Tom Maoli on Why Inventory Could Become the Industry’s Biggest Challenge

On this episode of Inside Automotive, Tom Maoli, CEO of Celebrity Motor Car, discusses how global instability, evolving policy, and supply chain pressures are shaping dealer strategy and consumer behavior across the automotive industry.

Maoli shares his perspective on how geopolitical uncertainty, rising vehicle costs, and affordability concerns are affecting consumer confidence and influencing purchase decisions. He also explains why tightening production and inventory constraints could create conditions similar to recent supply shortages, placing additional pressure on both new and used vehicle markets. Beyond market dynamics, the conversation explores pricing transparency, broker activity, EV demand, and the competitive forces reshaping retail automotive.

Key discussion points include:

•  How global instability and economic uncertainty are influencing consumer confidence 
•  Early signs of renewed inventory and supply chain pressure 
•  Why used vehicle pricing continues to strengthen amid limited supply 
•  The FTC’s growing focus on pricing transparency and dealer compliance 
•  Dealer concerns around brokered transactions and franchise stability 
•  Expectations for EV, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid demand moving forward

Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick is powered by CBT News, your go-to source for the latest news, trends, and insights in retail automotive. Subscribe for more interviews with top industry leaders, dealership innovators, and experts shaping the future of automotive.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.

Jim Fitzpatrick 0:13

There's a lot happening right now from global headlines to policy changes, and most of it impacts the auto industry, believe it or not. Joining us today to share his perspective on business today is Tom Mayoldi. You've seen him here before on CBT News. He's the president and CEO of Celebrity Motor Car in New Jersey. Thank you, Tom, so much for taking the time out of your schedule to join us on the show once again.

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Great to see you, Jim, and uh thanks for having me on.

Jim Fitzpatrick 0:36

Sure. So uh let's start with the big picture. How is this this uh war in Iran influencing the auto industry from from uh from where you sit and uh and and maybe the broader economy from your perspective?

Grading Trump And The Safety Argument

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Well, listen, I think it has consumer shaking in their boots. I think that you know, obviously consumer confidence is down because they're worried about what's going on. Interest rates haven't come down, so car prices, you know, the payments haven't come down. So it's a little it's a little you know unnerving for the consumer. But you know, the other side of it is I think we're starting to see cracks in the ice with production. Production is going down because they, you know, we're gonna be we're gonna have a chip issue again. So it's it's it's getting really interesting. I mean, you know, we're we're we you know, I don't think the consumers can handle any more inflation. And uh so it's it's getting very interesting. You know, used cars prices are out the roof, and uh, you know, there's not a lot of used cars out there because people aren't trading. So it you know, I I think the next six to twelve months is gonna be very interesting in the industry. I think we really need to figure out what happens in this war and how it affects us. You know, oil prices, obviously, you know, every major stock market boom has been preceded by a drop in oil prices. We need to we need to get these oil prices down. And uh, you know, if the stock market starts booming, consumers will come back, you know, with a vengeance.

Jim Fitzpatrick 1:56

Yeah, for sure. Now, everybody that has watched uh my segments with you here at CBT News knows that you're a friend of uh President Trump and you've been a supporter of his over the years. Uh where do you stand on that right now? You haven't uh having any second thoughts about your support of him, or what what what kind of a grade are you giving him through all of this?

SPEAKER_02 2:15

You know, listen, I give him I I give him an A. Uh, you know, where before it was an A plus. I think he's got to back off a little bit with Iran. I think while clearly the war was, you know, in the making it and it was out there, I think that, you know, maybe we could have held back a little bit more. But who am I? I just say there's a lot of things that go on in in Washington that we are unaware of. And, you know, the reality of it is safety first. It's like flying an airplane, right? Safety first. You get in your car, seatbelt on first, safety first. And I think that's what he's looking at. He's looking at the safety of the American public first versus, you know, the impact of what it's gonna cost them financially. And, you know, listen, to be safe costs money. And I think he really, you know, that's really where his head is at. And and he's has said it a thousand times. Oil prices will come down once we've resolved this issue. Oil prices come down, consumers come back with a vengeance, and things will get straightened out, and I think it's just gonna take a little time.

Jim Fitzpatrick 3:08

Yeah. What do you say to those people out there that see this war as just no more than uh, you know, uh Israel bringing us into this and that we're fighting a war for Israel and not so much a threat about against nuclear armament?

SPEAKER_02 3:23

Well, listen, there's a piece of that out there, and I know there's a lot of rhetoric out there about that, but the reality of it is, is like I said, I really believe that he has focused on safety first, safety of the American people first. And listen, he's talked about this. If you go back and look at videos of him, you know, back in the late 80s, he's talked about Iran and how this had to be stopped. So this was on his mind all along, and I think that they, you know, they poked the bear. And I think they poked the bear and he had to do what he had to do, and I think and I think he's doing it, you know. And listen, do I like it? No. Do I think that you know there, you know, we we could maybe resolve this peacefully? I don't know. I don't think we can resolve it peacefully. Um but on the on the flip side is at some point we need to get our our economy going. We need to get our interest rates down, we need to to to stop inflationary pressures on consumers, and you know, and and manufacturers, you know, are worried also because they don't have the supplies to build these vehicles. Right, right.

Jim Fitzpatrick 4:23

Um have you seen an increase in the interest of EVs uh in your showrooms because of the price of gas?

SPEAKER_02 4:29

No, well, listen, used EVs, yes, because people are just grasping at used cars because they need vehicles. But no, EVs, we can't sell EVs. Um, you know, I I don't know if I've mentioned you before, Jim, but I I I was appointed to the uh advisory board for the National Transportation uh uh board under Sean Duffy.

Jim Fitzpatrick 4:47

And uh congratulations. Didn't I did not know that? That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh uh and uh so I was actually with Sean the other night, and we you know we talked about EVs and we talk about where it's going, and and he continues to pound the table, and we continue to pound the table as a board as it's all it's hybrids, it's hybrids. It's plugging hybrids and it's hybrids.

The Push To Block Chinese Cars

Jim Fitzpatrick 5:05

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, since since you're uh Robin Shoulders there with the DC crowd, um Senator Bernie Marino has made a strong statement about you know keeping Chinese vehicles out. I think he says it's going to be hermetically sealed, so we keep them out forever. Where do you stand on this Chinese uh issue?

SPEAKER_02 5:24

No, listen, I think they have to keep them out. I mean, China cannot invade our auto market. They, you know, they're trying to invade everything else. They're trying to take control of everything else, and they have, and and you know, and the president's pushed back on them and and cut them off at a lot of angles. But I have to tell you, I think autos are one that needs to be sealed, they need to be shut down, not just because I'm in the industry. This is one of the largest industries in the United States of America. It is a it is a it is you know a key to our economy, and I think we have to keep that going.

Jim Fitzpatrick 5:54

Yeah. What about if they were limited much the way the Japanese were in the 70s and 80s, where they said, hey, you're only allowed so many, and then that's it? What if they were limited to maybe a couple of hundred thousand out of the sixteen million we sell for for Chinese vehicles? Would that be suitable?

SPEAKER_02 6:11

Limitations never work. You know, countries and and and don't understand boundaries, especially countries like China. You you can't give them a boundary and then and then think that it's gonna stop. They're gonna find other ways to get it in. They're gonna they're gonna uh find backdoors. Once they're in, they're gonna find backdoors just like Tesla. Tesla came in and with the electric market, and you know, they were they they didn't have a dealer network, and they went around everyone and they created this, you know, they went to the division of motor vehicles, and and and I was, you know, uh one of the ones that stopped them in the state of New Jersey uh under uh Governor Christie uh because I was on uh Chris's advisory board and we stopped them from opening up additional dealerships because they went around the dealer network and they they went directly to Motor Vehicle and somebody issued them a dealer license. And once it was issued, how do you pull it back? And I think that's the issue with China here with DEVs. We can't give them any room. You know, it's like giving it would be like giving my uh child a credit card and telling them, you know, you have a thousand dollar limit and and you know that never seems to work. But the car's got a fifty thousand dollar limit.

Jim Fitzpatrick 7:14

Yeah, that's right. That's right. It is rather impressive with the vehicles that they're delivering. I I know that they're subsidized by the by the Chinese government, but man, you've got even uh, you know, uh Jim Farley, president of Ford, driving one currently. And when he was asked, you know, what do you do in traveling? He goes, We've got to figure out what these guys are building over there. I mean, it's a hell of a car with incredible technology and uh batteries that seem to last forever. But uh uh it it's it really is an impressive uh lineup of cars that they're that they're pushing out, right?

SPEAKER_02 7:44

Yeah, listen, I've talked to Jim about it. Jim's a friend, uh former Toyota guy, um, and now president of Ford. Uh and I've had these, and I'm a Ford dealer, but I've I'm also friends with Jim and I've talked to him about this. And he's they're concerned. They're concerned that, you know, like you said, what are they building that we don't know?

Jim Fitzpatrick 7:59

Yeah, yeah. And there's even talks of them going into partnership. I mean, I know I think they denied it, but I guess rumor realized that no, there was there was gonna be talks about maybe them uh getting into a partnership over there, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:11

Yeah, and you know, listen, I'm gonna I'm gonna circle back to the Iran war. You know, China's getting all their oil from from Iran. So, you know, one of the things President Trump wants to do is cut that off. He wants to cut off and and stop China from being so powerful.

Jim Fitzpatrick 8:24

Yeah, yeah, for sure. And Ford, you know, Ford has sold some five million cars in China in the last 15 or 20 years. So that was a huge market for them. Of course, that's been you know cut back substantially because of the Chinese vehicles that they're manufacturing now. And uh, you know, that that's an interesting it's a huge market. GM, I think, uh had has has sold over 45 million vehicles in that same time, million vehicles in that same time period. So it was a huge market for them for sure, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:53

And and listen, there's also national security issues around having Chinese vehicles on our roadways and having all of these these uh uh transportation uh methods being able to be tracked by China, and I think that's one of the other issues that are out there, and that's why I don't think it's happening.

Broker Deals And Protecting Local Buyers

Jim Fitzpatrick 9:10

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, one of the other things I want to talk to you about, because you're there in New Jersey, and we've done a number of shows now on the brokers uh that are now uh you know, these broker deals that uh the OEMs have now issued letters on and are got a number of dealers, a number of your colleagues, maybe yourself included, that are upset over this to say, hey, this isn't this isn't allowed. What's going on here? Can you give us an update from your perspective there as a New Jersey dealer?

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Oh, listen, I think it's a good thing. We did broker deals, you know, uh pre-COVID and and we don't we only did them because the competition was doing them. We didn't really want to do them. Nobody makes any money on them. We're giving away cars that that are really meant for our consumers in our backyard that are buying vehicles, uh driving their families to school and work, and then ultimately coming back in and having their vehicles serviced at our dealerships. You know, that's why they call it AOI, an area of influence when you when you have a dealership contract and a franchise agreement. And and that that that breaches that. And and we never liked it, but again, with the marketplace was doing it, so you so we had to compete. But I'm glad they're putting a stop to it. I think it's the right thing to do, and I think they need to shut it all down and let the dealers sell the cars directly to the consumers in their backyard so they come back for service and we have those relationships with those consumers.

FTC Fee Rules And Price Transparency

Jim Fitzpatrick 10:25

Right, right. Um, which is a perfect segue to my next question, which is the FTD, uh FTC rather, FTD, FTC, uh, with the letters that went out to dealers, 97 letters. Um what what what's your take on that? I mean, that this is something that's very troubling, obviously, for a lot of dealers, a lot of marketing companies, a lot of OEMs. I mean, it it seems as though um there's no real right answer on this other than to say, look, we gotta advertise these vehicles with all of the necessary fees in there. If there's a gonna be a dock fee or a dealer fee in there, you gotta advertise it that way. Do you see this working out?

SPEAKER_02 11:01

I mean, well, listen, I think I think the pendulum, as as usual, when government gets involved, um, and I'm gonna laugh a little bit because now I'm on the advisory board of the transport to National Transportation uh Board, but you know, the pendulum always swings too far one way. It'll come back to the middle. I think they went too far with this letter and and demanding, you know, it's almost impossible to put everything in their advertised price. And I think it'll ultimately come back to the middle. It was, but on the on the flip side, it was way too far gone the other way. Dealers were, you know, uh hiding fees, uh, taking advantage of consumers, and I don't think that's right either. I think that at the end of the day, the consumers should know what they're paying, what they're what they're buying, and and what the benefit of the bargain is. And what ultimately it does is it levels the playing field, and I actually think it helps the consumers now get comfortable with going back to their local dealer and driving market share within your market. Because I they don't they don't have to they they can go online, they can look at the price, and they can see what someone else 50 miles away is charging, not have to drive there and then realize that it that wasn't the true price. Right. So I think ultimately it's good. I think that the FTC went too far, and I think the pendulum will swing back to the middle.

Jim Fitzpatrick 12:21

Yeah, yeah. We kind of brought this on ourselves, didn't we, by playing the games that we play in the industry. And uh the you know, the F FTC jumped in there and said, okay, enough is enough. But uh if dealers don't comply, there could be some hefty fines uh levied on these dealers, right? I mean that's a scary thought.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

Hefty fines, and you know what? I think there should be hefty fines on the broker deals. I think that should be both. And I think that that levels the playing field and puts uh things back in perspective and it makes your franchise more valuable.

Jim Fitzpatrick 12:50

Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. So what is uh what how is business first and foremost at your group at Celebrity Motor Car today?

SPEAKER_02 12:57

Business is great, demand is great, the demand is up, supply is down again. And you know, and I think we're we're we're actually touching on you know COVID times. You know, we're we're gonna get to the point where there's shortages of vehicles and we don't have enough vehicles to sell to consumers, and that's gonna drive prices up again, which is you know, listen, as a dealer, it's you know, it it helps us with our margins, but at the end of the day, I think it hurts the consumer. And uh service departments are booming. And you know, if you ask me about the war back in the beginning of this conversation, my concern would be access to parts. A lot of these parts come from all over the world. And if we start getting uh loss of availability of parts, we're gonna our service departments are gonna run into trouble.

Jim Fitzpatrick 13:39

Right, right, yeah, for sure. Uh any anything on the horizon that keeps you up at night that you're worried about for the industry or your group?

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Uh no, listen, I think that, you know, autonomous cars are out there. You know, I've got I've I've got an inside view on that now. They're out there, they're pushing them hard. So I think that that's gonna get very interesting. But I think overall the administration that's in place and uh is is pro-dealer network, pro uh manufacturer network. And I think they've also um you know worked with manufacturers like Toyota uh and the Korean manufacturers, uh, you know, and I I think it's you know, the ultimately it's just keeping China out. But other than that, you know, I think that um the dealer network is strong. I think all these laws that are being put in place ultimately create value for the dealer and the and the franchise dealership. Um and I think the only thing that keeps me up at night is inventory right now.

Jim Fitzpatrick 14:35

Yeah, yeah. Uh where are you sourcing your used cars currently?

SPEAKER_02 14:39

Uh, you know, we're all over the board. We get trades, we we have we're out in the field trying to buy them, we do the auctions, but it's thin. It's really thin, and consumers are holding on to what they have and because the price of the new cars are too expensive.

Jim Fitzpatrick 14:52

Right, right. Is your leasing penetration uh back to pre-COVID levels? I know you you do a lot of leasing there, right?

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Yeah, listen, it's ticked up, it's not pre-COVID levels, but it has ticked back up a little bit because it's look it's more cost-effective for the consumer on a monthly basis to lease. Um and I think what you're also seeing is manufacturers have become smarter and smarter in regards to, you know, like Mercedes-Benz. I'm a Mercedes-Benz dealer. I think they're getting very smart in their product mix, yeah. And you know, they're trying to drive consumers to, you know, downstream a little bit so that they can keep the price their payments down.

Jim Fitzpatrick 15:28

That's right, that's right. That's key. Affordability is a whole other show on that. But uh Tom Maoli, the president and CEO of Celebrity Motor Car, thank you so much for taking some time with us here at CBT News. It's always great catching up with you. Best of luck to you, and I really appreciate that inside scoop now that you're sitting on the board there. Yes. So I'm gonna call on you weekly, I think, to get an update. But uh, I appreciate it, man. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Thanks for watching Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.