goalieThreeOne
Well-Known Member
A manufacturer’s MSRP already includes built in margin/profit for the dealer. The true cost is invoice. All Ford has to do is sell it at MSRP and they get to pocket the built in margin for themselves and use it to cover the cost of the buying process. And the manufacturer ALREADY increases MSRP according to demand. That’s why the F150 Raptor is $92,000 now when it was $60,000 a few years back. Nothing about that changes. Demand doesn’t change when the manufacturer sells direct. Please look up and read about price elasticity and the demand curve.Comparing TVs and the volume therein to the automotive space doesn't track. The volume discrepancies as they relate to price are MASSIVELY different. Example: Globally, LG sold 27.3 million TVs in 2022. Ford sold 4.2 million vehicles in the same year. The largest auto OEM in the world, Toyota, sold 10.5 million vehicles in 2022. Volkswagen Group (No.2 in the world) sold 8.3 million vehicles. So, Toyota + Volkswagen + Ford = 23 million vehicles. Still 4 million shy of LG's TVs. Add in Samsung and the discrepancy balloons!!
Within automotive, the MSRP no longer becomes "Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price", but rather "Retail Price," entirely determined by them and their agreements with retail outlets. If you think that Ford et all would not increase the retail/selling price of their vehicles, essentially to match what dealers do now with ADM, you're kidding yourself. The OEMs would have even more control of the market. Just look at Tesla - they single-handedly control the EV market vis-à-vis pricing.
First, Tesla was the first to the wider EV market...and they had nearly 100% "premium EV" market share. Once the established OEMs began to produce more and take market share, they cut prices by 20% to maintain share. All the OEMs essentially followed suit. But Tesla & EVs are a unique case right now. If and when they become mainstream, and if cars were sold direct to consumer, we're at the liberty of whatever pricing they dictate....more so than we already are.
Ultimately, who do you want to control your pricing? The manufacturer or the retailer? In the TV space, it is a combination. Walmart/BJs/Costco has more buying power than BestBuy/PC Richards, so they buy more volume, thus receiving a lower wholesale price, generally speaking.
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