The Affordability Outlook: What the Data Says

Special Guest - Jonathan Banks

Jonathan Banks, VP of Product Retailing for JD Power’s Retailing Portfolio, breaks down macro trends across the industry, used-car profit strategies, and how dealer principals can optimize performance in the next 12–18 months.

In this episode, you'll hear:

Macroeconomic trends shaping dealer strategy in 2026
Affordability focus and used car profit opportunities
Insights on enhancing your stores and planning for the next 18 months

Episode Breakdown

00:00 - Meet Jonathan Banks
01:00 - Macroeconomic trends dealers should be thinking about
03:30 - Affordability: What should dealers be paying attention to
08:09 - Strategies dealers should be using to optimize used car profits
10:49 - Thoughts on dealer certified OEMs
14:37 - Advice to dealer principals on how to optimize their stores
16:47 - Key takeaways for dealers in the next 12 to 18 months

“One thing I’m going to say that is super important is understanding customer psychology. It's way different. Now you’re going to get almost every credit tier looking at used as an option. A lot of research is saying that used vehicles for higher credit tiers used to be kind of a fallback, now it’s a default.” - Jonathan Banks

For more information about our guest, visit their LinkedIn.