NADA 2026 – REFLECTIONS
By Matt Kroll & Gary Martin
The NADA show has long been seen as a window on the direction of global automotive retail, and, while not everything showcased translates directly to our markets, the key content and direction of travel are usually useful.
This year, we were lucky enough to attend as part of the AADA study tour and although the show offered fewer headline moments, there were clearer signals about what is genuinely starting to work - and what still needs caution.
AI: From Hype to Early Commercial Reality
Artificial intelligence was unquestionably the dominant theme of NADA 2026. Two years ago, AI discussions were largely theoretical - impressive ideas, ambitious claims, terrific PowerPoints, but very little proof. This year, the tone was noticeably different.
There is now real evidence that some AI tools are gaining traction in live dealership environments. Several vendors were able to point to hundreds of active dealerships using their solutions, supported by measurable outcomes rather than conceptual promises. That shift matters.
However, the most important insight wasn’t that AI has “arrived”, but that it’s evolving quickly. The pace of progress over the last two years has been significant, yet it remains far from a magic bullet for the industry. No dealership is about to transition overnight into an AI-driven operation - and every pitched suggestion otherwise should still be treated with caution.
The more credible use cases clustered around a handful of practical applications: agent-based AI supporting service bookings, sales follow-up, inbound and outbound automated communications, and general reception. In many cases, these tools are designed to handle volume and consistency rather than replace people - freeing staff to focus on higher-value customer interactions and selling.
The takeaway is nuanced but important: the hype cycle is starting to give way to early profitability. AI is not transforming dealerships, but it is beginning to deliver incremental, commercially meaningful gains when deployed in the right context.
Data Discipline Is Becoming the Divider
Possibly the most important takeaway for dealerships wasn’t a specific product or platform, but a pattern.
The dealerships appearing most advanced and successful were those taking data management seriously. Over the past two years, there has been an explosion in tools designed to extract value from dealership data - from analytics and forecasting through to AI-driven engagement and automation.
That trend is accelerating.
Data is an asset to be leveraged, not just a by-product of operations. But that only works if the foundations are in place. If dealership data is not secure, clean, well-managed, accessible, and open to asynchronous connections, the business is operating at a structural disadvantage and handicapping their potential future opportunities.
As the number of tools increases, and they mature and become more interconnected, the gap between dealerships with disciplined data environments and those without will widen. AI and analytics don’t compensate for poor data - they amplify its weaknesses.
Workshops: Education vs. the Sales Pitch
If there was one frustration from the show it was that whilst the workshop program drew strong attendance, the content itself was largely disappointing.
A recurring theme from conversations on the ground was how sales-driven many sessions felt. Two years ago, workshops tended to be more educational and industry focused. This year, many felt closer to extended pitches, with too heavy an emphasis on the presenter’s own products or services.
A perfect example was a session on AI transforming the aftersales environment - a workshop at which you might hope to see use cases, hear about measurable differences to profitability and CSI, understand challenges with adoption and process, and really get under the skin of the live dealership experience with AI tools - turned into no more than a product pitch. Very disappointing and a definite missed opportunity.
Workshops are valuable when they challenge thinking or provide genuinely new insights and this year it appears that’s increasingly difficult in an industry where the fundamentals of running a dealership haven’t changed dramatically in decades. Whilst we didn't attend them all by any means, the feedback I received was that any workshop promising to "transform" your dealership was unlikely to reveal much that experienced operators don’t already know. There is a tiredness to a lot of that content which I hope can be refreshed in the coming years.
The opportunity within our industry is to uplift others and ensure sessions deliver genuine insights that dealerships can use to move the needle in their business - delivering genuine benefit is a far better sales tool in any case!
A Clear Direction
NADA 2026 didn’t deliver a single defining moment. Instead, our take-away was one of direction.
AI is progressing from hype to reality, and that trend will only get faster and stronger, but it still requires a high degree of realism and discipline at this stage. We are still in the AI infancy stage, so there is time to get strategies and foundations sorted without losing too much ground.
Data management is the place to start and it appears to be the strategic priority leading dealerships at NADA are investing in – we think that is the key take-away for dealerships in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the other markets we operate in as well.
A Note of Thanks
Finally, we’d like to acknowledge the huge amount of effort and skill that goes in to organising a trip such as the one we have just been on and our thanks go to the AADA team for putting together the entire tour. In addition, a special thanks to all the other participants for their company, insight, and companionship over the days we were away – it was a fantastic, and very valuable trip, and we really appreciated being with you all to enjoy it.
Published:
February 16, 2026
Updated:
February 16, 2026
