Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 12

61 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 12 The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things across industries that are yet to return to normal. In the auto industry, spare parts are a significant area that has seen this disruption. “Right now at most franchises, there are more cars at the back than at the front,” avers Emich, “due to the sheer backlog of repairs and the lack of spare parts. For us, however, since we are independent and don’t have to get all our parts from one source, we have managed to keep our service center running and our customers on the road. Some of the things we are doing are using substitute compatible parts in cases where the original part is unavailable, which has helped us to keep moving forward.” Another coincidental factor that has helped Emich Automotive weather the worst of the pandemic was a focus on electric cars like the Tesla, when other dealers kept them in the backburner. “We currently have 22 Teslas in stock, which, I think, is more than even Tesla has in their inventory,” chuckles Emich. “While electric cars require much less service than other cars, we still had to build competency and experience swapping batteries and doing other fixes, especially in Teslas, which are notoriously difficult to fix.” When it comes to EVs, Emich is clear about his intentions for the company, noting, “There’s a lot of really cool electric cars coming onto the market, and I want us to be a frontrunner in that. Our location is good for it, and our staff is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to those vehicles as well.” Looking forward three to five years, Emich hopes to see the industry and prices continue to stabilize. He reports, “One of the positive things that came out of the pandemic was that, due to the scarcity of inventory, prices stabilized and there was no more ‘race to the bottom’ kind of selling among dealers. This created a positive experience for buyers because there wasn’t as much haggling and dealers were more focused on providing a better experience than undercutting competitors. I hope this continues even as the industry rights itself, so dealers can continue offering a great experience to customers while making more money from the relatively higher prices.” daarockies.com THANK YOU TO EMICH AUTOMOTIVE FOR BEING A DEDICATED STRATEGIC PARTNER IN OUR COMMUNITY. EMI CH AUTOMOT I VE