Hedin Automotive in Danderyd has been a diamond dealer since season 1 and has emerged as the winner in both season 1 and season 2. The facility in Danderyd is clearly doing many things right, and we want to know more about the keys to their success. Read more about automotive dealer ranking here.
Background Most automotive retailers need to focus on used cars to achieve good profitability alongside new car sales, as the latter has been under heavy pressure in recent years. A used car costs approximately £25 per day to keep in stock, which translates to a cost of £25,000 per day for a facility that delivers 1,000 used cars annually. You can read more about inventory costs here: https://www.carcare.io/en/a/the-cost-of-keeping-a-car-in-stock/. To tackle this issue, there are primarily two effective main strategies – stock limitation and stock efficiency. Since tied-up capital drives costs, limiting inventory is an effective way to reduce risk. Smaller inventories also reduce costs but have the side effect of fewer cars being delivered, which affects overall results. However, the strategy is effective for generating an immediate impact. A more long-term strategy is to work on inventory efficiency, reducing the number of inventory days and increasing turnover rate. Today, this is essential for maintaining strong profitability and good cash flow in the business. For this to be possible, measurability, goal-setting, and follow-up are required. It is stock efficiency that we at Carcare value most, and we are curious to learn how the Danderyd facility is working with it.
A profitable used car process We visit Mikael Emsjö, Head of used cars in Danderyd, and his team to gain insight into what makes this facility so special. When we sit down with Mikael, the first thing he mentions is his team and their experience. Mikael himself has over 25 years of experience with BMW, and his entire team has solid experience in a volatile industry. Within just a few minutes, it’s clear to us that this team works closely together—both sales and aftersales. We ask Mikael what he believes is important for running a profitable used car business. His answer: keeping inventory days low and being quick in the preparation process. The Danderyd facility has a stable preparation time between 4–5 days, which is remarkably fast. By comparison, the national average in Sweden at the time of the interview was 14.4 days. Naturally, this makes us eager to learn more and fire off more questions.
What does your used car process look like? – We either purchase a car or trade in a part exchange. The car then automatically enters Carcare, where the sales executive first communicates information to our inspection and valuation department, who go through the car once again to ensure everything is as it should be. They then create a workflow based on the car’s condition to ensure it is valeted and advertised as quickly as possible. We have 3 check-ins every day to immediately resolve any bottlenecks and ensure that all cars move smoothly through our preparation process.
If the car can't go to the workshop, send it to paint first. Once it's done, the workshop will have had time to get the parts. Continuously try to work, move things around, and optimize efficiency.
Have you focused more on used cars, which has made you more efficient? – Now we have a structured and measurable strategy that is followed up on within used cars. We now know exactly how long each part of the process takes—before, we had a rough idea but didn’t really know. Cars could be missed, but more importantly, we had to run around more, chase more, and check more. Now we have a sense of security where no cars are missed, and that helps everyone work better together.
How do you work across departments? – All departments involved in the process have check-ins together three times a day one in the morning one midday one end of day Mikael goes on to explain that the check-ins are usually brief and focus on what has come in, whether everything is on track, and if anything has been missed. – Cars get held up all the time for various reasons, but it’s how quickly we can clear those blockages that makes us efficient.
Do you have any specific prioritization between new, used, and retail work? – No, all customers and jobs are important, and used cars are not prioritized over customer work or new cars.
Do you prepare the cars before advertising them? – Yes, we are a premium brand, and we want the cars to be advertised in the condition they deserve. We also want them to be ready for immediate delivery to the customer.
How do you work with goal-setting and follow-up? – We have set an internal goal to prepare cars within 7 days. When the preparation time started being measured, it was at 19 days, and now it’s between 4–5 days. Every week, each department holds weekly meetings to plan for the upcoming week and follow up on the goals. In addition, we have monthly meetings to review the overall performance.
What are the toughest challenges in 2025? – That’s a difficult question, but of course, I think the pricing strategies of different car brands will have an impact. If there’s a price war, it will negatively affect us. The global situation should also be mentioned, with interest rates, inflation, wars, and activities in North America.
3 tips for success – Motivate and engage the staff, and remember, when things are going well, communicate it!– Start measuring and follow up regularly– Close check-ins to resolve any issues that arise
