Faconauto 2026 left me with an interesting contrast.
During the event there was a lot of discussion about the future of the automotive industry, including artificial intelligence, new technologies, and the expansion of the mobility ecosystem. At the same time, several conversations brought the focus back to the very real, day-to-day challenges faced by many businesses in Spain, particularly SMEs.
This contrast is important because the dealership network sits exactly at the intersection of these two realities.
AI: Are we talking about a wave… or a tsunami?
One of the central themes of the event was artificial intelligence. We often still talk about AI as something that will arrive in the future. In reality, AI is already here, and it is starting to reshape how businesses operate.
What is striking is how quickly AI is evolving, particularly in three areas: capability, investment, and accessibility.
First, the speed and complexity of what AI can now do. A good example is Google DeepMind and its system AlphaFold. AlphaFold can predict the structure of proteins in minutes, something that traditionally could take scientists years of laboratory research. It is a powerful illustration of how AI can compress extremely complex problems into something that can now be solved almost instantly.
Second, the massive level of investment behind AI. The United States recently announced $500 billion in investment in AI infrastructure, one of the largest technology investments we have seen. AI is quickly becoming a strategic priority not only for companies but also for governments.
Third, AI is becoming far more accessible. Tools are becoming easier to use and the cost has dropped dramatically. What once required expensive software and specialized teams can now be accessed for just a few euros per month. This means AI is no longer reserved for large technology companies. It is becoming accessible to any business, including dealerships and SMEs.
But beyond the technology itself, what makes this moment particularly interesting for the automotive industry is how it intersects with another major transformation: the rapid expansion of the automotive ecosystem.
A much broader automotive ecosystem
For decades, the industry was largely built around OEMs and their dealer networks.
Today, that picture looks very different. The ecosystem now includes new OEMs, software companies, technology platforms, mobility providers, and a growing number of players building digital services around the vehicle.
This raises an important question: are we lost in transformation?
Navigating this new environment requires companies to develop new capabilities and, in many cases, unlearn ways of working that defined the industry for decades. Partnerships are becoming increasingly important, because no company can build every capability on its own.
For dealerships and OEMs, this means taking a step back and re-examining how their current processes work: how vehicles are sold, how customer relationships are managed, how retention is built, and how partners contribute to the overall customer experience.
Many of these processes have been successful for years, even decades, and remain the foundation of the dealership business today. But the expansion of the ecosystem means dealerships now need to rethink how these processes evolve, integrating new technologies, new partners, and new ways of interacting with customers.
However, there is an important reality that is sometimes overlooked in these discussions. While the industry is rapidly evolving, with AI advancing at incredible speed and new technology players entering the ecosystem, the retail side of the automotive sector is still largely built on businesses shaped by traditional values and work methods.
The reality of dealership businesses
This creates an interesting gap.
On one side, AI is evolving rapidly and the automotive ecosystem is expanding with new partners, technologies, and business models. On the other side, many dealerships are navigating very real operational pressures. These include rising wage costs, absenteeism, which is estimated to generate around €33 billion in losses in Spain, limited access to financing, increasing energy costs, and heavy bureaucratic burdens. Many SMEs are also facing the question of generational succession.
At the same time, dealerships are under increasing pressure to adapt to this new ecosystem, to make new friends in the playground and learn how the new game is played. The industry is changing, and those who do not adapt risk gradually being pushed to the margins.
But for traditional businesses, this transformation is not only a challenge. It is also an opportunity.
The key is not to attempt a radical transformation overnight, but to design a clear transition plan. Step by step. Process by process. Solution by solution. Understanding how the different areas of the business connect and how the customer experience flows across the organization.
This requires a certain entrepreneurial spirit. Innovation rarely follows a perfect plan. Dealerships will increasingly need to adopt a mindset of launch, test, iterate, and repeat, experimenting with new tools, partnerships, and processes while learning along the way.
In many ways, the dealerships that will succeed in this new environment will not necessarily be the biggest or the most technological ones. They will be those that combine the strengths that built their business with the willingness to continuously adapt it.