AI to Lift Dealership Profits as Automakers Plan to Absorb the Bulk of Tariff Costs, 2026 Kerrigan OEM Survey Finds
OEM executives expect dealership blue sky values to hold firm or rise, as 59% project AI will increase future dealership profits and more anticipate a network of fewer, larger dealers
Kerrigan Advisors today released the results of its fourth annual OEM survey, providing unique, and not often public, insights into the perspectives of US automotive manufacturer executives. Reflecting a strong outlook for US automotive retail among OEMs, the 2026 Kerrigan OEM Survey reveals that OEMs are increasingly seeing AI as a profitability driver at the retail level, as they navigate softening new vehicle sales and absorb the lion’s share of tariffs, all while maintaining confidence in dealership blue sky values and expecting a very active buy/sell market in the year ahead.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707469261/en/ Automotive OEMs Expect AI to Lift Dealership Profitability
“The story of this year’s survey is that OEMs see the economics of the dealership model getting stronger, not weaker,” said Erin Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “They expect AI to increase future dealership profitability, and they plan to shoulder the bulk of tariff costs themselves rather than pass them to their dealers. That combination of rising dealer productivity and sustainably higher retail vehicle margins helps explain why OEMs project blue sky values to hold firm, or increase, even as vehicle prices climb and vehicle sales rates flatten.”
