Regional areas benefit most from local car dealers

Australia’s regional communities receive their biggest economic stimulus from their local new car retailers.

The ‘dealer strip’ in provincial cities and towns across Australia help turnover nearly $60 billion in sales and employ over 58,000 locals, the Australian Automotive Dealer Association reveals.

Drawing on fresh data from its DealerNomics website, the AADA says the local car dealer is one of the most important economic pillars of regional Australia.

The top 10 electorates benefiting from new car retailers’ economic contributions are all regional, including Barker in South Australia where nearly 1600 people work in the service departments, in parts, man the front desk or sell cars on the showroom floor of their town’s local dealership.

Barker, which saw Liberal MP Tony Pasin win the May election, sees $333 million in annual revenue according to DealerNomics data, money spent in the local supermarkets, hardware stores, wineries and cafes of Kingston SE, Robe, Millicent, Mt Gambier, stretching towards Adelaide as far as Murray Bridge, and includes Renmark, Berri, Loxton and Waikerie, and extends into the eastern edge of the Barossa Valley and Kapunda.

The Mallee in Victoria, Durack in Western Australia and Parkes in New South Wales are also beneficiaries of hundreds of millions in economic contributions.

AADA chief executive James Voortman says dealers are crucial local businesses in country towns.

“New car dealerships are present in just about every federal electorate, but there are more franchises in the electorates which are large by area, demonstrating the commitment of dealers to service rural and regional communities,” he says.

“Dealers are often family businesses who employ locals and sponsor local footy teams or community groups,” Voortman explains.

The AADA is urging governments at both local, state and federal level to think carefully before wrapping dealerships in regulatory red tape.

“Governments are in the process of considering a number of regulatory issues which will have a significant impact on the future of car retailing in Australia,” Voortman highlights.

“It is important for decision makers to understand the scale and breadth of the industry before implementing any regulations,” he says

The AADA is also asking members to “pay their local Member and/or Senator a visit and demonstrate to them through DealerNomics, the important contribution which car Dealers make in their electorate.”