In the U.S. and abroad, this fact is evident: Cars today are just too darn expensive.

It’s hard to believe that just a short time ago, coming off very little to no inventory availability in prior years, the “experts” were saying that there was at least a year or two of “pent-up” retail and fleet demand; the supply of new and used vehicles wouldn’t be back to “normal” for years; and that overproduction and “stairstep” incentives were things of the past.

Well, the reality today is that inventory is again building on lots; incentives are back; OEMs are producing more vehicles than demand requires; some OEMs by necessity are in major cost-cutting mode; and dealer costs, including floorplan costs, are higher than they have been in decades.

Vehicles again have to be sold. Yet this time, in order to grow sales, younger buyers with less credit and income need to be enticed into the market, and that right now isn’t happening with “business as usual.”

According to a March 2024 report by IHS Markit new-car purchases made by 18- to 34 year olds are at the lowest point on record, just 9.3% of total new-car sales. More revealing, the 65-plus group posted the highest share on record of new-car purchases at 25.6%. It’s clear what is happening here. Younger buyers are priced out of the market, and older buyers are now picking up some of the slack. But extrapolate these numbers out, and new-car sales growth doesn’t look promising.

Our 2025 NADA Show workshop was unique, in that it didn’t just talk about traditional dealer sales topics like online marketing, used-car buying, SEO, etc. but gathered some of the most innovative technology and automotive retailing leaders from around the world to offer never-before-presented information on technology and sales innovations that usher in new ways of vehicle “personal ownership,” growing sales and market share now in areas of the world where cars have been out-of-reach expensive for a long time.

The workshop, “Thriving in a Tough Market,” explored changes that are afoot. They are not only changes over a few months or a year or so in the future, but greater, fundamental structural and financing changes that are trending. These will involve substantial longer-term information necessary for planning automotive retail sales leadership and growth for the next five years or more. Our presenting panelists have studied, and now provide or are using new strategies, platforms, digital technologies and fin-tech tools to equip dealers to enable new younger, and credit-challenged buyers to drive and buy the vehicles of their choice, even in this challenging credit market and high vehicle prices.

Those of us in the retail business for decades are all familiar with the effectiveness of the “puppy dog close,” the “take it home for the weekend” tactic of selling a vehicle. Note, though, that given the latest federal prescripts, the traditional way of doing this might be regulated out of business. 

In addition, even those who are not finance-challenged, and especially new prospective electric-vehicle buyers, are frequently afraid of commitment, especially long-term financial commitment, without trying out vehicles for a while, and a weekend just doesn’t work.

We will, from many different perspectives, explore new all-digital phone app technology that is making a potential purchase a riskless reality for all parties. Right now in many European markets where buying new vehicles has been challenging for much longer than in the U.S., and EV mandates are more aggressive, millennials and generation Z are using new tools and techniques to “buy” new cars in greater numbers. 

We are not referring to vehicle “subscriptions” envisioned by the OEMs a few years ago, aimed at an affluent market that theoretically wanted to change cars frequently and would pay for the privilege, but rather a new form of micro-lease or long-term, all-digital rental (sometimes with a purchase option), that has taken over substantial market share in many European countries and is now being introduced in the U.S.

For example, look at the numbers of micro-leases or long-term rentals as a percentage of ownership in Western Europe as far back as May 2023:

• Italy – 26% (a 61% growth rate over 2022)

• Spain – 27%

• France – 28%

• England – 53%

In our panel presentation, we also explored why these numbers are growing so rapidly, what the 18- to 34 year old wants as a buyer of a new vehicle beyond affordability, what makes them tick, and how smart retailers are meeting these needs, both from technology and transaction perspectives.

Again, this was not a workshop on new SEO sales capture methods or a way of tracking a buyer online, or even using artificial intelligence inside the dealership (there are plenty of those available). 

Uniquely, the workshop got in the weeds on the new technology platforms and strategies that can give a competitive advantage today, that can grow your business now and in the future, beyond what traditional dealers are doing en masse, presented by some of the best experts in the business.

John F. Possumato is the CEO of DriveItAway Holdings Inc., an app/platform to facilitate dealer-based consumer vehicle subscription and micro-lease to ownership models, enabling subprime and deep subprime buyers to drive, then buy a vehicle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was authored and edited according to F&I and Showroom editorial standards and style. Opinions expressed may not reflect that of the publication.