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Executive Summary – OTOMOTO Report “Dealers of Tomorrow” (2025)

Executive Summary – OTOMOTO Report “Dealers of Tomorrow” (2025)

Dealerzy-Jutra.-Raport-OTOMOTO_19.09.pdf

Context

The Polish dealership market stands on the verge of significant transformation. The OTOMOTO report, based on a survey of 350 car dealers, analyzes the industry’s perspective on digitalization, electromobility, sales strategies, and the role of new technologies. The “Dealer of Tomorrow” is a seller who combines traditional sales competencies with modern digital tools and can meet the growing demands of customers.

Key Findings

1. Readiness for the Future

• Business modernity – dealers rate themselves on average at 7.9/10, and their readiness for future challenges at 8.0/10.
• The highest scores are achieved by multi-brand and authorized dealers, the lowest by independent used car sellers.
• The high self-assessment indicates strong awareness of transformation, but in practice, gaps in process digitalization remain.

2. Characteristics of the “Dealer of Tomorrow”

Most frequently cited attributes of a modern dealer:

• Flexibility and adaptability – 53%
• Building online reputation – 46%
• Customer service personalization – 45%
• Social media activity – 44%
• Preparedness for electromobility and AI adoption – 39% and 35%, respectively.

3. Key Automotive Trends

• Growing importance of Chinese brands – 52% of dealers consider this the most important trend.
• Development of online sales (e-commerce) – 48%
• Electromobility – 47%
• Integration of vehicles with new technologies (IoT, connected cars) – 40%
• Data-driven personalization and analytics – 39%

Least cited: new financing models (30%) and sustainability (22%).

4. Electromobility

• 46% of all dealers consider their teams prepared to sell electric and hybrid cars (Among authorized new car dealers, this rises to 70%).
• Only 34% of respondents consider their EV/HEV offering comprehensive.
• The largest gaps concern the used EV market – growing, but still requiring customer education.

5. Offer and Customer Expectations

• Customers expect full online service, intuitive digital solutions, and personalization at every stage of purchase.
• Most frequently offered services: financing/leasing (69%), insurance (55%), service (55%).
• Door-to-door services and digital vehicle valuation remain limited – most dealers use a hybrid model (offline + online) rather than fully digital.
• The most demanding customer groups: Generation Z and buyers with the lowest and highest budgets.

6. Sales and Promotion Strategies

• OTOMOTO (82%) remains the main sales channel, ahead of OLX (68%), websites (67%), and social media (60%).
• Most commonly used promotional tools: highlighted listings and packages (63%), personalized offers (46%), local media advertising (45%).
• Least used: influencer collaborations (18%).
• Personalized offers are the key sales initiative – cited by 64% of dealers, especially independents (77%).

7. Digitalization and AI

• 43% of dealers do not use a CRM system for customer relationship management.
• AI in sales: 43% of respondents already use AI tools, and among authorized dealers – 67%.
• Top expected benefits of AI:
  • better personalization of offers (60%),
  • improved marketing efficiency (51%),
  • demand forecasting (47%).

Strategic Summary

The report shows that the Polish dealership market:

• is aware of transformation challenges,
• actively uses digital sales channels,
• has competencies in personalization and online marketing,
• but still needs to catch up in **electromobility, CRM, and AI adoption**.

The “Dealer of Tomorrow” is a leader who:

• flexibly responds to market changes,
• invests in online reputation and digital marketing,
• integrates offline and online channels,
• educates customers on electromobility,
• implements AI technologies and data analytics.