BATON ROUGE — Leaders from The Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association (LADA) “drove” the message last week at the nation’s Capital in meetings with Louisiana’s congressional delegation. LADA’s President and CEO, Coulter McMahen, along with LADA dealer member representatives utilized this invaluable opportunity to advocate for policies that support industry advancements and improve the car buying process for consumers.
This was all part of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Washington Conference in Washington, D.C. This two-day event brought together association leaders and automobile dealers from across the country to discuss critical industry trends and legislative priories, including the FTC’s “Vehicle Shopping Rule,” the “right to repair,” EV mandates and anti-theft legislative solutions.
“This was my first year to participate in the NADA Washington Conference and it has been both an exciting and productive experience,” said Coulter McMahen, LADA president and CEO. “We brought our case directly to policymakers in Washington with solutions like how to end the ongoing catalytic converter theft and minimize the amount of paperwork that bogs down car buyers. It’s now more important than ever for LADA’s leadership to educate and inform national policymakers about these key issues that impact Louisiana’s auto dealers and their consumers.”
At the conference, LADA’s Next-Gen member, Blake Hollingsworth of Hollingsworth Richards Ford, represented the next cohort of car dealers during NADA’s NextGen program. The involvement of future dealer management and ownership in local, state and federal government is critical to ensuring Louisiana’s car and heavy truck dealers are well-informed and able to use their voice to influence and promote policies that will benefit their customers and communities. Participants in the half-day program gained valuable knowledge about the impact of federal and state regulations on their dealerships and how to leverage their positions as business owners to shape policy.
“As an LADA member and a Next-Generation dealer, I was honored to represent LADA at the NADA Washington Conference,” said LADA Next-Gen Representative Blake Hollingsworth. “By sharing experiences with my fellow Next-Gen auto dealers and also learning about the issues and challenges our industry faces, I feel better equipped to advocate for policies that will help drive the success of our dealerships back home well into the future.”
Throughout their time in DC, LADA highlighted the substantial economic impact of Louisiana’s new car and heavy truck dealers, which include:
- Supporting more than 38,000 direct and indirect jobs;
- Generating a payroll of $1.5 billion;
- And, producing $19 billion in sales revenue.
“Louisiana’s auto industry provides significant economic contributions for the country and our state. We want to continue to preserve and foster this revenue by advocating for policies that are going to advance the interest of our members and not stymie industry growth and success,” said McMahen. “By participating in the annual NADA Washington conference, LADA’s leadership can ensure that the voices of Louisiana’s new car and heavy truck dealers are heard in the heart of our national political system.”
For more information on LADA, visit www.lada.org.
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