Provide constraints despatched dealerships’ new-vehicle stock ranges plunging final yr, and whereas 2022 may carry a slight enchancment in car manufacturing, the business could not see reduction till not less than subsequent yr, based on the Nationwide Vehicle Sellers Affiliation.

However the coronavirus pandemic and microchip scarcity even have made sellers extra inventive and environment friendly in how they do enterprise, from diversifying how they supply used automobiles to enhancing salesperson productiveness, Patrick Manzi, NADA’s chief economist, instructed Automotive Information final week.

These are among the many takeaways from the affiliation’s NADA Information 2021 report, an annual monetary profile of U.S. franchised new-vehicle dealerships. The report highlights stock ranges, new- and used-vehicle gross sales, employment and payroll tendencies, amongst different metrics.

“The most important difficulty has been sourcing stock and simply serving to prospects discover automobiles,” Manzi mentioned. “That is going to be high of thoughts this yr, as all the things I am seeing to date tells me that we’ll be coping with this stock crunch for brand new automobiles — and perhaps even used automobiles, to an extent — effectively into 2023.”

On the finish of 2021, stock ranges hit 1.12 million automobiles, a drop of 59 p.c from pandemic-affected 2020, based on NADA’s report.

Provide slid to 26 days for domestic-brand new automobiles — from 47 for 2020 and 67 for 2019 — and to 22 days for import-brand new automobiles — down from 52 for 2020 and 50 for 2019, per NADA’s report.

Stock ranges had ticked as much as roughly 1.23 million new automobiles by the tip of March of this yr, Manzi mentioned, and he estimated provide may attain 1.5 million or 1.6 million automobiles by yr finish.

However he added that the restoration can be “a sluggish, sluggish climb,” one which might be affected by extra provide chain disruptions.

Regardless of the constraints, common complete gross sales per new-car dealership exceeded $71 million in 2021, a document, NADA reported.

Complete gross sales for all dealerships rose above $1.18 trillion, up from each 2020 and 2019, the final full pre-pandemic yr.

The provision scarcity gave dealerships pricing energy not seen in many years, and so they have been capable of cost extra for the brand new and used automobiles they needed to promote, boosting these income numbers and their bottom-line profitability.

As dealerships contended with fewer new automobiles to promote, they stepped up efforts to supply and promote used automobiles.

Sellers’ reliance on auctions dipped, and so they leaned extra closely on so-called avenue purchases from shoppers discovered on-line or within the service drive, Manzi mentioned.

Roughly 1 / 4 of dealerships’ used automobiles have been acquired from auctions in 2021, down from 27.2 p.c in 2019, Manzi mentioned. On the identical time, dealerships acquired 8 p.c of used automobiles from avenue purchases final yr, in contrast with practically 5 p.c in 2019, he mentioned.

“That actually has, I feel, simply pressured extra innovation, extra calling round or scouring Fb Market,” Manzi mentioned. “Sellers are actually having to get inventive with how they’re sourcing proper now.”

Dealerships are also promoting extra effectively with fewer workers, Manzi mentioned. Dealership head depend dipped barely in 2021 after tumbling extra steeply in 2020 when the pandemic began. Complete dealership employment slid 2.1 p.c to an estimated 1,055,400 individuals final yr, down from 1,078,000 for 2020 and 1,134,400 for 2019, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics knowledge cited by NADA.

The typical dealership had 63 workers in 2021, usually flat from 64 in 2020 however down extra considerably from 68 in 2019. The typical variety of new automobiles offered per salesperson final yr rose to 113 from 104 in each 2019 and 2020, Manzi mentioned.

“We nonetheless have not seen nationwide dealership employment get better utterly,” he mentioned. “Quite a lot of the salespeople have discovered to be a little bit bit extra productive. I feel shifting extra of the gross sales course of on-line might need helped contribute to that.”

Manzi mentioned he would not anticipate dealership employment to select up till gross sales charges are persistently nearer to 17 million automobiles yearly.

Payroll prices elevated considerably final yr, based on NADA’s report. Common annual payroll per dealership jumped 22 p.c to $4.95 million in 2021, up from $4.06 million in 2020 and $4.09 million in 2019, the report mentioned.

Manzi chalked up the rise largely to the tight labor market.

“It is simply dearer to pay individuals proper now,” he mentioned. “Sellers have to stay aggressive, as effectively. And they also must pay extra to get good individuals.”