“The best dealers have improved service capabilities” || Mike Lanciotti, President of Recreation Segment, REV Group
09/26/23 • 26 min
Western Pennsylvania native Mike Lanciotti has been interested in RVs since his family had one in his childhood, and now oversees major specialty vehicle manufacturer REV Group’s recreational vehicle segment, primarily based in Indiana. Mike’s responsibilities cover all seven of REV’s RV-related brands, including Renegade RV, for which he served as president and CEO for almost eight years until the company was acquired by REV. His work helped shape Renegade as a premier name in Class C recreational vehicles as well as one of REV Group’s top brands. Mike holds his executive MBA from Baldwin Wallace University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and mechanical engineering from Thiel College.
In this episode, Mike joins Derek D for an enlightening discussion about a lesser-known but very important part of the dealer-based industries. The conversation covers how the RV industry is reacting to reduced demand following big spikes at the height of the pandemic, how manufacturers adapt to wider consumer trends, and why making RVs more usable and more homelike is the wave of the future. Plus, Mike discusses nationwide RV dealership consolidation, the importance of lithium batteries and solar power in the industry, and more.
Episode Highlights:
- The major barriers to RVs using the same kind of batteries as electric passenger cars
- Why travel trailers are the leading indicator of the health of the RV industry overall
- Why positive word-of-mouth is so important for RV dealerships, and how the industry is working to improve customer experience
- What makes RVs a great option for travelers who have a chronic health condition or disability
“To me, it’s important that we have the teams in production turn the dials in slow ways - ramp up slow, ramp down slow.”
— Mike Lanciotti
|| Dealer News Today is a Dave Cantin Group production
Western Pennsylvania native Mike Lanciotti has been interested in RVs since his family had one in his childhood, and now oversees major specialty vehicle manufacturer REV Group’s recreational vehicle segment, primarily based in Indiana. Mike’s responsibilities cover all seven of REV’s RV-related brands, including Renegade RV, for which he served as president and CEO for almost eight years until the company was acquired by REV. His work helped shape Renegade as a premier name in Class C recreational vehicles as well as one of REV Group’s top brands. Mike holds his executive MBA from Baldwin Wallace University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and mechanical engineering from Thiel College.
In this episode, Mike joins Derek D for an enlightening discussion about a lesser-known but very important part of the dealer-based industries. The conversation covers how the RV industry is reacting to reduced demand following big spikes at the height of the pandemic, how manufacturers adapt to wider consumer trends, and why making RVs more usable and more homelike is the wave of the future. Plus, Mike discusses nationwide RV dealership consolidation, the importance of lithium batteries and solar power in the industry, and more.
Episode Highlights:
- The major barriers to RVs using the same kind of batteries as electric passenger cars
- Why travel trailers are the leading indicator of the health of the RV industry overall
- Why positive word-of-mouth is so important for RV dealerships, and how the industry is working to improve customer experience
- What makes RVs a great option for travelers who have a chronic health condition or disability
“To me, it’s important that we have the teams in production turn the dials in slow ways - ramp up slow, ramp down slow.”
— Mike Lanciotti
|| Dealer News Today is a Dave Cantin Group production
Previous Episode
“We help change communities by providing opportunities” || Mike Ferrer, Principal, Hickey and Associates
Mike Ferrer is based in Charleston, SC and has over 20 years of experience in high-level commercial real estate, having worked with major corporations such as Bank of America, PNC Bank, and Home Depot. He is designated as a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and Master of Corporate Real Estate (MCR), and is bilingual in English and Spanish. Prior to joining Hickey and Associates, he held roles including broker-in-charge for the state of South Carolina at Lincoln Harris.
In this episode, Mike joins our host Derek D for an insightful conversation on the future of automotive retail and the role of commercial real estate in shaping it. They discuss how federal and state regulations will be the biggest drivers of EV adoption at the dealership level, why quick reaction to trends is crucial, and why electric vehicle viability will vary dramatically according to consumers’ locations and the kinds of jobs they have. Plus, the discussion covers the long-term effects of the CHIPS act on the automotive industry, searching for a viable vehicle power source beyond electricity, and more.
Mike Ferrer | Hickey and AssociatesEpisode Highlights:
- How the government incentives that Hickey and Associates tracked rose fifty-fold as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Why the relative silence of EVs compared to internal-combustion cars can cause safety issues
- The importance of finding secondary uses for electric vehicle batteries
“There’s going to be a certain amount of pain pushed down to the dealers for EVs.”
— Mike Ferrer
|| Dealer News Today is a Dave Cantin Group production
Next Episode
“They’re only going to put incentives on vehicles they need to boost” || Tyler Corder, CFO and COO, Findlay Automotive Group
Originally from “a wheat farm in the middle of nowhere” in Montana, Tyler Corder was an employee of GM Financing when he was transferred to Nevada and met the Findlay family - the rest is history, as he joined Findlay Automotive Group in 1994 and has been there ever since. Now working as both the CFO and COO of the company, Tyler has seen Findlay grow from four dealerships to 35 across Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Washington. Tyler has served in leadership roles for many charitable organizations, such as the American Red Cross of Southern Nevada and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and he is currently on the boards of the Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Foundation for an Independent Tomorrow.
In this episode, Tyler and our host Derek D discuss how geographic clustering has made operations easier for a large automotive group like Findlay, the effects that the UAW strike at the Big Three automakers’ factories could have on multiple aspects of the retail automotive business, and the unusual experiences that can happen at a Las Vegas car dealership. Plus, they take a deep dive into the current state of the automotive supply chain, cover affordability issues raised by interest rates, and more.
Episode Highlights:
- Why many car manufacturers have switched their incentives from purchasing to leasing
- Why Tyler says the EV sector is currently a creation of the federal and state governments and tax programs rather than a consumer-driven industry
- How Findlay Auto Group is less tightly structured than public dealership groups of a similar size - and how that’s an advantage in terms of attracting talent
“It’s important that of the limited numbers of vehicles that are being shipped, we’re getting our share or more than our share.”
— Tyler Corder
|| Dealer News Today is a Dave Cantin Group production
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