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
Automobile dealers could begin withdrawing in significant numbers from manufacturer-supported advertising programs by 2029, choosing greater control over their marketing and technology instead of accepting reimbursements tied to automaker requirements.
That is the seventh prediction in a nine-part automotive retail forecast published by Yossi J. Levi, founder and CEO of Car Dealership Guy.
Levi predicts dealers will begin opting out of OEM co-op programs “en masse” during the next two years.
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. In automotive retail, the term generally refers to the automaker whose vehicles franchised dealerships sell.
Co-op advertising programs can provide financial support or reimbursement to dealerships for qualifying marketing expenses. Participation can also require dealers to follow manufacturer rules governing advertising, approved vendors, websites, branding or other marketing practices.
Levi predicts a growing number of dealers will conclude that the reimbursement offered through those programs is not worth the restrictions attached to participation.
According to Car Dealership Guy’s explanation of the forecast, dealers could instead place greater value on independently selecting their websites, vendors, marketing programs and technology.
The prediction does not establish that dealerships nationwide are currently abandoning OEM co-op programs. Nor does it identify specific manufacturers whose programs dealers are expected to leave.
It forecasts how the relationship between dealerships and manufacturers could change as dealers seek more control over technology and customer acquisition.
That relationship matters because franchised automobile dealers operate as independent businesses while selling vehicles produced by manufacturers whose brands, products, and retail standards influence dealership operations.
Technology is adding another dimension to that relationship. Dealers now make decisions involving websites, digital advertising, customer relationship systems, artificial intelligence, lead management, and other tools that can affect how customers find and communicate with their businesses.
Car Dealership Guy identifies OEM relationships, technology and dealership profitability among the subjects its newsroom covers. The platform says it reaches more than 55,000 dealers and automotive industry operators.
Levi’s forecast therefore poses a specific question for the next two years: whether financial assistance from manufacturer co-op programs will remain sufficient to keep dealers participating when those programs limit their choices.
The answer should become visible through dealership behavior.
For now, widespread withdrawal remains a prediction rather than an established industry outcome.
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