How to open a dealership. How to open a car dealership: everything an entrepreneur needs to know. Automotive center location

Many businessmen are concerned about the question of how to become a distributor and bring their company to the market. high level profitability in the conditions of the modern Russian market. To answer this, you will need to analyze a number of important aspects of working in this industry.

The market demands new products

Car sales growth rate in last years are decreasing, due to the gradual saturation of this market. At the same time, new or little models sell well in Russia famous brands. Therefore, it makes sense for entrepreneurs planning to open dealerships to arrange supplies of cars that are rare or have no sales history in our country. The lowest frequency of presence of machines of this type is in the regions east of the Urals.

There are not many dealers as such: in Novosibirsk, for example, only a few brands have more than one dealer. In neighboring Siberian cities - Tomsk, Irkutsk, as well as Barnaul and Kemerovo - many well-known car brands are not sold at all. Distributors tend to pay attention to localities with a higher number of inhabitants.

First a competition, then a business

Choosing a promising market geography is only the first step of an entrepreneur on the path to opening a dealership. How to become a distributor? You must be selected according to the criteria of the car manufacturer. The latter, as a rule, is interested in such information as the authorized capital of the dealer, characteristics of the sales center, information about the profile of the enterprise, and the distributor’s business plan.

In total there are about 30 provisions. They are divided into four main groups: legal, financial, material and human resources. But this is only the first round of selection: then a difficult one will follow negotiation process, following which the automaker will select a specific dealer.

It happens that none of the proposals of the competitors suits the factory, therefore, the procedure starts again. Often entrepreneurs themselves do not understand how to become a car dealer in accordance with all the intricacies of the process.

This is exactly what happened in Omsk, when Skoda organized a competition to open an official representative office. Some manufacturers install some kind of probation(as, for example, Volvo does), stipulated in the contract with the dealer who won the competition. It is worth noting that the distributor who shows that its image fully corresponds to the brand code of the machine supplying factory has the highest chance of winning.

Entry threshold is high

Since selling cars is a serious business, the criteria for admitting entrepreneurs to the market are much higher than in most other industries. You can’t just get into this segment. A businessman with high financial capabilities can become a distributor: the initial investment in a dealership center can amount to millions of dollars, or even tens of millions (as was the case with Novosibirsk showrooms selling Nissan and Toyota brands). Not counting “seed” investments, in order to be competitive, a business will be forced to invest in advertising, and this, according to experts, is about another 200 thousand euros every year.

The time it takes for a dealership to break even is also long – 5 years or more. This indicator tends to increase over the years: the rate of profit, as the market becomes saturated, falls all the time. In Europe, for example, dealers earn about 2% from sales of finished cars. The figure for auto parts may be significantly higher – about 30%, and entrepreneurs should pay special attention to this fact. At the same time, there are not many businessmen who are ready to work under all these conditions, especially in provincial cities.

Subtleties of arrangement

If the competition is passed and the money is found, then the next step of the entrepreneur is to organize the infrastructure. A functioning dealership includes a number of components. Firstly, it must be a parking lot equipped with all the necessary accessories. This object is the face of the dealer company and an important factor in successful sales.

Secondly, all cars displayed in the showroom must be brought to a shine: you will need a high-quality car wash. Thirdly, cars require constant care in terms of technical control: The dealer will need their own auto repair shop.

Fourthly, since we have determined that the greatest profitability in this business comes from the sale of spare parts, the company’s infrastructure will have to include a separate store of this profile. For each of the marked divisions of the dealership, qualified personnel will have to be hired.

We position ourselves optimally

The geography of the car dealership location must be clearly thought out. How to open a distribution company taking into account this factor? The most important condition is the location of the company near an actively used highway. This common law for any market: the higher the customer traffic, the better the sales.

Potential clients need to create conditions for a convenient visit to the salon: that is, if there is initially no equipped exit from the highway, then the entrepreneur will have to build it himself.

The display window of a car dealership must be directed towards the road where future buyers are coming from. That same busy highway may not be in the city center: it is necessary to study the transport infrastructure of the streets and find a place where the intensity of traffic and the costs of building (renting) a car dealership and adjacent facilities will be optimally combined.

As mentioned above, the most important component of the profitability of a car sales business is post-sales service maintenance. It is fundamentally important to create conditions for comfortable access to the center for two groups of clients at once - those who travel to purchase a car, and those who pay a visit to the dealership to buy spare parts.

Formalities

How to become a distributor and work legally? The entrepreneur will have to register as a legal entity. The best option is a limited liability company. The specifics of working in this status, however, are such that you will need to deal with VAT, as well as tax on imputed income - this must be taken into account.

When applying for state registration It's best to use the following OKVED codes: 50.10, 50.20, and also 50.3. These values ​​allow the company to conduct business in the trade of motor vehicles, carry out vehicle maintenance, repair them, and also sell spare parts, assemblies and components.

It is imperative to note the most important code in OKVED - 65.23.2. It means that the company will operate as a dealer. It is important for an entrepreneur not to forget to register the company with pension funds, as well as with non-budgetary Russian funds.

The practice of the dealership business is such that it will require paperwork with the State Fire Supervision Authority and Rospotrebnadzor. The next steps are to open a cash account at a bank, purchase a cash register and other equipment of this profile.

And finally, you will need to go to the Consumer Market Department to enter information about the company in the trade register, and then receive a certificate there. You may need certificates for carrying out work in auto service mode - they are issued by Rostest. How to become a car dealer and successfully go through all these complex procedures are questions that are very relevant for entrepreneurs.

Selecting suppliers

The business plan of a distribution company must, first of all, include provisions regarding the price segment in which sales will be conducted. Actually, the more expensive the brand, the higher the degree of its promotion, the greater the amounts that the entrepreneur will have to invest in the business. From time to time, a car dealership will have to incur costs associated with certain brand requirements regarding business strategy.

It is quite acceptable to start selling cars of low-budget brands, then, as demand is identified, move on to more expensive ones. The option of combining several brands in one salon is not excluded. It must be borne in mind that some manufacturers are very picky about marketing policy dealers love to advise what and how to do.

The methods of foreign brands may differ from those that are typical for Russian companies, but our entrepreneurs are increasingly thinking about how to become a dealer of a foreign company. The demand for cars from abroad among Russian citizens is growing at an impressive pace.

Why Honda?

Cars of this Japanese brand fit perfectly into the Russian market. Firstly, Honda cars have increased wear resistance of parts - much higher than, say, most Chinese foreign cars that are gradually flooding car dealerships in our country. The quality of the metal from the “Japanese” is invariably high. Honda is one of the world's largest manufacturers of automobile engines. This brand is a leader in technology and level of development of various mechanical components.

Many Honda cars have reduced gas and engine oil consumption. The engines of this manufacturer are very easy to start and meet the most modern environmental requirements. The extensive network of Honda branded services is one of the largest in the world, and the car dealer will not have problems supplying their showrooms with original spare parts. But before deciding how to become a Honda dealer and adapt the business to selling cars of this brand, the entrepreneur needs to find out whether the Japanese are suitable for the market of a particular region.

Where to buy cars?

The easiest option is to find suppliers in the country where the cars are manufactured. However, under this scenario, the dealer will have to work on logistics himself and control the transport delivery channels from the factory to the showroom.

Among the mandatory procedures that an entrepreneur must undergo are the purchase of insurance policies for cars, registration of cars at customs, payment of all necessary fees. To optimize work in this direction, the dealer can create a special structure within the company that delivers the vehicles sold from the factory.

For many businessmen, it is not entirely clear how to become a distributor within the framework of this scheme, and they prefer another option - outsourcing, that is, they find a company willing to do the same with payment for specific types of services. When choosing such a company, you need to make sure that it has a license to carry out transportation, has certificates of compliance with Euro-2 and, as a rule, Euro-3 requirements. You will also need a document confirming the company's status as a licensed customs carrier. Another purchasing format is from an official importer. This greatly simplifies the dealer's work. The only question is to find a competent company of this profile.

The automobile market has stabilized in recent years, and car sales are constantly growing. The number of car enthusiasts who choose brand new cars from showrooms is also growing, preferring them to used cars. This means that today the situation is quite suitable for opening a car dealership. So the questions - how to open a car dealership and how profitable such a business is - are quite relevant.

A little about car sales

Surprisingly, the main income for a car dealership comes not so much from the sale of cars itself, but from their after-sales service (statistics indicate an impressive figure - up to 70%). For a businessman, this means that the business must be comprehensive: in addition to the car dealership itself, you need a car repair shop ( service center), a car wash, a spare parts store (preferably with a warehouse) and a parking lot. Accordingly, when choosing a location and premises for a car dealership, you need to take into account the specifics of the business and look for a room that is spacious enough to accommodate everything you need.

As for the profitability of such a business, it is, unfortunately, quite low and, according to experts, is about 10%. What does it mean? What initial costs they will return to the opening of a car dealership (which, by the way, are quite serious) no earlier than in four to five years. At the same time, the costs for the most modest car dealership will be about 15 million rubles, and if you are planning a large-scale business and selling expensive cars, then even more.

Therefore, before starting a business, you need to think several times, carefully calculate everything and draw up a detailed business plan (better - together with a specialist).

Car showroom registration

If you decide to open such an expensive business, you will have to start with the same thing as any other - with finding a suitable location and state registration. The procedure will be approximately as follows:

1. You need to find a place and premises for a car dealership and conclude a lease agreement with the owner.
2. Go through state registration with the tax authority, having previously selected the organizational and legal form of your business. Most best option in this case, an LLC with the UTII tax system (since all auto suppliers work with VAT).
3. Select OKVED codes: 50.10 Trade in motor vehicles; 50.20 Tech. maintenance and repair of vehicles; 50.3 Trade in automobile parts, assemblies and accessories and 65.23.2 Activities of dealers.
4. Open a bank account, purchase a cash register and register it with the tax authority.
5. Register with the Pension Fund.
6. Obtain approval from Rospotrebnadzor and Gospozhnadzor.
7. Obtain a certificate of inclusion of you as a dealer in the trade register local Administration consumer market.
8. Get Rostest certificates for individual species services (they will be required for those who open a service center and repair shop at the salon).

Place for a car showroom

You need to choose a location for a car dealership with all the care you can muster: after all, a good (or not so good) location will play a huge role in the success (or failure) of this grandiose enterprise. And since failure will be costly, you should pay close attention to the territory where you plan to settle.

• the car dealership should be located close to the highway and have convenient access;
• a plot of at least 0.5 hectares will be required;
• The showcase of the showroom (exhibition hall) should demonstrate in all its glory the assortment of the salon to everyone passing and passing by.

Of course, you can build a new car dealership (and if you can afford it, it will be the best solution), but first as possible options It is worth considering, for example, the premises of old car parks that can be reconstructed (where rent will be cheaper).

As for the corporate style of the car dealership, when registering a dealership you will have to use the manufacturer’s corporate style (as a rule, this is closely monitored by the relevant departments of the car concerns).

The car showroom should have:

• the exhibition hall itself;
• customer area;
• product warehouse;
• spare parts warehouse;
• service center (workshops);
• staff offices.

How to become a dealer?

It’s clear: in order to sell cars, receiving them directly from the manufacturer and bypassing resellers (this is the only way to talk about real profit), you will have to become a dealer of the manufacturer. How to do it? So, step-by-step instruction for potential dealers:

• First, you need to submit a request to the official representative office of the manufacturer (this can be done through the automaker’s website, where you can always communicate with potential partners), informing the manufacturer of your intention to become its dealer.
• In response to such a request, as a rule, the manufacturer sends special questionnaires that need to be filled out and sent to the manufacturer. They indicate information about your company, its activities, investments in the market, the plan and location of your future salon (preferably with photographs and a business plan for the car dealership).
• If the manufacturer is impressed by your documents, you will have a preliminary conversation with the company manager by phone. Here your task is to convince him of the feasibility of cooperation.
• If the telephone conversations are successful, the manager will come to the site and inspect the premises and territory of the future car dealership, and then he will make a decision: whether or not to become a dealer of the company.
• If the issue is resolved positively, you will be asked to sign a letter of intent, which will set out a plan for further activities for the year ahead: from the construction of a salon, the purchase of equipment for it, the delivery of cars to the sales plan and advertising campaign.
• After this, the dealer contract itself is concluded, which is the basis for work and cooperation. You will provide this legal document, along with the manufacturer's certificate, to customers upon request.

Of course, there are car dealerships that sell cars of only one brand and also specialize in servicing cars from only one manufacturer.

But for successful operations and expanding the range, it is better to be a dealer of several automakers. Then you will be able to offer potential customers a significantly larger selection of products from different concerns and in different price categories.

And expanding the range is always good for business. In addition, concluding each subsequent dealer agreement will be much easier than the first one, since having an already operating car dealership, you will be attractive as an official representative for most manufacturers.

Car supply

So, the salon is almost ready, all that remains is to place the product itself there - cars. This can be done in two ways:

• purchase a car in the country of the manufacturer (then all the hassle of delivering the goods falls on the shoulders of the dealer himself, who must purchase the car at the factory, insure it, deliver it to the showroom, carry out all the necessary measures for customs clearance of the car and organize pre-sale preparation);
• purchase a car through a domestic representative of the manufacturer (in this case, delivery is handled by a representative of the manufacturer, and this is the most preferable option for young car dealerships without experience).

In the first case, you will have to organize your own delivery service or enter into an agreement with a suitable transport company, which has an international license for the transportation of goods and a license of an all-Russian customs carrier. Well, if we talk about cost different options delivery, then it is approximately the same. And for most shipped cars you will have to pay the full price right away.

When will the initial investment be returned?

Everyone understands that opening a car dealership from scratch is a rather expensive undertaking that will not bring immediate profit. Return on investment should be expected after approximately four years of successful operation. This means that by investing in your own car dealership, you are making a long-term investment and you need to prepare for the fact that you will have to constantly monitor the market situation, enter into contracts with manufacturers and deal with increasing competition. This is the only way to count on making a profit and profitability of such a business.

Who is a dealer? Why becoming a dealer is a great start for aspiring entrepreneurs. Is it possible to become a dealer without investment? Where to look for employers.

A dealer is an individual or legal entity that carries out retail trade goods purchased in bulk from a manufacturer or distributor. Selling a finished product is the most common business in the world. He demands small investment, as a rule, paying off in a short time. Many successful businessmen today with large capitals began by representing the interests of another large company. Therefore, aspiring entrepreneurs are wondering what they need to do to become a dealer.

What to do to become a dealer

Getting started isn't that difficult. If you decide to try yourself in this field, answer the questions:

• What product will you be selling?
• Where will you get this product?
• What trading method will you use to sell the product ( a store on the market, pavilion, warehouse, online store)?
• How much money are you willing and able to invest?
• Who will you sell the product I have chosen to?
• What form of cooperation with a manufacturer or supplier are you interested in?

Once you have roughly decided on the product, the form of cooperation with the employing company and the method of implementation, you can begin to look for a company that suits your wishes.

Finding an employing company

Companies are interested in selling their goods through dealers, since this takes less money and resources than creating their own retail network. There are many offers of cooperation, so in most cases there are no problems with finding and choosing an employing company. It is more difficult to convince company representatives that it is you who will sell their product. Often the company producing the product has a list of ready-made requirements for its dealer. They include having experience in successfully selling various products in retail networks. However, if you are convincing during the interview and show yourself to be an adequate partner, then it is quite possible that the manufacturer will be satisfied with your candidacy.

Moreover, not all companies choose their dealers. Many manufacturers sell a trial batch of goods to everyone, and the better the dealer sells units of goods, the more discounts and bonuses he receives.

Registering activities

In order to carry out trading activities, you must register with the tax authorities. Most beginning entrepreneurs register as individual entrepreneurs, as it is easier. However, it should be remembered that both individual entrepreneur registration and legal entity registration have their advantages and disadvantages. To summarize, then individual(IP) is personally liable for his debt obligations with personal property, and also cannot share a share in the business with his partner. TO legal entity much more requirements (for example, availability authorized capital, a complex system for withdrawing profits, etc.), but at the same time they are taken more seriously and cooperate more willingly. In addition, when creating a legal entity, you can divide the shares of the business between partners.

If you want to be a dealer, the business registration form must be discussed with your partner. But in most cases, registering as an individual entrepreneur will be enough for you.

A dealer certificate is a document that confirms your right to sell products from a certain manufacturer, and also serves as a guarantee of quality from the supplier company for the end consumer.

We are looking for clients to sell goods

The most important part of any business is the customers. Therefore, it is worth paying a lot of attention to searching and attracting buyers. If you are selling a product from a well-known manufacturer, then for successful sales it is important to choose a good location for your store or properly set up SEO when it comes to online sales. If the product is not so well-known, then it is worth investing in its promotion. Therefore, immediately ask yourself the question: can I convince the buyer that he needs the product? How will I do this?

Many successful small businesses reselling goods began precisely because the entrepreneur had clients. A friend of mine has her own store of orthopedic pillows. She started her business not by searching for suppliers, not by registering an individual entrepreneur, and not by opening a store. She did joint procurement for your large family wholesale price from the warehouse, but in the end, due to the move, I was forced to sell the pillows. A friend wrote the price in the sales advertisement not as wholesale, but as retail. The pillows sold surprisingly quickly, and she was glad that she got rid of them so easily and even profitably. As a result, they began to recommend her to friends as a person from whom they could buy quality pillows, and she received calls and messages. After that, she decided to purchase another batch of pillows for sale, and about six months later she opened her own retail warehouse store.

Warehouse store is a fairly common business format for new dealers.

How much money do you need to invest?

Dealers, especially beginners, often wonder how much to invest in a business and what exactly to invest in, as well as whether it is possible to become a dealer without investment.

In any case, you will have to invest. But the size of the investment will depend on your ability to negotiate with the supplier and the conditions under which you cooperate. By saving on some items, you can minimize investments, thereby reducing risks.

To understand what you can save on, let’s look at where the dealer invests:

• for the purchase of goods (direct payment for the goods);
• for storage and transportation of goods (warehouse rental, trading floor, payment for cooperation with a transport company);
• advertising and sales costs.

If you negotiate well, it makes sense to save on the first point by agreeing with the supplier to purchase goods for sale. That is, first you sell the product, and only then pay for it. But this option has its own risks and is also less profitable, since the price for goods for sale is usually higher.

Large suppliers often help their dealers with market promotion, advertising and marketing, providing their own developments, but the organization of promotions is usually undertaken by the dealer

If you want to try yourself as a dealer, but invest own funds are not yet ready, you can try a “demo version” of this activity by working as a regional employee (for example, sales representative) the company whose products you are interested in promoting. This way you will gain the experience necessary to start and, if it is successful, you will earn money without your own investments. But the income with this method of earning will be significantly lower, as well as the risks.

Where can a dealer look for employers?

Nowadays it is very easy to find a supplier or employer. There are many resources on the Internet for finding partners. The most famous of them are:

1. “Russian Manufacturers” - on this site all Russian manufacturers can leave a request to find their dealer, and dealers can find a request and contact the supplier. All products are conveniently divided into categories, which makes it much easier to find what you need and what is interesting.
2. “Suppliers.ru” - this resource was created to ensure communication between suppliers and buyers. Here you can also easily find the product and supplier you need. Moreover, this can be either a manufacturer or a distributor (a person who purchases goods in large wholesale from the manufacturer and sells them in smaller quantities to dealers).
3. “I am a dealer” is not only an extensive catalog of dealer offers, but also informational assistance to beginning dealers; here you can read the latest news in the business world, as well as find a lot of useful information.

Using these and other resources, study market offers and choose partners that interest you.

How to become a successful dealer

To become a successful dealer, you need to constantly develop yourself and your business. This includes an increase in client flow, improvement of business design, and pumping personal qualities, and search for more qualified personnel.

Sell ​​a popular product

In order to successfully sell a product, there needs to be demand for it. If you try to sell sleds in Thailand, then most likely, no matter how talented a seller you are, you are unlikely to succeed in this enterprise. The time when you could sell anything is long gone. People are wary of new offers and products, as well as intrusive advertising.

Form your client base and constantly expand it

A dense flow of customers ensures good profits and success for the dealership. Therefore, it is important to form and maintain a customer base. To do this you need:

1. Analyze the market. Where do your clients spend their time? What are they buying? What need will your product satisfy?
2. Collect buyer contacts. To offer a product to a buyer, it is important to know how to contact him. Exist different ways collecting contact information about your potential client. It's like online databases that are collected using parsing (if sales are carried out in in social networks), and offline databases for working over the telephone. If you plan to sell goods through a store, you can issue savings cards to customers indicating their contact information, in order to inform them about discounts and bonuses later.

Appreciate regular customers

It is important to recognize regular customers by sight, provide them with bonuses and create loyalty programs. If customers see your good attitude towards them and your unique approach, they will come back to you again and again, and also recommend you to their friends, which will ensure constant sales and even expand your base due to positive reviews.

Create a positive image

To sell your or someone else's product well, it is important to make a positive impression on people. It’s also endearing appearance, and manner of communication, and the ability to negotiate, respecting the interlocutor and showing moderate persistence in the presentation of one’s ideas. It is important to be able to convey information not only verbally, but also non-verbally. Gestures, voice, manner of communication, gaze can also affect the impression of you and, accordingly, the decision to cooperate. Therefore, you need to create an image of a successful person who knows what to do and who you can trust.

Availability in Russia large quantity car enthusiasts once again proves huge potential market of new and used cars. The consistently high demand for cars gives some businessmen the idea of ​​opening their own car dealership.

In most cases, the idea remains suspended in the air due to lack of funds, persistence and necessary knowledge. Only a few go through the thorny path and create a business that brings stable profits.

To make the business successful

• start working by trading cars of famous brands. You can save on advertising. Toyota is also Toyota in Africa;
• Choose your first cars from the budget segment. This makes it easier to find clients and grow working capital. When you firmly stand on your feet, you can switch to mid-price cars or premium cars;
• provide wide the lineup so that the buyer has the opportunity to choose;
• It is important to provide the client with as many additional services as possible in one place, so that he will come to your salon again and again. Many successful car dealers claim that after-sales service profits often exceed sales revenue. Repair shops, a service station, an experienced car tuning specialist, a store selling auto parts, banking services for financing car purchases, and the presence of an agent of a reputable insurance company in one place will significantly expand the possibilities for making a profit. Your car dealership will have a positive reputation;
• learn a simple rule that is often violated by short-sighted businessmen - do not skimp on staff. The employee’s interest in improving his skills and decent wages, depending on personal contribution, will allow you to form a strong team of competent specialists on whom you can rely. Selling cars is a rather complex project. And amateurism will not work here;
• Only the best specialists should work in your car service center. There will be a line of people waiting to get advice from him, a competent auto electrician Vasya, who is known throughout the city. You'll have to work hard to find such specialists. Offer decent wages and do not violate your financial obligations, which is often the sin of businessmen. Then a professional will work for you, and a constant flow of clients will be ensured.

First steps to opening a car dealership

Please be patient, because the path from construction to stable operation of the enterprise will be quite long.

Step #1. Decide which cars will be sold in your showroom. There are several directions:

• purchase of a franchise and further arrangement of the premises in accordance with the requirements that are agreed upon upon purchase. An excellent option if you own a ready-made premises or land plot suitable for locating an auto center. It is important that car brand was “promoted”;
• if you have a prepared premises, you can immediately start selling both new and used cars;
• you can build and open a car dealership from scratch. First, you will have to buy a plot of land or ready-made premises.

Step #2. Calculate the profitability of your business. You will need a competent business plan.

Serious business means serious costs. To create and “promote” a car dealership with an area of ​​about 500 sq.m., you will need at least 15 million rubles. A high-class specialist will not only develop a business plan for a car dealership, taking into account a specific city, region, and the level of purchasing power of the population, but will also calculate how quickly your project will pay off.

It is important to understand that with a sufficient level of sales and a profitability level for dealerships of 2–3%, your investment will be returned no earlier than 5 years. If you expect to make a profit sooner, invest in other areas of activity. Experts believe that the costs will be recouped most quickly when selling used foreign cars that are accessible to the general public.

Step #3. Analyze the sales level of various car brands in the selected region. Statistics will show whether it is profitable to open another center for the sale of cars of your chosen brand, or whether the market is already saturated with similar offers.

Step #4. Learn all the intricacies of management of this business, attend trainings and business seminars, take special courses. If you are not ready to learn, do something simpler.

Where to locate a car dealership

It is important to choose the right location for your car dealership. In large cities, it is better to locate the facility in the center, where a wealthy contingent of buyers gather, offices and various institutions. In the provinces, a car dealership may be located on the outskirts. The main thing is convenient access roads to it and the presence of qualified personnel, in particular, maintenance station foremen.

The car showroom can be located in:

• former car park. Get ready to pay for rent every month from $200 to 500 per sq.m;
• a building of suitable size that can be reconstructed. Reconstruction costs will be about $1 million;
• It is possible to build a car sales center from scratch, your own. The cost of creating a complex that meets international standards will be at least $3 million.

If you are planning to become a dealer of famous car brands, give preference to the latter option.

Showroom area

To create a full-fledged complex, which will include, in addition to an exhibition hall (300 sq. m), a service center (200 sq. m), an auto parts store (100 sq. m) and office space (100 sq. m), you will need a room with an area of ​​​​not less than 700 sq. m.

What do you need to open a car sales center?

Register your business. LLC () is an acceptable option when opening a car dealership.

The next step is registration with the tax office. It will be applied to your enterprise for trading enterprises.

Please indicate the following to your tax office:

• trade in motor vehicles;
• maintenance and repair of motor vehicles;
• trade in auto parts, components and accessories;
• activities of dealers.

Register with all required funds:

• pension fund;
• Rospotrebnadzor;
• state fire supervision.

Next steps

1. Open an account in a reliable bank.
2. Buy a cash register and register it with the tax office.
3. To obtain a certificate, contact the Consumer Market Department. yours dealer company will be entered into a special register.
4. If you are planning to open a car service center in conjunction with a car dealership, you should contact Rostest and obtain certificates for additional types works Some of them (body repair, for example) may require a certain distance from residential properties.

Car suppliers

Choose reliable suppliers and well-known car brands. Analyze which brands are missing in your region, and which ones it is oversaturated with.

Before opening a car dealership, find out the solvency of the population. If there are few wealthy clients in the region, work with cars that cost no more than 20-25 thousand dollars. It might be worth opening a used car dealership.

Be sure to purchase several cars for a test drive at your dealership.

Find out the terms of car delivery. You can buy cars in the country of origin. In this case, all problems associated with delivery from the factory gates to the doors of the car dealership fall on the shoulders of the dealer.

The second option is to purchase cars from Russian official importers. Many foreign companies, producing high-quality products, give priority to centralized supplies. Customs clearance and transporting cars to Russia is a headache for the importer.

The costs in both cases are almost the same, but for beginners the second option is more acceptable.

How to become a car dealer

Your steps:

• You have already decided on the car brand. Send a request to the official representative of this company at Russian Federation. Representative websites can be found on the Internet;
• prepare a business plan for opening a car dealership;
• fill out the forms sent by the representative, familiarize the supplier with your business plan;
• the next step is to talk to the manager. Your task is to convince him that it is you who can ensure a high level of car sales and mutually beneficial cooperation;
• if the personal meeting goes well, you will be offered cooperation;
• This is followed by the signing of a letter of intent. It will spell out all the nuances: construction time frames, procedures and terms for purchasing equipment and vehicles, sales plans, types of promotions.
• After approvals, a dealer contract is concluded, which is the basis for cooperation between the companies.

Important: at the first request of the buyer, you are required to present certificates for the car and this contract.

Business promotion

An important detail is the name of the car complex. It should be catchy, memorable, and must contain the brand name (if this is not a multi-brand car dealership).

Car dealership survival threshold

In order for a car dealership to function normally and gradually become profitable, sales volumes of cars in the mid-price category must be at least 60–70 units per year. The sufficient level of sales of premium cars is slightly lower.

How many cars should be kept in stock?

The chosen brand plays a primary role. If the model range is wide enough, you will have to keep more cars in stock. Owners of car dealerships believe that at any moment there should be a volume of cars in the warehouse that is 2 times higher than the planned sales.

If you sell one car from a line, you should be able to immediately replace it with another so that the model is not out of stock on the showroom floor.

Car prices and margins

Each manufacturer sets prices for its car dealers, which they are obliged to adhere to. In Russia, the size of the margin that contributes to the development of an enterprise ranges from 8 to 15%.

The dealer has the right to set discounts and conduct promotions to reduce prices in order to attract new customers. Naturally, within your margin.

Return on investment

In Western countries, a profit of 2 to 3% on turnover is considered good. Return on investment ranges from 12 to 20%. In Russia you can count on a higher percentage of profits. It is important to choose the right strategy and create all the conditions for effective sales. Competent management, additional services in your car dealership and the presence of God-given specialists in your car service center will increase your profit.

Remember that knowing how to open a car dealership is not enough. It is important to go through all the stages without losing enthusiasm and constantly improve the level of knowledge on organizing an auto business in a salon. It is important for a manager to understand all the intricacies of selling a car. Only then will his enterprise operate successfully and eventually become profitable.

If you would like to discuss the possibility of cooperation with our company, please fill out an application for concluding a dealer agreement and send it to us at: [email protected] using the form below.

The dealer network development team will carefully analyze your application. If BMW Group Russia is interested in implementing a project in your region, our specialist will contact you to clarify further actions.

The selection of potential partners is carried out on a competitive basis. To participate in the tender, you must prepare a presentation and business plan according to the model developed by BMW. If necessary, candidates are invited to present their proposal at the BMW Group Russia office.

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