A contraction of points of sale in the automotive sector, with fewer and fewer small businesses and a shrinking sector. These are some of the data collected by the Dealer Network Study, the research carried out annually by Quintegia which examined 19 generalist brands.
At the beginning of 2024, the authorized sales networks in the automotive sector in Italy suffered a contraction in terms of sales points of 7%, compared to the same period in 2023. This trend, which has been underway for several years, has amplified , as shown by the data updated to January 2024, as the number of entrepreneurs stands at 776, showing a drop of 14% compared to 2023.
The situation is also similar with regards to the company names, which fell below 1,000 units with a decline of 15%.
This situation is due to the reorganization of the networks, which is leading to greater entrepreneurial concentration to the detriment of small businesses and those that are not multi-brand within the group.
In terms of data relating to mandates and franchise sales points, a more limited decline is observed. This is the symptom of a tendency of car manufacturers to concentrate sales activity in the hands of fewer players in the sector, preserving coverage in the territory as much as possible.
This scenario regarding sales activity is reflected in the authorized assistance networks, where the trend for the main data analyzed is similar, with manufacturers oriented towards increasingly concentrating the business in the primary network.
As regards the distribution of the portfolio of brands represented by entrepreneurs, the results illustrate how at the beginning of this year around 4 entrepreneurs out of 10 exclusively represent one brand, compared to 5.4 in 2015.
What has increased, on the other hand, is the number of entrepreneurs Multi-brand Multi-manufacturer, i.e. those entrepreneurs who represent brands of different manufacturers. Currently, the average number of brands represented per entrepreneur is 2.83 compared to 2.00 in 2015, showing constant growth over the years.
Thanks, in this case, to the entry of new brands onto the market in recent years. In terms of the territorial distribution of sales points, the data collected speak of a certain disparity within the peninsula: more than half of the sales points are located in the North, with Lombardy standing out compared to the other regions.