As vehicle technology evolves, NCADA secured protections to ensure dealers are fairly compensated for over-the-air and remotely activated products and services sold for a fee. Manufacturers must provide dealers with itemized compensation schedules and detailed reporting — covering up to six months — showing products sold to customers and commissions owed. These provisions maintain transparency, guarantee fair compensation and preserve the dealer’s role in customer relationships even as digital sales models expand. The legislation also strengthens transparency in evaluating prospective owners and managers. Manufacturers objecting to a proposed executive management change or principal operator based on past performance must provide verifiable data spanning three years and cannot selectively use underperforming stores. Dealerships owned for less than two years cannot be counted in the assessment, ensuring fairness for qualified candidates. NCADA’s work also clarifies core dealer functions. The law expands the definition of a motor vehicle dealer to include anyone performing warranty or recall work, reinforces that retail sales activities must occur through franchised dealers and prevents manufacturers from bypassing dealers through direct online sales or subscription models. Additional protections allow dealers to designate successors upon retirement, safeguard them from absorbing unsellable or delayed inventory and provide stronger reimbursement standards for warranty, training and loaner vehicles. RV dealers who voluntarily surrender a franchise now receive termination assistance, with manufacturers required to repurchase motorized and non-motorized inventory, tools, signage and furnishings. Taken together, these reforms reflect NCADA’s leadership in protecting dealers. They provide stronger safeguards, greater predictability and equitable treatment across operations, ensuring that franchise businesses can compete, serve customers and plan for the future with confidence in an evolving marketplace. Scan the QR code for the comprehensive Franchise Bill overview. https://www.ncada.com/news/2025franchise-bill-overview North Carolina State Capitol, Raleigh 9
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