What each part of a dealership does
Sales consultants attend walk-ins and enquiries, arrange test drives, prepare quotations and bookings, and hand over the vehicle with RTO registration and insurance done. Finance and insurance executives arrange loans with banks and NBFCs and sell insurance and extended warranties. The workshop receives vehicles through service advisors, who open job cards, estimate work and update customers, while technicians, electricians and body and paint staff do the repairs under a workshop or works manager. The spare parts team stocks and sells parts over the counter and to the workshop. A CRM team calls customers for service reminders and feedback, and a small team handles warranty claims and brand audits with the manufacturer.
- Sales: sales consultants, team leaders, sales managers, and finance and insurance executives
- Service: service advisors, technicians, body shop staff and quality control
- Parts and accessories: parts executives, store keepers and accessory fitters
- Customer relations: CRM executives, warranty desk and feedback calls
Dealership teams at 50, 500 and 5,000 employees
A 50-employee dealership is usually one showroom with a small workshop, often a two-wheeler or single-brand car dealer: the owner or a general manager, a sales team leader with sales consultants, a service manager with service advisors and technicians, a parts executive and an accountant. A dealer group of about 500 employees runs several showrooms and workshops in a city or district, with a general manager for sales, a general manager for service, branch managers, sales and service managers at each outlet, a central accounts and HR team, and body shops at the larger workshops.
A dealer group with 5,000 employees runs dealerships for several brands across states, with a CEO or dealer principal, brand or regional heads and outlet managers, plus central teams for finance, HR, IT, used cars, insurance and corporate sales. Workshops run two shifts in busy cities, and technicians progress through the manufacturer's certification levels.
How sales, service, parts and accounts depend on each other
A car sold today is a service customer for years, so sales and service share customer data and hand each new owner to the CRM team. Service depends on parts for fast availability and on the warranty desk to get claims accepted by the manufacturer. Accounts reconciles bank loan disbursals, insurance payouts, manufacturer incentives and cash collections, which are large and frequent. HR handles target-driven sales teams with high turnover, technician training schedules set by the manufacturer, Sunday and festival working, and incentive payouts linked to units sold and service revenue.
Discount, job card approvals and reporting lines
Sales consultants report to team leaders, then the sales manager and general manager sales; service advisors and technicians report to the workshop or service manager, then the general manager service; both general managers report to the dealer principal or CEO. Discounts follow a ladder, for example up to ₹5,000 by the team leader, up to ₹15,000 by the sales manager, and beyond that the general manager with the manufacturer's scheme in view. Additional work on a job card needs the customer's approval before the technician starts. Goodwill repairs and warranty exceptions need the service manager, and weekly offs are rotated so weekends and festival days stay fully staffed.
Typical automobile dealership team structure
Automobile Dealership designation hierarchy
Every automobile dealership role on ZeniaHR, from leadership to entry level. Open a role for its job description, KRAs and reporting line.
Set up your automobile dealership team in ZeniaHR
Create departments, designations and reporting managers once. Approvals, attendance and payroll follow the hierarchy automatically.
Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
What is the hierarchy in a car dealership?
A car dealership is usually led by a dealer principal or CEO, with a general manager for sales and one for service. Sales runs from sales consultant to team leader and sales manager; service runs from technician and service advisor to workshop manager. Parts, accounts, CRM and HR managers support both sides and report to the general managers or the dealer principal.
What does a service advisor do?
A service advisor is the customer's contact in the workshop. They receive the vehicle, note the complaints, open the job card, estimate cost and time, get approval for extra work, update the customer on progress, explain the bill at delivery and follow up on satisfaction. They coordinate with technicians and the parts counter throughout.
What is the difference between a sales consultant and a sales manager in a dealership?
A sales consultant handles individual customers: enquiries, test drives, quotations, bookings, finance and delivery. A sales manager runs the showroom's sales team: sets targets, allocates leads, approves discounts within limits, reviews the pipeline daily, coordinates stock with the manufacturer and handles escalations. Team leaders in between coach small groups of consultants.
Do dealership employees work on Sundays?
Yes, many showrooms open on Sundays and holidays because that is when families visit, and workshops often work on Sundays to meet delivery commitments. Dealerships give weekly offs on weekdays by rotation, and plan compensatory offs for staff who work on festival days such as Dhanteras or Dussehra, when bookings and deliveries peak.