Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick, powered by CBT News

NADA CEO Mike Stanton Breaks Down 2025 Sales and Policy Gains

• Jim Fitzpatrick • Season 1 • Episode 50

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On this episode of Inside Automotive, NADA CEO Mike Stanton reviews how dealer advocacy shaped a strong 2025 and outlines the priorities guiding franchise retailers into 2026. Stanton discusses industry sales momentum, noting that U.S. dealers are on pace to exceed 16 million vehicle sales, alongside improved profitability compared with 2024. He explains how coordinated, dealer-led advocacy efforts delivered meaningful regulatory and policy outcomes, reinforcing the value of alignment between NADA, state associations, and dealer members. The conversation also looks ahead to emerging legal challenges from EV manufacturers, evolving fuel-economy standards, and the role education and technology will play in the year ahead. Stanton closes with a preview of the 2026 NADA Show and its focus on practical AI applications for dealerships.

  • 2025 U.S. vehicle sales performance and profitability trends
  • Major advocacy wins on regulation, taxes, and EV policy
  • Legal challenges related to direct-to-consumer EV sales
  • Fuel economy and CAFE reform efforts
  • 2026 NADA Show highlights and education priorities

Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick is powered by CBT News, your go-to source for the latest news, trends, and insights in retail automotive. Subscribe for more interviews with top industry leaders, dealership innovators, and experts shaping the future of automotive.

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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Hey everyone, Jim Fitzpatrick. Welcome into another edition of Inside Automotive right here at the CBT Automotive Network. Retail Automotive is closing out another transformative year, and NADA has been right at the center of it all. Joining us now with his perspective on the biggest developments shaping dealers nationwide, as well as the upcoming NADA show is Mike Stanton, CEO and president of the National Automobile Dealers Association, NADA. So, Mike, thank you so much for joining us on the show this morning.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, thanks for having me. Always good to be with you, Jim.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Sure. So as we wrap up 2025, how would you summarize the year for franchise dealers across the country?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, of course, it varies, manufacturer to manufacturer, but overall it's been an excellent year. We're going to sell 16 million plus uh this year. And you just look back, uh, profitability, we've got numbers through our 20 group. We don't make those public, but they look good. They look better than last year. Again, it varies by manufacture, but overall it's gonna be a very, very strong year. And, you know, from a policy perspective, uh, we've had a heck of a year as well. And the credit goes to our dealer members, my colleagues out there, the state and the metro associations. Together, we were able to get some significant things done. You know, coming off that snowstorm and the show in New Orleans, we we have we've defeated the FTC's vehicle shopping rule. We were able to knock out the carb waiver. We got just about everything we were looking for in the president's big, beautiful bill in terms of tax provisions for dealers, many of them made permanent, meaning they're not scheduled to sub uh uh to sunset. Uh the only thing we didn't get was the EV tax credit. We would have liked that to be extended through the end of this year, but they worked with us and gave us that phase out period. And as we both know so well, you you give dealers a deadline, you give them a program, and they're gonna work it, and they did just that. Yeah, so really an incredible year, and the credit goes to uh just so many people out there. It was a team effort from the start, and when we work together as an industry with a common goal, we get stuff done.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Yeah, no question about it, for sure. NADA chairman uh Tom Castriota attended an event announcing a proposed a proposal to reform the CAFE standards. How does the NADA view the current regulatory landscape and what policy changes are most critical heading into 2026?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, what what an experience. I got the play-by-play from Tom once he, you know, once he got got back. But just to get that invite for the NADA to be invited to the Oval Office, and then for Tom to be that close to the president, to number one, thank him.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, this is common sense. It's a common sense proposed rule that we're confident will become a rule, and the NADA has has been fighting for for our customers really since day one on this. So to see all that come to fruition, to be there with the president. And then Tom was able to have a sidebar uh with the CEOs uh that were in attendance and President Trump about our concerns with with the Chinese OEM. So what a day for Tom, uh what a day for dealers you know across the country and certainly for for NADA. It's a very special experience. We've already got a big picture of him standing about two feet from the president uh hanging here in our offices. And of course, he's gonna have that, have one hanging in his dealership uh as well. Oh, I bet. But you know, you look back, uh, a good year, but we're always focused forward. What's up next? You know, every five years uh comes a surface transportation bill, so we'll make sure that we're advocating for dealer interest with that. One of the big things we need to make sure we defeat, we continue to defeat, we've done it for 24 years, is this Repair Act. It's a ridiculous piece of legislation that I that we will continue to fight, and we will we will defeat that. And of course, this absurd the absurdity of direct sales and and what uh what Scout is could continue to try and do, and I want and Fila Brand as well, I just want your viewers to know that the NADA has been in the fight now for over four years on this. We are supporting litigation across the country in various states on those uh challenges as well as others, Rivian, Lucid, Tesla. We're trying to get them to come to their senses, you know, but persuasion and and mathematics hasn't done that, so we're we're now in the fight from uh from a legal perspective. And I I was watching one of your I'll just say one of the alternative media sources to CBT News, and somebody from Scout was actually quoted saying that buying a car should be like buying a t-shirt on Amazon.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Wow. Really? Yeah, oh my gosh. Yeah, that just what consumers want, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

If it can only be so easy, yeah. We are a heavily regulated industry and and we have there's financing involved, there are trade-in considerations, there's uh I mean it's a big process. It is complicated.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

It takes two hours just for the salesperson to go over the car with the the customer because of the technology involved in the vehicle and and the operation of today's vehicles, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, there's a lot of moving parts to to uh every every car buying experience is different because every customer is different. Uh and and we've worked hard, and you'll continue to see NADA uh leading in 2026 in terms of of the consumer experience, and and we look, we got to keep getting better every day. That's that's with any any business. But the absurdity of buying a car should be just like uh buying a t-shirt on Amazon. That is just an uninformed uh perspective.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

But there's just it's a it's like comparing not even an apple and an orange.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So very frustrating, but that's what we're dealing with. Uh and we will continue to uh uh you know to be in that fight because it's it it's primary to why we exist, and that's to support uh the franchise system, which as I've always said, it's good for dealers, but it's good for consumers as well, and it's good for the car companies. It's just occasionally a couple of them will forget it from time to time. Yeah, they'll learn, even if they even if they they'll they'll end up learning. I'll leave I'll leave it at that.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Yeah, yeah, for sure. It is frustrating. There's no question about it. Some of the the the thinking behind all of this uh on the on this direct, especially with with regard to scout, you know, coming out of VW. There's so many VW and Audi dealers out there that are very upset about this, and uh obviously they're counting on you guys at the national level and others to to help them through all of this.

SPEAKER_00:

But it's we've just just got a report from their their dealer council. Uh and you know, this there's this whole concept of a diversion of resources. VW dealers are not doing well right now. Yeah, Audi dealers are not doing well, they don't like what they see when it comes to the future. Yeah, and then you just put a uh you Google the term scout and and you look at all of the stories that come up about the levels of investment. This is a German company diverting resources from its own dealer partners that have helped them through a lot of difficult times in this in this country. So as as you can see, we take it very seriously, and and we're gonna keep fighting and we're gonna prevail.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I've I have no doubt, no doubt about it. Hey, let's uh switch gears a little bit and talk about uh the big show that's coming up, NADA show in Vegas this year, which is always a great venue, and dealers love to attend Vegas. And uh, but uh this will be uh a big turnout. Obviously, had a little bit of a snow situation, a weather situation last year, which prevented some dealers to go. Uh I've already spoken to a number of dealers that are saying, no, we're not missing this one. You know, we we want to be at it, it's gonna be a great year ahead.

SPEAKER_00:

We've seen it from a registration perspective. There's a there's some pent-up demand going on there for sure. So the registration looks quite a bit higher than it did two years ago uh in Las Vegas at this point, and we always get a big push uh uh right up leading up to the show. But again, I would encourage your viewers, we are running out of of uh kind of the best in terms of hotel space.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So so please, uh sooner rather than later, if you want to be where you want to be in terms of of lodging. Uh there's exhibit floor sold out, over 600 companies. We got another 50 on the waiting list.

SPEAKER_01:

That's great.

SPEAKER_00:

So all signs are looking really, really good. I love our educational lineup. Of course, the focus is on AI, uh, but we got to figure out, and we're we're working on that. What really is AI in our space? And how can NADA help dealers kind of separate what what is AI and maybe what is is not uh AI? And we're working on those things. So that's of course the workshops, a lot of the vendors on the floor, but you'll see NADA before the show putting out some leadership kind of guidance on on that as well. Yeah, and then we've got Magic Johnson anchoring uh on Friday. And that's when I talked to Melissa, who runs our show, she keeps telling me, you gotta drill it into everybody's head. We have switched our footprint. We are now Tuesday to Friday. Yep. And I keep telling her, I say, Melissa, I people know how to read a calendar, but we all of us, a lot of us, have been doing this for for many, many years, and we're used to having it over the weekend. We moved to the uh week primarily because we wanted to save our our uh you know customers, which is really not just the dealers, it's everybody, a lot of money in terms of a hotel night in Las Vegas over the weekend leading up to the Super Bowl, is big, big bucks. So we will we will have saved everybody a lot of money by moving or during the week. And so far, so good in terms of feedback.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

I would think so. And also it allows the dealers to you know not have it cost them a weekend per se, because I know some dealers were you know concerned or not concerned, but they say, hey, I'd rather do this, you know, do this during the week since it falls under you know my my work responsibility, so to speak. And uh so it lets them get in, get out, they got their weekend, and uh it just I think it makes sense all the way around. It's a good move.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I think old old school was you keep you kept the management team and the people at the store, yeah, and then the dealer would go have a nice party at the NADA show. Well, this is so much more about a party, it's about, I mean, of course, we're doing a big party at the F1 uh experience, which will be great.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Very cool.

SPEAKER_00:

But dealers are sending their teams now, yeah. So they want their teams in the store on the weekend, and then the teams can come to NADA and get a one-stop shop for the best education uh in the whole industry. They've got an opportunity to mix it up with their franchises. It's a it's a huge buffet, as you know, and everything's in one place.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It's much more efficient and better to be there, be with us during the week, and then get back to selling cars on the weekend.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Yeah, totally agree, totally agree. And CBT News will be there with our stage uh front and center. I think we're just right across from the NADA pavilion. So for those of you that are watching, make sure you stop by NADA, but then come across and say hello to us at CBT News. It should be just an incredible show. I've spoken to so many dealers that are really looking forward to this year's uh event. So Mike Stanton, CEO and president of NADA, thank you so much for all the time that you've given us here at CBT and all of the contributions that you've given us for 2025. Look forward to a strong partnership in 2026. We're here to help you in any way that we can.

SPEAKER_00:

We know that, and you and you do that, Jim. So thank you very much. You do a great job.

Jim Fitzpatrick:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

Appreciate it. Thanks for watching Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.