Australian Dealers are great supporters of the AADA National Dealer Convention and are all no doubt aware of its American cousin, the NADA Convention, but fewer know of the European equivalent, which is a great event in its own right.

The Automotive Dealer Day Verona is Europe’s biggest retail automotive event – and the second-largest in the world after NADA – and, like our Convention, it is designed for Dealers and those in associated industries to come together, make connections, learn and discover new products and services.

Although it is called Automotive Dealer Day, it actually runs for three days every May. Similar to the AADA and NADA Conventions, it features Dealer meetings, guest speakers, round table discussions and a vibrant social program, all set in one of Europe’s most romantic cities. Everything is simultaneously translated into English to ensure no-one misses a word.

This year’s program included workshops on ‘How Car Dealers are Going to Change in the Near Future’, ‘How Technology is Changing the Relationship between Cars and Customers’, and ‘Omni-Channel Distribution and New Ecosystems for the Automotive Industry’, plus a Master Class in ‘Human Capital as Business Leverage’.

Special guests included NADA Chairman, Jeff Carlson, and Alan Wang, Vice President of International Affairs for the Chinese Automotive Dealers Association.

The retail automotive landscape is changing rapidly, so to have another association looking after Dealers’ interests means more information to be shared, which is a good thing for all of us.