Research and Markets: The Global Report on Automotive Retailing: Current Advertising and Promotion Spend Estimated at $35 Billion

DUBLIN, Ireland, Sept. 23 -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/) has announced the addition of The Global Report on Automotive Retailing to their offering.

Automotive retailing has faced significant hurdles in the past decade around the world, and the challenges have varied by region, but for the most part, the traditional franchise dealer model has prevailed.

This exclusive report provides a complete guide to understanding how retail markets across the globe will change in the future and clearly identifies the sector's key trends, showing how they are set to affect your interests in the key markets.

   -- How will the recasting of the automotive block exemption affect
      European retailers?
   -- How will Japanese retailers restructure to accommodate OEM's continued
      attempts to cut costs and increase retail level productivity?
   -- How are US retailers intending to recapture the billions of dollars
      surrendered to the customer as part of the intense incentive wars?

These and many other crucial industry questions are comprehensively addressed so you can make the right decisions to stay ahead of the competition.

   Report coverage:

   1. Market and branding
   The global automotive industry currently spends an estimated $35 billion
   a year on advertising and promotion. If incentives and other opportunity
   costs (eg dealer-level price discounts), that figure probably exceeds $70
   million. This is far more than any other industry spends, and far
   eclipses total industry profits. Furthermore, it is becoming clear that
   increases in advertising and promotion have little correlation to
   increases in market share at the company level. Clearly, spending more to
   build stronger, more profitable brands is a dubious proposition, made
   more so by the probable near-term slowing of demand and the increasing
   price pressures the markets will witness. And yet many OEMs seem unable
   to do anything else. How did we get here?

   2. The Internet: attractive but elusive
   The Internet has already become a deeply integrated part of the
   automotive industry, and will become even more important as time goes on.
   Auto dealer 'disintermediation' will remain the exception rather than the
   rule in the three major markets, and the Internet will further accelerate
   the value capture capabilities of consumers by improving pricing and
   inventory transparencies. The benefits to OEMs will include perhaps
   ephemeral opportunities at CRM and more substantial opportunities to
   increase demand prediction accuracy, understand emerging trends and, of
   course, to sell cars.

   3. Europe: regulators in the driving seat
   The continued integration of the European Union is having a tremendous
   impact on the automotive retailing business. It seems logical that during
   such a period of instability players will jockey for advantage in as many
   ways as possible. Clearly, despite changes in the block exemption, the
   automotive manufacturers will remain the dominant force in the industry.
   Beyond the block exemption, one has to note the veritable crush of new
   regulations descending on the industry, and note it with increasing
   alarm. While most of these ideas are undoubtedly worthwhile, combined
   they could make motoring a decidedly expensive proposition in Europe in
   the very near future.

  For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c5261

   Laura Wood
   Senior Manager
   Research and Markets
   press@researchandmarkets.com
   Fax: +353 1 4100 980

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