Rental Car Companies File for Bankruptcy, what do I care if I work in the Auto Industry? You had better start to care!
Stephen Granger
20+ Years Automotive Entrepreneur | Expert in Strategic Partnerships, Business Development & Market Analysis | Passionate Auto Enthusiast
Hertz and Advantage file for bankruptcy. So what do I care if I work in the automotive industry, doesn't affect me? Well, not sure that is true.
I keep seeing lots of posts about Hertz and now Advantage rental car companies filing bankruptcy and how it is going to affect "used car inventories"/ what is that going to do to used car sales for dealers.
I think people are focusing a lot on that side of the event instead of looking at the other side of this, how is this going to affect the OEM's and what will this do to the overall auto industry.
In a previous life, I managed relationships with rental companies and the company I worked for. One of the eye-opening things I learned at the time was the % of OEM sales was to rental car companies.
Everyone is focusing on how the rental car fleets being dumped on the market are going to affect used prices and not focusing on the fact that the OEM's are about to lose their biggest customers. Think about the ripple effect of that on all of us in the space?
Imagine if you business was coming out of the pandemic and trying to get back going and just right off the top there was no longer 10% of your business available to you. How would that affect your business and the vendors you dealt with? That is what is coming for the OEM's. When they are going to need it most the rental car companies are not going to be there.
Also now imagine, you are trying to get through all of this and your biggest customer just filed bankruptcy. Probably going to be hard to get any money they owe you. If you do get it, going to be way less than what they actually owe you and going to take a VERY LONG time to get it.
I think we are in for some serious downstream issues from this seemingly "not a big deal, I don't have anything to do with rental car companies..." issue.
I would love to hear what people think about this? Please share with your automotive industry connections and comment.
35 year veteran of the automotive industry, coaching, training with proven strategies, and Big Data Analytics to maximize their Fixed and Variable operations.
4 年The mantra throughout Covid-19 has been " we are all in this together" could not be more relevant. These bankruptcies will eventually impact all of us in the Automotive industry at one point in time!
Coming months will be interesting
Helping Auto dealers, Body Shops and Automotive Restylers grow their business with Ngenco-USA Paint Protection Film / Vehicle Service Contract Expert / Mental Health Champion / Key Note Speaker
4 年The ripple today turns to a giant wave Stephen. Can we say Tsunami!!
Licensed Skin Care and Beauty Esthetician
4 年The struggle is real. All the inventory of dealerships are being extinguished with no fufillment dates to be determined, because the manufatures are just now opening up, and who knows who is first in line to receive inventory orders. This is sad.