and the market of this region, plan of the location of the proposed salon on the ground with photographs. At this stage, you should have a ready-made business plan in your hands, the contents of which you need to familiarize the supplier with.
- Then it's time to telephone conversation with the manager on the development of the dealer network of the representative office. If you can convince him of the advisability of cooperation between your companies, he will come to meet you in person.
- Based on the results of the manager’s visit to the potential dealer, a decision will be made on further cooperation with him.
- If the decision of the representative office or importing company with the appropriate authority is positive, the dealer will be offered sign a letter of intent. It will indicate the procedure for construction, purchase of equipment, purchase of a batch of cars, opening, sales plan for 1 year, and an advertising campaign with specific deadlines.
- Then between the manufacturer and the car dealer dealer contract is signed, which is the legal basis for cooperation between companies. You will have to provide it, like the manufacturer’s certificate, to car buyers upon request.
Vehicle delivery technologies
Photo of cars arriving at the seaport
For each batch of cars, the dealer enters into an agreement, which specifies the price and delivery conditions in detail. Car purchases can be made at different points:
1) Purchasing a car in the manufacturer’s country
In this case, the dealer himself solves all the problems associated with the delivery of cars from the factory to his showroom:
- purchases cars directly from the automaker's plant;
- he insures the transport, delivers it to the salon and handles customs clearance (for official dealers A similar procedure takes place in a simplified form in 1 or 2 days). Calculation of customs duties can be done on the resource: www.tks.ru/auto/calc
- At the showroom, cars undergo pre-sale preparation.
If you plan to deliver cars from abroad using this principle, then you need to create either your own delivery service, or a full-fledged transport company, or rent a car transporter from others transport companies or car dealers (from $2000 per flight).
The carrier must have:
- international license for the transportation of goods;
- certificate of compliance with Euro-2, Euro-3 standards;
- All-Russian license. customs carrier.
2) Purchase of cars from an official Russian importer.
In this case, issues related to the transportation of cars to Russia and their customs clearance fall on the shoulders of the importer. This option is most attractive for new dealers, especially since in monetary terms it is equivalent to the first delivery option.
As for payments for cars, the options may be different, but most often manufacturers require Russian dealers 100% payment for shipped cars(Honda, Volkswagen, Audi, Toyota,).
If the manufacturer has an official importer on Russian market, which has a warehouse common to all dealers, then the goods are provided last on the terms of a commodity loan(Opel, BMW, Volvo, etc.). The dealer is required to distribute vehicles taken from general stock within a month. If, after this period, there is unsold transport left, then the importer will charge daily penalties on their cost. Anyway, after 3 months, unsold goods must be purchased by the dealer.
Therefore, it is especially important to fulfill the monthly sales plan. For a beginning dealer selling premium cars, you should proceed from the quantity of 250-450 vehicles per year. When selling cheap cars - at least 1000 units per year.
About warehouses, plans and prices
One of the questions that interests many concerns how many machines should be in stock. It depends trademark manufacturer. If model range is extensive, you will have to keep quite a lot of machines in stock. It is desirable that there be twice as many of them as are projected to be sold in 1 month.
Now for the prices. Each manufacturer sets its own prices. The size of the margin is also dictated, which the dealer can receive (usually from 8 to 20%). To attract customers, a car dealer can reduce prices, but only at the expense of margin.
Usually, if sales plans are strictly fulfilled, the manufacturer provides the dealer with bonuses. Moreover, it is more important for the supplier to fulfill the model plan. Along with popular models, auto manufacturers often oblige dealers to sell slow-moving products.
Where is the car dealership located?
It is important that the location meets the following requirements:
- it was close to the highway; it should be convenient to get to by any type of transport;
- the storefront overlooked the roadway;
- the plot must be at least 0.5 hectares.
Which room should I choose?
Typically, the manufacturing company strictly regulates both the interior design and its design: color schemes, furniture, symbols, etc. However, various accommodation options are worth considering:
- In old car park buildings. In Moscow they can be rented for $200-500/sq. m.
- Reconstruction of objects. Moscow rent - from 150 $/sq. m.
- Construction of single independent auto centers (if we are talking about middle-class salons, then construction in Moscow will cost approximately $2.4 million). Construction and equipment of a new building takes about 1.5 years.
Equipment
A typical auto center includes:
- exhibition hall (show-room);
- staff offices;
- visitor area;
- warehouse for cars;
- spare parts warehouse;
- those. center.
The cost of equipment is determined depending on the size of the equipment. center. For example, average tech. Audi station, designed for 25 workers. seats cost about 450-500 thousand dollars. In any case, the cost of equipment is strictly regulated by the manufacturer’s design, so its selection for a dealer is usually unproblematic.
Lack of knowledge and experience - these are the first difficulties that a beginner overcomes when deciding to open a car dealership. This article will reveal the main tasks and answers to the question “How to open a car dealership.”
Looking ahead, we immediately note that the possibility of increasing sales volume will be provided by parallel trade in automobile accessories, additional equipment and high quality customer service. And remember that the rapid pursuit of high profits is a way to get benefits today, but tomorrow or in six months the circle of your clientele will disappear like a soap bubble.
How to open a car dealership from scratch
So, let's look at information about how to open a car dealership, what you need to open from scratch.
When opening a car dealership, you need to decide which model or models of cars you will sell, determine which dealer network your “brainchild” will be a representative of. You will definitely need to draw up a business plan for a car dealership and gradually implement it into the foundation of your business. At this stage, you should negotiate with the manufacturing plants of your future auto product, outline a circle of supplier partners, make them believe in the viability of your future auto dealership, with the goal of delivering a car on trade credit. The terms of such delivery and contact information information about car manufacturing companies can be collected on the Internet.
How to become a car dealer
If there is no dealer of a certain car brand in your city yet, luck has kissed you!
The manufacturer will agree to represent its model range in your car dealership, but will still be interested in your experience in the auto trade. As a result of such negotiations, they may tell you exactly where it is best to geographically organize a car dealership, which is already an effective step towards establishing an auto business.
Now we need to adjust the previously drawn up business plan for the car dealership, take into account the conditions for the participation of partners and provide it in finished form to the manufacturer. It is important to use numbers to justify to the manufacturer the achievability of the desired result of the car dealership’s activities.
Location
Geographically, it is more expedient to organize a car dealership near the highway, with display windows facing the roadway. This is an advertising moment that helps promote the auto business, taking into account its specifics. You need to rent a building with these accommodation parameters; if that doesn’t work, it’s better to start constructing a new building for a car dealership.
Arranging a car showroom in a modern style will help attract customers and encourage them to buy. Inside, the room needs to be divided into special zones, equipping a showroom, office, service center, a warehouse for supplying spare parts and leaving a prominent place to accommodate a representative of one of the banks. An additional service of your car dealership is the convenience of obtaining an instant loan for the purchase of a car.
The arrangement of the showroom involves taking into account the requirements specific manufacturer, using its brand symbols, corporate color design and placement of advertising products.
Costs and profits
According to experts from the magazine Own Business (SB #11 (40)), the initial investment for opening a car dealership from scratch, according to preliminary calculations, is about $2.65 million.
The figure consists of the costs of building a car dealership, launching it and working capital, nested in inventory two-week turnover. It should be noted that the share of working capital in this figure is only $150-750 thousand.
The percentage of net profit in the ratio of gross revenue and expenses of a typical auto center is about 2%. An analysis of the components of the financial activities of a car dealership is given in the magazine “Own Business”.
- Let's take annual gross income as a base - 100.00%;
- Expenses for the year also amount to 98.00%.
Including car dealership expenses by cost item:
1) Cost of purchasing cars from official distributor — 92,00%;
2) The cost of purchasing accessories and spare parts is 2.00%;
3) Salary of working personnel - 0.60%;
4) Costs for technical support activities - 1.00%;
6) Payment of taxes (VAT, income tax, social tax) to the budget - 2.00%.
And 2.00% of net profit remains.
The calculation of deferred payment provided by the manufacturer should be secured by the availability of your own working capital in the amount of at least $200 thousand.
Staff
The professionalism of the personnel working in the car dealership will play a fundamental role in promoting the auto business. Politeness in communicating with clients, the ability to listen to wishes and requirements, and then not intrusively offer the goods of a car dealership and convince the client that this is exactly what he is looking for, not every manager or administrator of the hall can do. Recruiting staff is difficult and takes some time.
We recommend introducing the position of HR Director. He will professionally resolve the issue of selecting personnel to work in your car dealership and set certain standards for communication with clients in the car dealership. In operating mode, it will strictly monitor the implementation of accepted rules.
The success of auto sales will be ensured by marketing research or ordering such. Studying the aspect of the business environment, the presence of competitors in the car sales market, will help you in finding potential investors, competent orientation in the economy dictated by the car trade market. Knowledge of economic and technological trends, as well as financial analysis, represented by your business, industry, will give a positive result to the sales progress of the organized car show.
From the first steps taken, care should be taken to establish the company’s image, lay down the basic principles of the enterprise’s operation, train personnel, orient them to the ability to find an adequate way out of the current situation. non-standard situation. Prompt response of technical personnel to minor repair work, taking place in the pre-sale preparation of a car, also affects the client’s decision to come to your car dealership.
The quality of service guarantees the attraction of clientele to your car dealership.
Car dealership advertising
The effectiveness of conducting a wide advertising campaign for your company is undeniable.
One of the common options for advertising a car dealership is a note in a free city regional or district newspaper. Publicly available information about location coordinates, an indication of a flexible system of discounts, and affordable prices will attract the attention of a wide audience of potential buyers.
The effectiveness of periodic car sales promotions at a car dealership has been noted; it is advisable to inform about them by organizing mailing list booklets, leaflets, offering those who made a purchase a free additional service. For example, free first refueling of a purchased car or oil change.
The cost of these activities will pay off and bring profit to your business.
Bottom line
Drawing a conclusion from the above, we will give you an analogy of the advice of the president of the Inkom-Lada network of car dealerships and technical centers, which was published in the Business Journal. The essence of the advice is as follows: only by adhering to the basic principles of having long-term goals and perseverance in achieving them, you can achieve increased profitability in the automobile business and open a successful car dealership from scratch.
Prepared based on the material www.openbusiness.ru , by Tatyana Nikitina.
Availability in Russia large quantity car enthusiasts once again proves the huge potential of the market for new and used cars. The consistently high demand for cars gives some businessmen the idea of opening their own car dealership.
In most cases, the idea remains suspended in the air due to lack of funds, persistence and necessary knowledge. Only a few go through the thorny path and create a business that brings stable profits.
To make the business successful
- get started with car trading famous brands. You can save on advertising. Toyota is also Toyota in Africa;
- Choose your first cars from the budget segment. This makes it easier to find clients and increase working capital. When you firmly stand on your feet, you can switch to mid-price cars or premium cars;
- provide a wide range of models so that the buyer has a choice;
- It is important to provide the client with as many additional services as possible in one place, so that he will come to your salon again and again. Many successful car dealers claim that after-sales service profits often exceed sales revenue. Repair shops, service station, experienced car tuning specialist, auto parts store, services bank workers for financing car purchases, the presence of an agent of a reputable insurance company in one place will significantly expand the possibilities of making a profit. Your car dealership will have a positive reputation;
- learn a simple rule that is often violated by short-sighted businessmen - do not skimp on staff. The employee’s interest in improving his skills and decent wages, depending on personal contribution, will allow you to form a strong team of competent specialists on whom you can rely. Selling cars is a rather complex project. And amateurism will not work here;
- your service center should only work the best specialists. There will be a line of people waiting to get advice from him, a competent auto electrician Vasya, who is known throughout the city. You'll have to work hard to find such specialists. Offer decent wages and do not violate your financial obligations, which is often the sin of businessmen. Then a professional will work for you, and a constant flow of clients will be ensured.
First steps to opening a car dealership
Be patient, because the path from construction to... stable operation the enterprise will be quite long.
Step #1. Decide which cars will be sold in your showroom. There are several directions:
- purchase of a franchise and further arrangement of the premises in accordance with the requirements that are agreed upon upon purchase. An excellent option if you own a ready-made premises or land plot suitable for locating an auto center. It is important that the car brand is “promoted”;
- if you have a prepared premises, you can immediately start selling both new and used cars;
- you can build and open a car dealership from scratch. First, you will have to buy a plot of land or ready-made premises.
Step #2. Calculate the profitability of your business. You will need a competent business plan.
Serious business means serious expenses. To create and “promote” a car dealership with an area of about 500 sq.m., you will need at least 15 million rubles. A high-class specialist will not only develop a business plan for a car dealership, taking into account a specific city, region, and the level of purchasing power of the population, but will also calculate how quickly your project will pay off.
It is important to understand that with a sufficient level of sales and a profitability level for dealerships of 2–3%, your investment will be returned no earlier than 5 years. If you expect to make a profit sooner, invest in other areas of activity. Experts believe that the costs will be recouped most quickly when selling used foreign cars that are accessible to the general public.
Step #3. Analyze the sales level of various car brands in the selected region. Statistics will show whether it is profitable to open another center selling cars of your chosen brand, or whether the market is already saturated with similar offers.
Step #4. Learn all the intricacies of running this business, attend trainings and business seminars, and take special courses. If you are not ready to learn, do something simpler.
Where to locate a car dealership
It is important to choose the right location for your car dealership. IN major cities It is better to locate the object in the center, where a wealthy contingent of buyers gathers, offices and various institutions are located. In the provinces, a car dealership may be located on the outskirts. The main thing is convenient access roads to it and the presence of qualified personnel, in particular, maintenance station foremen.
The car showroom can be located in:
- former car park. Get ready to pay for rent every month from $200 to 500 per sq.m;
- a building of suitable size that can be reconstructed. Reconstruction costs will be about $1 million;
- It is possible to build a car sales center from scratch, your own. The cost of creating a complex that meets international standards will be at least $3 million.
If you are planning to become a dealer of famous car brands, give preference to the latter option.
Showroom area
To create a full-fledged complex, which will include, in addition to an exhibition hall (300 sq. m), a service center (200 sq. m), an auto parts store (100 sq. m) and office space (100 sq. m), you will need a room with an area of not less than 700 sq. m.
What do you need to open a car sales center?
Register your business. LLC () is an acceptable option when opening a car dealership.
The next step is registration with the tax office. It will be applied to your enterprise for trading enterprises.
Please indicate the following to your tax office:
- trade in motor vehicles;
- maintenance and repair of motor vehicles;
- trade in auto parts, components and accessories;
- activities of dealers.
Register with all mandatory funds:
- pension fund;
- Rospotrebnadzor;
- state fire supervision.
Next steps
- Open an account in a reliable bank.
- Buy a cash register and register it with the tax office.
- To obtain a certificate, contact the Consumer Market Department. Your dealer company will be included in a special register.
- If you are planning to open a car service center in conjunction with a car dealership, you should contact Rostest and obtain certificates for additional types works Some of them (body repair, for example) may require a certain distance from residential properties.
Car suppliers
Choose reliable suppliers and well-known car brands. Analyze which brands are missing in your region, and which ones it is oversaturated with.
Before opening a car dealership, find out the solvency of the population. If there are few wealthy clients in the region, work with cars that cost no more than 20-25 thousand dollars. It might be worth opening a used car dealership.
Be sure to purchase several cars for a test drive at your dealership.
Find out the terms of car delivery. You can buy cars in the country of origin. In this case, all problems associated with delivery from the factory gates to the doors of the car dealership fall on the shoulders of the dealer.
The second option is to purchase cars from Russian official importers. Many foreign companies, producing high-quality products, give priority to centralized supplies. Customs clearance and transportation of cars to Russia is a headache for the importer.
The costs in both cases are almost the same, but for beginners the second option is more acceptable.
How to become a car dealer
Your steps:
- You have already decided on the car brand. Send a request to the official representative of this company at Russian Federation. Representative websites can be found on the Internet;
- prepare a business plan for opening a car dealership;
- fill out the forms sent by the representative, familiarize the supplier with your business plan;
- the next step is to talk to the manager. Your task is to convince him that it is you who can ensure a high level of car sales and mutually beneficial cooperation;
- if the personal meeting goes well, you will be offered cooperation;
- This is followed by the signing of a letter of intent. It will spell out all the nuances: construction timeframes, procedures and terms for purchasing equipment and vehicles, sales plans, types of promotions.
- After approvals, a dealer contract is concluded, which is the basis for cooperation between the companies.
Important: at the first request of the buyer, you are required to present certificates for the car and this contract.
Business promotion
An important detail is the name of the car complex. It should be catchy, memorable, and must contain the brand name (if this is not a multi-brand car dealership).
Car dealership survival threshold
In order for a car dealership to function normally and gradually become profitable, sales volumes of cars in the mid-price category must be at least 60–70 units per year. The sufficient level of sales of premium cars is slightly lower.
How many cars should be kept in stock?
The chosen brand plays a primary role. If the model range is wide enough, you will have to keep more cars in stock. Owners of car dealerships believe that at any moment there should be a volume of cars in the warehouse that is 2 times higher than the planned sales.
If you sell one car from a line, you should be able to immediately replace it with another so that the model is not out of stock on the showroom floor.
Car prices and margins
Each manufacturer sets prices for its car dealers, which they are obliged to adhere to. In Russia, the size of the margin that contributes to the development of an enterprise ranges from 8 to 15%.
The dealer has the right to set discounts and conduct promotions to reduce prices in order to attract new customers. Naturally, within your margin.
Return on investment
In Western countries, a profit of 2 to 3% on turnover is considered good. Return on investment ranges from 12 to 20%. In Russia you can count on a higher percentage of profits. It is important to choose the right strategy and create all the conditions for effective sales. Competent management additional services in your car dealership and the presence of God-given specialists in your car service center will allow you to increase your profits.
Remember that knowing how to open a car dealership is not enough. It is important to go through all the stages without losing enthusiasm and constantly improve the level of knowledge on organizing an auto business in a salon. It is important for a manager to understand all the intricacies of selling a car. Only then will his enterprise operate successfully and eventually become profitable.
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