For years, commercial sales were viewed as a side business to automotive dealers — something a handful of seasoned dealers with the right contacts pursued. But that’s changing fast.
In recent weeks, major OEMs have doubled down on their commercial programs, sending a clear message that the commercial business is a major focus for the foreseeable future.
Dealers are beginning to understand that the commercial department offers far more than incremental sales. Done right, it expands market influence, deepens customer relationships and builds specialization aligned with regional vocational needs. It benefits every layer of the dealership from sales and F&I to service and aftermarket.
What once was an opportunity for a few experienced dealers has now become an OEM-supported, technology-enabled growth channel. The commercial market is ready for modernization, and those who pay attention early will be the ones to capture long-term advantage.
Partners over sales managers
Commercial sales are different in almost every aspect. For one, customers aren’t waltzing in with an online print out asking for a test drive. Customers with larger fleets are planning purchases months and years in advance. Small business owners who are often one-man shows are different. They can’t afford a dedicated fleet manager, and those decision-makers are often shopping nights and weekends outside standard dealership hours.
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In both cases, these business customers rely on business partners — not sales managers — to help them make the right purchases at the right time. This is where dealerships must transition their thinking from transactional relationships to transformational.
With that in mind, these business owners don’t want to be the expert at their fleet’s maintenance. They want to focus on their business and making money. Helping with their fleet management presents a golden ticket for dealerships: supporting those businesses with something they neither enjoy nor excel at: managing their vehicles.
Dealers that guide customers through planning, financing and lifecycle management not only keep fleets on the road but also cement loyalty for years to come. Every interaction may not be a sale, but it’s building a larger, more loyal relationship that always pays off in the long-term.
Commercial knows no bounds
Retail growth is naturally limited by geography. Few consumers will drive hundreds of miles to purchase a new vehicle when they pass multiple dealerships along the way offering the same product at a similar price. But again, commercial sales are different.
While most commercial vehicles share a handful of base platforms, they are extremely customized for thousands of work-related applications. That customization process is not as simple as picking the trim with genuine leather versus cloth upholstery on a consumer car. In addition, geography influences specialization as each region has dominant industries and seasonal situations that may dictate a dealer’s expertise on upfits.
Specialization creates value for those local industries while also attracting customers from outside the immediate market who seek your expertise that their local dealership may lack.
For dealers, this is an incredible strategic advantage. With experience in your back pocket along with a handful of positive reviews, your dealership has the opportunity to market a specialty in a specific vocation. Suddenly the dealership can open its doors beyond the local landscape to more distant customers who will pass on a local dealership to get specialized expertise with yours.
Why it’s entirely different
The stakes in commercial are far higher than in retail. Most households can tolerate vehicle downtime as an inconvenience since the majority of US households have access to more than one vehicle. Businesses don’t have that luxury. For small and medium businesses, uptime is everything. A work truck down for just one day can cost $3,000–$5,000 in lost revenue.
According to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, customers had to wait an average of 5.2 days just to get a service appointment. For a small business, that kind of delay alone could translate into as much as $25,000 in lost income before the repair bill even comes into play.
That’s why commercial customers are proactive about maintenance and lifecycle planning, and it’s why the risks of getting it wrong — from selecting the wrong upfit to waiting too long on parts or service — can be massive.
In many cases, the cost of the upfit itself exceeds the cost of the base vehicle, making that specialty expertise even more valuable.
The future of commercial dealerships
Commercial is not simply another revenue stream; it’s a discipline that requires a fundamentally different mindset.
Unlike retail customers, businesses cannot afford downtime, delayed service or transactional relationships. They need dealers who act as true partners, guiding them through purchasing, financing, upfitting, maintenance and long-term fleet management.
For dealers, the payoff is huge. Specialization in commercial creates differentiation, opens new geographic markets and drives recurring revenue across sales and service. And with OEMs investing heavily in programs, and with many new tools and technology now focused on the unique differences of the commercial business, dealers have more support than ever to succeed.
