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A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or , at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintenance services.
In the United States, car dealerships have historically been an important source of state and local sales taxes. They have considerable political influence and have lobbied for regulations that guarantee their survival and profitability. By 2010, all US states had laws that prohibited manufacturers from side-stepping independent car dealerships and selling cars directly to consumers. By 2009, most states imposed restrictions on the creation of new dealerships to compete with incumbent dealerships.
Economists have characterized these regulations as a form of rent-seeking that extracts rents from manufacturers of cars, increases costs for consumers, and limits entry of new car dealerships while raising profits for incumbent car dealers. Research shows that as a result of these laws, retail prices for cars are higher than they otherwise would be.
The first car dealership was opened in 1889 by Fred Koller in Reading, Pennsylvania and sold cars manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio. This would have been the first dealership solely dedicated to automobiles, as opposed to horse-drawn carriages.
Today, direct sales by an automaker to consumers are limited by most states in the U.S. through franchise laws that require new cars to be sold only by licensed and bonded, independently owned dealerships. The first woman car dealer in the United States was Rachel "Mommy" Krouse who in 1903 opened her business, Krouse Motor Car Company, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Evening Bulletin (published by Philadelphia Bulletin) 7 December 1953 page 1 (column 3) and page 16 (column 4) and The Evening Bulletin 29 January 1954 (obituary)
The number of car dealerships in the US peaked in 1927 at 53,125 and steadily decreased over the next decades. By 1960, there were 33, 658 dealerships; by 1980, 23,379; and by 2001, 22,007.
Car dealerships are usually franchised to sell and service vehicles by specific companies. They are often located on properties offering enough room to have buildings housing a showroom, mechanical service, and body repair facilities, as well as to provide storage for used and new vehicles. Many dealerships are located out of town or on the edge of town centers. An example of a traditional single proprietorship car dealership was Collier Motors in North Carolina. Many modern dealerships are now part of corporate-owned chains with hundreds of locations. Dealership profits in the US mainly come from servicing, some from , and little from new cars.
Most automotive manufacturers have shifted the focus of their franchised retailers to branding and technology. New or refurbished facilities are required to have a standard look for their dealerships and have product experts to liaise with customers. Audi has experimented with a hi-tech showroom that allows customers to configure and experience cars on 1:1 scale digital screens. In markets where it is permitted, Mercedes-Benz opened city centre brand stores.
Tesla Motors has rejected the dealership sales model based on the idea that dealerships do not properly explain the advantages of their cars, and they could not rely on third-party dealerships to handle their sales. However, in the United States, direct manufacturer auto sales are prohibited in almost every state by franchise laws requiring that new cars be sold only by dealers. In response, Tesla has opened city centre galleries where prospective customers can view cars that can only be ordered online. These stores were inspired by the . Tesla's model was the first of its kind, and has given them unique advantages as a new car company.
The franchisor can act opportunistically by imposing constraints and burden on the franchisee after the latter has incurred , such as investing in physical assets and building up a reputation with customers. The franchisor could for example require that cars be sold at low prices, and services be performed for little compensation. The franchisee could on the other hand act opportunistically by using its local monopoly to perform poor customer service, charge customers more, and pass those unnecessarily high costs to the franchisor.
The issuance of new dealership licenses can be subject to geographical restriction; if there is already a dealership for a company in an area, no one else can open one. This has led to dealerships becoming in essence hereditary, with families running dealerships in an area since the original issuance of their license with no fear of competition or any need to prove qualification or consumer benefit (beyond proving they meet minimum legal standards), as franchises in most jurisdictions can only be withdrawn for illegal activity and no other reason.
This has led to consumer campaigns for establishment or reform, which have been met by huge lobbying efforts by franchise holders. New companies trying to enter the market, such as Tesla, have been restricted by this model and have either been forced out or been forced to work around the franchise model, facing constant legal pressure.
Car manufacturers in the European Union are increasingly shifting towards selling cars directly to customers without reliance on independent dealers. Volvo has announced plans to sell all vehicles directly to customers by 2030.
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