Chevy Tweaks Dealer Strategy

Chevrolet dealership showroom (Credit: Chevrolet )

If you’ve noticed a difference when visiting Chevy dealerships in North America, there’s good reason. The automaker has reworked its dealer incentive program, says Automotive News, and it involves some key changes.

Dealers will have the chance to earn bonus cash under the Chevy Standards for Excellence program, if they pay a fee. Without getting into the nuts and bolts too much, locations that sell more vehicles during one quarter than they did during the same quarter in the previous year get more money.

Also included in the program are new incentives for selling three specific models. Thanks to this shift, expect the sales staff to be pushing the Silverado, Malibu and Cruze harder than before. A sales target is set by the factory, and dealers that surpass it by at least 20 percent get an extra $1,000 per vehicle.

With Nissan pushing the new Titan, and Ford promoting the many innovations included in its reworked F-Series lineup, Chevrolet needs to push hard to keep selling Silverados and stay financially healthy. The Cruze is another important vehicle to guard the brand’s market share. With the Malibu, it’s been completely redesigned yet again, all in a bid to carve out a significant chunk of sales in the incredibly competitive and ultra-important midsize sedan segment. Chevy obviously doesn’t want all that effort to go to waste.

This could mean if you’re at all interested in one of these three vehicles, now’s the time to bargain for a great deal. Dealers should be eager to move as many of each one as possible, if they’re participating in in the Standards for Excellence program.

Another big change has to do with recalls. Dealerships that sell new vehicles without performing recall repairs first will see their bonus cash shrink. The exact figure for the penalty will be figured out based on total sales versus how many recalled models were delivered to customers. This policy will help cut down on how many owners have to get work done on their brand-new purchases, which can sour that new car honeymoon phase in a big way.