MEET THE 2023‑2024 MADA CHAIR, TRUDY MOODY Trudy Moody started a yearlong term as the 2023-2024 MADA Chair. She has been an active and engaged member of the association for years and has served in a number of leadership positions. She is also the President at Mercedes-Benz of Jackson, MS, and Mercedes-Benz of Collierville, TN. She has been married to her husband, Ed Moody, for 32 years. When she’s not working, Trudy and her husband enjoy quail hunting with their bird dogs and raising horses. They have three children who all compete in English horse jumping competitions and are looking forward to joining the family business someday. MADA recently sat down with Trudy and got to know more about her thoughts on the current state of the industry, what she’d like to accomplish as Chair and mentoring the next generation of dealers. We would like to thank Trudy for her time. The following are excerpts from our conversation. We hope you enjoy getting to know more about her as much as we did. What are the biggest issues facing the auto industry? To me, the biggest issue that dealers are facing is the need for a fair and feasible plan to transition dealerships to selling EVs. Right now, there are some pretty unreasonable demands being put on dealers, most specifically with the Ford EV charger mandate. The financial burden of updating electrical infrastructure is currently on the dealers. It is such a hardship, especially for the smaller, rural dealers. Manufacturers, the government and independent charging station operators need to share the cost of transitioning and updating infrastructure; the responsibility shouldn’t be borne by the dealers alone. Finding a way for it to be fair, especially for the smaller dealers, needs to happen. Another challenge dealers face is the many industry changes that are happening and staying up to date on them. One thing that we, as dealers, have always done is to adjust, change and stay extremely adaptable; this has allowed us to be very competitive in the marketplace. But there are so many things changing right now, especially with the move to electric vehicles and over-the-air updates. That’s a concern of mine. Dealers need to stay at the forefront and in the loop, especially on the accessory sales side. Why is the franchise system still the best way to sell cars? The franchise system creates healthy competition, which the consumer directly benefits from. I believe that if that system is not in place, the consumer will pay higher prices and receive a much lower level of customer care, which is not the message that the direct sellers put forth. The main goal of dealers is to take care of the customer. We’re in the customer service business. Manufacturers have a mission to provide a return for their shareholders. We have a very different perspective. I see it every day. Manufacturers will say no, and then we fight for the consumer and get things done for them. So if we weren’t in the picture, it would be a lot harder for our consumers to get what they truly want. How do you think the industry will change in the next 3-5 years? I think there’s going to be a lot more demand for EVs. That is something we’re all going to be dealing with, as well as updating our charging infrastructure. Internal Combustion Engine vehicles will be relevant for a long time, especially in states like Mississippi, where consumers drive long distances and the charging infrastructure isn’t robust right now. Getting the infrastructure into place will help consumer demand, along with better vehicle range. How long have you been a MADA member, and how did you get involved in a leadership role within MADA? I have been a member for 16 years, and I’ve been on the Board of Directors since 2016. When I was a general manager, I was just focused on car sales, service and meeting our goals. As I progressed in my career and “I’m All In This Year!” 6
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