Dear KADA Members,
What a year of changes we have seen both in our personal and professional lives. Despite the challenges faced by COVID-19, the automotive industry has continued to grow and sales have stayed on the rise. From an association perspective, we have grown almost 20% in dealer membership and close to 40% in allied partners.
As the pandemic has taught us, we must be prepared for anything, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is by doing what we do best – embracing new technology. As you have heard, since last year we have been fighting to modernize the titling and registration process for dealers here in Kentucky, and in this 2022 General Session we introduced a bill that would make this process electronic. We couldn’t be more excited that the bill officially passed and we are now well on our way to ensuring that by January 2024 electronic titling and registration will be available to car dealers.
Yet another shift we are seeing is the move to electric vehicles. Dealers have always been the ambassadors of new technology and as more and more electric vehicles are presented into the market, I know our dealer community is excited and equipped to introduce them to the public.
We continue to see inventory delays due to chip shortages and we anticipate this being a challenge in 2022 and perhaps beyond. The war in Ukraine is significantly affecting this as well as other facets of the automotive industry. However, despite these challenges, there is one thing that I could not be more confident of: car dealers are resilient. We are a community that not only adapts and perseveres, but also leads the way.
Your Kentucky Auto Dealers Association is here to support your business in the best ways we can; with legislative updates, webinars and workshops, partner programs with products and services tailored to your dealership needs, podcasts, networking events, and more. We encourage you to take advantage of all the resources available to you, and please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
We will continue to work hard to represent and support your business and our industry, and we look forward to a successful and prosperous 2022!
Jason Wilson
KADA President
