Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business is examining nine automotive retail predictions made by Car Dealership Guy founder and CEO Yossi J. Levi. Each article looks independently at one prediction, the changes behind it and what would have to occur for the forecast to become reality by 2029. The predictions are Levi’s and are presented as forecasts, not established outcomes. Texas Border Business will publish the nine-part series one article at a time, beginning September 30, 2026, with a new article released each day.
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
A dealership employing only 20 people could sell 200 vehicles a month by 2029 as artificial intelligence and automation reduce the number of employees required to operate an automotive retail business, according to Yossi J. Levi, founder and CEO of Car Dealership Guy.
The forecast is the third of nine predictions Levi published Sept. 29 about changes he expects in automotive retail during the next 24 months.
The numbers make the prediction unusually specific. A 20-person dealership selling 200 vehicles monthly would average 10 vehicle sales per employee, although dealership employees perform many functions beyond directly selling automobiles.
Levi’s forecast rests on his expectation that automation will reduce staffing requirements across several dealership departments.
Car Dealership Guy identified sales, Business Development Centers, marketing, accounting, and administrative operations among the areas where AI could affect staffing by 2029. The prediction is not that every job in those departments will disappear, but that dealerships could operate with fewer people as technology performs more work.
Under that scenario, revenue generated per employee would become an increasingly important measurement for automotive retailers, according to the Car Dealership Guy analysis.
The prediction reflects a broader question confronting dealers as artificial intelligence enters more dealership operations: whether technology will primarily help existing employees become more productive or allow companies to operate with smaller workforces.
Levi has previously discussed dealership personnel expenses and operating efficiency. In a September podcast discussion with Capital One Financial Services President Sanjiv Yajnik, Levi examined differences between traditional dealerships and digital automotive retailers, including their labor structures and operating costs.
His 20-person dealership forecast provides a concrete benchmark against which the industry’s development can eventually be compared.
The prediction does not mean such staffing levels are currently standard, nor does it establish that a 20-person operation can presently support all functions required at a major franchised dealership.
Instead, Levi is predicting what could become possible as AI systems take over additional processes.
Car Dealership Guy describes Levi as a former dealership operator who began working at his father’s used-car dealership as a teenager and later founded digital retailer Gettacar.
The next two years will provide evidence of whether dealerships can substantially increase vehicle sales per employee while maintaining the sales, financing, administrative and customer-service functions required to operate.
For dealers, the prediction creates a straightforward number to watch: 20 employees and 200 vehicles a month.
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