“I was able to carve out a niche” || Cliff Banks, Founder, The Banks Report
Cliff Banks has a history of innovation and entrepreneurship in the analysis sector of the automotive industry. An automotive professional for over 30 years and a journalist for over 20, Cliff founded The Banks Report in 2013 to fill what he knew was an unmet need for a publication covering the automotive business from an investment perspective. In 2016, he held the first edition of AUTOVATE, which has now become an annual conference for investors and entrepreneurs in automotive retail technology.
In this episode, Cliff talks with Derek D about his long path to founding The Banks Report and how it is his tribute to a friend and business partner who sadly passed away in 2013, the choices confronting dealers due to the vibrant M&A market, and how far automakers will push in order to control the retail market. Plus, he discusses why the current supply chain issue’s effects on dealerships is all down to their reactions, the questions he thinks the next few years will answer on EV adoption, and more.
Episode Highlights:
- Why he’s opened every presentation in the past four years with a slide of a shattered crystal ball
- How long it’ll be before analysts will be able to make accurate predictions about the auto industry again, and the uncertain factors in the air until that point
- Why franchise laws play a part in maintaining some of the status quo of retail automotive
“I try to treat all my conversations responsibly. I’m not looking to create a ‘gotcha’ article or even breaking news… it does get harder to write because there’s a lot of noise out there. The news industry has become democratized, and there are great things and drawbacks about that.”
— Cliff Banks
|| Dealer News Today is a DCG Media production
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