Market Research, Advertising and Brand Management | Storybrand Consulting

When the FTC's CARS rule goes live, legacy automakers should modernize their sales practices

When the FTC's CARS rule goes live, legacy automakers should modernize their sales practices

This July, the FTC will finally ban car dealers’ bait & switch sales tactics and junk fees. Legacy automakers should modernize sales in 3 more ways.

What is the FTC’s Combating Auto Retail Scams rule?

After decades of consumer complaints, the CARS rule was approved by the FTC last month. Starting July 30th, it will require car dealers to sell a car at the advertised or marketed price. It will also require dealers to inform consumers about the total payment when communicating monthly payments, and explicitly note that all add-ons are optional.

What’s the expected impact of the CARS rule?

Ev startup brands are giving us a peek into the future of DTC car marketing

Ev startup brands are giving us a peek into the future of DTC car marketing

As US states allow EV startups to sell directly to consumers, brand activations like pop-up retail, road shows and local showrooms are building momentum. 

In a KPMG study released last year, nearly half of global automotive executives think that most of new-vehicle sales worldwide will be directly to consumers from the manufacturer, by 2030.

So automakers will need to connect directly with consumers.  And local brand activations are looking like a great solution.