Multilingual Staff Can Drive Up Auto Sales

EL MONTE, Calif.—A stroll through

the Longo Toyota showroom on a busy afternoon is like eavesdropping at the United

Nations.

Buyers of all nationalities and races—many

of them immigrants—flock to the dealership where the staff speaks more

than 30 languages and dialects. From Vietnamese to Punjabi, the sounds of many

tongues float across the cavernous, open sales floor.

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A diverse staff can make a difference. Buyers

say they often develop a bond with a salesperson, something that’s easier

to do when they share the same cultural background. “In the Philippines,

you build your business based on trust,” says two-time Longo customer Peter

See, 58, of Montebello, Calif., who turns to salesman and fellow Filipino immigrant

Mel Castelo, a friend from church. “I know he won’t sell me down the

primrose path.”

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Some car dealers are on the front line of seeing

how attitudes toward the newcomers are changing in the heartland. When Susan

Schein ran Spanish-only TV ads in 1999 to lure customers to her Pelham, Ala.,

dealerships, the response was overwhelming.

“Immediately, I started getting calls from

people saying didn’t I know this was America,” recalls Schein, a Chevrolet

and Dodge dealer. She found her telephone operator in tears after receiving

a slew of insults.

Today, Schein says, Spanish-language ads bring

shrugs. The fast-growing Birmingham metro area has seen an influx of not only

Hispanics, but also Vietnamese and Chinese. Immigrant businesses have become

commonplace, says Schein, who gets her nails done at the Vietnamese salon across

the street. “I was just too far ahead of my time,” she says.

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Ethnic preference Here’s the percentage of ethnic people who said they would prefer to buy a new car or truck from a person of the same ethnicity (among new-car shoppers): African-American 1990 42.8% 1995 44.9% 2000 43.7% 2002 45.8% 2004 46.2% Hispanic 1990 34.6% 1995 35.7% 2000 37.1% 2002 37.2% 2004 37.7% Southeast Asian 1990 18.4% 1995 17.7% 2000 17.9% 2002 18.3% 2004 19.1% Middle Eastern 1990 46.9% 1995 51.2% 2000 58.8% 2002 62.3% 2004 65.4% Northern European 1990 72.1% 1995 70.6% 2000 65.8% 2002 63.5% 2004 61.8% East European 1990 41.8% 1995 42.9% 2000 44.4% 2002 47.9% 2004 47.5% Sources: CNW Marketing Research; USA TODAY research Dealership staffing Auto dealers have been hiring more ethnic minorities, especially Hispanics and African Americans in all aspects of their operations. But Asian staffing has remained flat. African-American 1990 4.6% 1995 6.8% 2000 7.2% 2004 7.7% Hispanic 1990 2.4% 1995 2.9% 2000 5.6% 2004 7.1% Southeast Asian 1990 1.1% 1995 1.3% 2000 1.2% 2004 1.2% Middle Eastern 1990 1.7% 1995 1.3% 2000 1.1% 2004 1.1% Northern European 1990 68.4% 1995 66.8% 2000 62.9% 2004 60.9% Eastern European 1990 1.9% 1995 2.4% 2000 7.3% 2004 7.9% Sources: CNW Marketing Research; USA TODAY research