Kerrigan Advisors have released the results of its fourth annual OEM survey, providing 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
The survey also suggests that in a softer market, the OEMs are also absorbing “the lion’s share of tariffs”. “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.” OEMs expect AI to increase dealership profits For the first time, Kerrigan Advisors asked OEM executives how they expect AI to affect future dealership profits, and the results were decisive: 59% believe AI will increase dealership profits, while 37% expect no change, and just 4% anticipate a decrease. The finding is reinforced by the 2025 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, in which 90% of dealers reported they are already using or plan to use AI in their operations, indicating that the operational adoption needed to realize those gains is already underway.
Kerrigan Advisors expects wide-scale AI deployment to reduce selling expenses and lift revenue per employee, boosting dealer productivity and profitability. “AI is moving from experiment to infrastructure in the dealership,” said Ryan Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “When OEMs and dealers alike expect it to lower operating costs and raise revenue per employee, that’s a structural…