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Hey everyone, if you’ve been to an NADA Show before, you know the deal…
Thousands of dealers, vendors, and operators, all in one place. It’s energizing, and (maybe a little) overwhelming. So, here’s a quick guide to the trends and topics worth paying attention to at NADA 2026, whether you’re in Las Vegas or watching from afar.
— CDG
First time reading a CDG Newsletter?
T-minus one day until the biggest event in automotive retail kicks off in Las Vegas: the 2026 NADA Show.
Every year, NADA (a trade organization representing 16,500 franchised dealers) hosts a mega-conference, bringing together car dealers, automakers, vendors, and industry insiders. It’s the ultimate opportunity to network, share insights, and gear up for the year ahead.
By the numbers:
20,000 - 22,000 attendees expected
600+ exhibitors on the expo floor
60+ workshops, 18 Dealer Learning Lab topics, 13 Exchange sessions, and 5 Spotlight Series presentations.
At its core, the NADA Show is still one of the best networking opportunities in the business. But it’s also where dealership leaders go to get smart, fast, on the playbook that will matter most over the next 12–18 months.
And while the NADA Show doesn’t have official themes, three major topics are clearly dominating this year…
The wave of dealership AI adoption is getting bigger.
This year, there are 20+ educational sessions that directly reference artificial intelligence, automation, analytics, or AI-enabled workflows for the dealership. These sessions span sales, service, marketing, staffing, and dealership operations.
Some examples include:
Voice AI for Service: Turning Recommendations Into Revenue
Fuel Fixed Ops With AI
Driving Service Revenue With AI & CDP Advertising
And AI enablement is also the focus of one of the Show’s headline Super Sessions:
Super Session: “AI Disruption or AI Advantage? The Future of Dealership Ops”
When: Tuesday, Feb. 3 @ 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. in Room W325
Which isn’t exactly surprising because…
According to CDK Global, nearly 77% of dealers have already integrated AI tools into their systems, and another 22% are actively planning new AI investments. Only 16% said they had no plans to explore or invest in AI solutions.
But widespread adoption hasn’t resolved all the questions.
Many dealers are still trying to determine where AI delivers the most value, which workflows it belongs in, and how to measure whether it’s actually improving performance.
A quick word from our partner
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Fixed operations and recon efficiency are commanding even more dealer attention.
Over the years, attention on the fixed ops department has come and gone. But when front-end margins tighten, service and parts move back to the center of the conversation.
And that’s clearly happening again as we settle into 2026.
The 2026 NADA agenda includes dozens of sessions focused on fixed ops fundamentals, like service retention, recon speed, technician productivity, and throughput.
Fix-It: Fine-Tuning Your Fixed Ops
Mobile Auto Repair: The New Gold Standard
Common-Sense Ideas to Improve Your Shop's Bottom Line
The focus across these sessions is reducing friction between write-up, approval, repair, and delivery (plus, shortening the time it takes to move vehicles from acquisition to frontline-ready).
As new- and used-vehicle gross profits face pressure, fixed ops remains one of the most controllable profit centers inside the dealership. Improving service efficiency, retention, and recon speed is one of the few levers dealers can pull without relying on market conditions to cooperate.
Dealers are still grappling with hiring and retention in a tight labor market.
Staffing continues to be a real constraint for dealerships especially as the U.S. labor market “enters 2026 at one of its most confusing moments in recent history,” (The Peterson Institute for International Economics did an excellent breakdown on this).
On top of that, the National Automobile Dealers Association Dealership Workforce Study, total dealership employee turnover remains elevated at roughly the mid-40% range annually, with some roles turning over far more frequently, like sales (60%).
NADA also estimates dealerships need to replace nearly 76,000 techs per year, but only about 39,000 graduate annually (an annual shortfall of ~37,000).
And even when dealers do hire, retention remains a challenge. Technician turnover alone continues to run well north of 30% annually.
So, it makes complete sense that several sessions hone in on the subject, including:
Smarter Recruiting: Spend Less, Hire Better
Beyond the Paycheck: Non-Monetary Benefits & Retention Strategies
From Burnout to Balance: Reclaiming Your Life in the Car Business
Big picture: Even with AI tools, labor can still be a limiting factor on growth. In practice, many stores are still finding that execution ultimately runs through people, especially in service and management roles.
Keep reading on to find out where CDG (aka Yossi) will be on the show floor. See you there✌
Where can I stay? If you didn’t book a hotel when you registered for NADA, there are still a ton of nice hotels close to the convention center.
How do I get to the convention? Free shuttle buses (pg. 11) are available from Thursday, February 3, to Friday, February 6, 2026, and will run from the Las Vegas Convention Center and key NADA/ATD hotels. There’s also a Rideshare Zone, located directly outside West Building (W4 Lobby), for Uber and Lyft users. And there's plenty of parking available in the Silver Lot, located next to LVCC's North Hall.
What do I do when I get there? NADA badges can be picked up at the convention center here:
W110, West Building
N3 Lobby, North Building
Or badges can be collected early at a few select locations.
What events are going on at the show? Every second of NADA is packed with moderated workshops, motivational speakers, interactive sessions, and deep-dive presentations on the latest dealership best practices. See the full schedule here.
