Car dealerships in 2026: What matters now is focus, efficiency, and resilience
The market remains in wait-and-see mode
Economically, Germany will remain in a state of stagnation in 2026. End customers are showing restraint, investments in e-mobility remain challenging, and business is increasingly shifting toward used cars. Young used cars with a traceable history and attractive prices are particularly in demand. Electric lease returns create opportunities here, but require precise valuation and efficient residual value management to protect margins.
For car dealerships, this means that growth is generated less by volume and more by operational excellence. The aim is to eliminate internal inefficiencies, control costs, and ensure liquidity on an ongoing basis.
The guideline for 2026: concentration, consolidation, correction
Many people are referring to 2026 as the "year of potholes": a year that will require resilience, speed, and courage. The formula for success for many industry consultants is the 3C rule – concentration, consolidation, correction:
- Concentration: Focus on high-yield core areas and profitable brands. Diversification at any cost often causes more complexity than benefits.
- Consolidation: Eliminate sources of loss, streamline cost structures, reduce unproductive functions.
- Correction: Revise wrong decisions early on, such as oversized locations, overly optimistic sales assumptions, or excessive inventory. This sober view ensures financial stability and creates the basis for sustainable resilience.
Focus on service, used cars, and cost management
Analysts expect a slight decline in the workshop and service business. Structural change, price-sensitive customers, and aging inventories require precise management of capacity utilization, prices, and additional business. The used car sector, on the other hand, remains an anchor of stability. Successful car dealerships combine digital processes, such as valuation, marketing, and payment processing, with qualified personal advice.
At the same time, cost pressures continue to mount: minimum wages, energy prices, and IT costs are rising, while returns are shrinking. To remain competitive in this environment, companies need precise key performance indicator management, liquidity monitoring, and flexible scenario management.
Digitalization, AI, and autonomous financial processes as success factors
2026 will be the year in which artificial intelligence (AI) and process automation must have an operational impact. Whether in scheduling, lead management, service calculation, or accounting, automation reduces errors, speeds up processes, and relieves employees. AI will evolve from an experiment to a tool that enhances both efficiency and customer service.
A key component is the automation of financial and payment processes. Autonomous financial processes ensure that payment flows, dunning, and billing run seamlessly and automatically in the background. For car dealerships, this means fewer manual interventions, secure liquidity, and high transparency in real time. These are all prerequisites for a resilient business model in an uncertain market environment.
Autonomous Finance thus creates not only efficiency, but also resilience: systems take over routine work, while decision-makers can concentrate on strategy, customers, and business development.
Recommendations for action: How car dealerships should position themselves in 2026
- Securing income instead of chasing volume: profitability in inventory, after-sales business, and used cars are the central pillars of income.
- Expand digital infrastructure: CRM, digital lead tracking, online appointment booking, electronic signatures, and modern payment processes create a consistent customer experience.
- Qualify employees: Building expertise in electric mobility, consulting, digital tools, and AI applications increases closing rates and retains customers in the long term.
- Intelligent inventory management: Realistic calculation of residual values, minimization of downtime, reduction of capital commitment.
- Utilize autonomous processes: Wherever possible, automate recurring, rule-based processes, especially in the areas of finance and payments, to free up capacity for value-adding activities.
Outlook: Stability through system intelligence
While 2026 does not promise any new records, it does offer the opportunity to consolidate structures. Resilience beats size, and speed beats tradition: transparency, data orientation, and system-supported processes are crucial. Car dealerships that invest early in efficiency, digital expertise, and autonomous processes will not only secure their profitability but also actively shape the future of a rapidly changing automotive trade.
