TSS at AADA 2025: Conference Highlights and Industry Insights

Once again, the Total Selling Solutions (TSS) team attended the AADA 2025 Convention & Expo  Event in Brisbane. This year, the theme was "Changing Lanes," which provided TSS with valuable insights and strategies to stay up-to-date with technology, adapt to changes in buyer behaviour and market conditions, and meet the evolving needs of the dealer network. We also collaborated with other dealers and industry leaders to exchange ideas and best practices, ultimately driving our knowledge forward. Please see the updates and highlights from this exciting event!

Adaptability to Change and the AADA 2025 Vision

In line with this year's theme, dealers need to be adaptable and prepared to learn and develop as leaders, and invest in their people to help them find new ways of doing business. We cannot continue to use the same game plan as in previous years in a changing environment and expect the same results.

Be prepared to change or risk being left behind. AI is transforming the automotive industry, and dealerships must adapt or risk being left behind. Embracing technology, data, ongoing sales training, and being open to trying new things are essential to staying competitive and meeting the demands of the modern customer and industry changes. The discussions at AADA 2025 emphasised that a forward-thinking approach is crucial for success.

EVs and China

EVs continue to be a hot topic of discussion for dealers, OEMs, and customers. With over 70 brands already in Australia, a number of new Chinese players will be entering the market in the next 12 months, which represents both challenges and opportunities for dealers. With new emission regulations and a continued focus on greener transportation, it will be interesting to watch the number of low-cost Chinese electric vehicles being launched and how they transform the market as we know it. Dealers are proceeding with caution regarding used EVs due to price reductions on new EVs and the influx of cheaper Chinese vehicles.

Dealership Operations

With the quickly changing environment we have experienced in the last 12 months—as new vehicle inventory levels increase, used vehicle prices drop, and front-end gross is under pressure—we are seeing a renewed focus on fixed operations. On the sales front, the focus is on reinforcing processes within our sales teams as they have emerged from an "order taking" environment to a "selling" environment.

Marketing, AI, and Customer Experience

AI continues to be an area of intrigue, especially in how it will shape dealership communications and impact the customer experience. As the focus on customer experience increases, dealers are continually looking for ways to enhance the online customer experience. However, since the majority of customers still elect to visit a dealership, the challenge is to create a seamless experience at all stages of their research and inquiry. We also encounter this as part of our business, as many customers still choose to phone a dealership to help them identify which one to visit. The use of AI and digital marketing continues to focus on not only growing sales but also on growing service visits and retention. Interestingly, both the managing directors of Podium and Impel stated that there will still be a requirement for dealerships to have well-trained staff to provide an exceptional customer experience.

Staff Development

Dealers are finding it increasingly difficult to find and retain the right staff. This challenge is magnified by high turnover rates and a competitive job market. Therefore, a large number of employees are experiencing our industry for the first time. Due to a market shift in how we are now selling cars, it is imperative that, as an industry, we continue to invest in and support both new and experienced staff across all departments.

Recap of the AADA 2025 Conference

• Investing in staff development is crucial for employee and customer retention.

• Adaptability to change: We need to find new ways of doing things in a changing environment.

• Marketing, AI, and CRM continue to be a focus as technology evolves.

• With customers still wanting to visit dealers, the customer experience should be a priority at all stages of the inquiry.

• EVs and the growing number of Chinese brands will continue to change the automotive landscape over the next 12 months.

Thank you,

The TSS Team

🎥 Want to see the highlights in action? Check out our visual recap below:

📸 Images from the AADA 2025 Convention & Expo  Event: