The best automotive industry conferences for dealers are the NADA Show (February 17 to 20, 2027, Orlando), the J.D. Power Auto Summit the same week, Digital Dealer and its DealerPoint event, the NIADA Convention & Expo for independents, Used Car Week, ASOTU CON and the Women In Automotive Conference. Every date below comes from the organizer's own site.
How We Chose
We run staffed sales events, direct mail and a dealership call center, so we judged each event by one question: will a dealer come home with something the store can use on Monday? For this list we kept only events that meet four tests:
- Built for dealership people. Dealer principals, GMs, sales and used-car managers, BDC and F&I staff are the main audience, not only vendors or manufacturers.
- Real and scheduled. Each event has a live organizer website. We took every date, city and venue from that site in September 2026.
- Education, not just an expo floor. Sessions, workshops or roundtables that a manager can turn into a process change.
- Different enough to matter. We picked events that serve different kinds of stores, so most dealers will find at least one fit.
We are not ranking our own training on this list. Dates change, so confirm on the organizer's site before you book travel.
At a Glance: The Shortlist
| Event | Best for | Next dates (as published) | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| NADA Show | Franchised dealers and managers | February 17 to 20, 2027 | Orlando, FL |
| J.D. Power Auto Summit | Dealer principals and executives | February 17, 2027 | Orlando, FL |
| Digital Dealer Conference & Expo | Digital, marketing and sales leaders | 2027 dates not announced | Detroit, MI in 2026 |
| DealerPoint | Decision makers shopping for vendors | April 5 to 7, 2027 | Ponte Vedra Beach, FL |
| NIADA Convention & Expo | Independent dealers | June 20 to 23, 2027 | Nashville, TN |
| NIADA BHPH Dealer Forum | Buy-here, pay-here operators | November 1 to 3, 2026 | Austin, TX |
| Used Car Week | Used-car, remarketing and auto finance | November 16 to 19, 2026 | San Diego, CA |
| ASOTU CON | Dealership culture and next-generation leaders | May 11 to 13, 2027 | Maryland (city not yet posted) |
| Women In Automotive Conference | Women in dealership roles at every level | July 16 to 19, 2027 | Salt Lake City, UT |
1. NADA Show
The NADA Show is the annual convention and expo of the National Automobile Dealers Association, the trade group for franchised new-car and truck dealers. NADA Show 2027 runs Wednesday, February 17 through Saturday, February 20, 2027 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, with the expo open February 18 to 20.
Best for: Franchised dealer principals, GMs and department managers who want education, franchise meetings and the widest vendor floor in one trip.
What it offers: Main Stage sessions, workshops, the Spotlight Series and Exchange Sessions, manufacturer franchise meetings and a large expo. NADA's published schedule also includes Women Driving Auto Retail on the opening morning (a separately ticketed event).
Worth knowing: It is big. Book your franchise meeting and the three or four sessions that matter before you arrive, or the expo floor will eat the whole trip. nada.org
2. J.D. Power Auto Summit
J.D. Power's Auto Summit is a one-day retail automotive conference held just ahead of the NADA Show. The organizer's site lists the 2027 Summit for February 17, 2027 in Orlando, Florida.
Best for: Dealer principals and group executives who want market data and forecasts before they walk the NADA floor.
What it offers: Sessions on dealership buy-sell activity, electrification, technology, industry data and analytics, and retail innovation. The site says its annual live Franchise Assessment is only available on site to registered attendees.
Worth knowing: It is a strategy event, not a skills workshop. Send the people who make investment decisions, not your newest managers. jdpowerautosummit.com
3. Digital Dealer Conference & Expo
Digital Dealer is a conference and expo for dealership digital marketing, sales and operations, run by Emerald. The 2026 edition moved to Detroit, taking place September 22 to 23, 2026 at Huntington Place. Dates for 2027 had not been announced when we checked in September 2026.
Best for: Dealer principals, GMs, GSMs, marketing directors and e-commerce managers, which is the attendee list the organizer publishes.
What it offers: Conference sessions and an expo focused on digital retailing, lead handling, marketing and the tools that connect them.
Worth knowing: Most of the content is about the digital side of the store. Pair it with a sales-floor or BDC event if process on the phones is your bigger gap. digitaldealer.com
4. DealerPoint
DealerPoint is a smaller event from the Digital Dealer team. The 2027 edition is April 5 to 7, 2027 at the Marriott Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Best for: Dealership decision makers who are actively shopping for technology or service partners and want focused meetings instead of a crowded expo.
What it offers: Keynotes and content sessions, boardroom presentations and pre-arranged one-on-one meetings between dealership attendees and solution providers.
Worth knowing: The format is built around vendor meetings. Go with a short list of problems you want solved so the meetings stay useful. digitaldealer.com/dealerpoint
5. NIADA Convention & Expo
The NIADA Convention & Expo is the annual national convention of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association. NIADA lists the 2027 Convention & Expo for June 20 to 23, 2027 at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. NIADA's recap says the 2026 event in Denver drew more than 600 dealers and offered about 50 hours of education.
Best for: Independent dealers and their managers.
What it offers: Education sessions, an expo floor, peer networking and NIADA's National Quality Dealer recognition.
Worth knowing: Franchised stores will find some of the content on compliance and used-car operations useful, but the program is written for independents. niada.com
6. NIADA BHPH Dealer Forum
NIADA's Buy Here Pay Here Dealer Forum is a smaller, three-day event for buy-here, pay-here and lease-here, pay-here operators. The 2026 Forum is November 1 to 3, 2026 at the JW Marriott Austin in Austin, Texas.
Best for: BHPH and LHPH owners and managers who want to compare collections, underwriting and portfolio practices with peers.
What it offers: Dealer-led roundtables and hands-on workshops, and NIADA says the 2026 program adds visits to working Austin-area dealerships.
Worth knowing: This is a niche event. If you do not carry your own paper, the main NIADA convention is a better fit. niada.com/bhphdealerforum
7. Used Car Week
Used Car Week is an annual conference that brings together dealers, remarketers, auctions and auto finance companies. Used Car Week 2026 is November 16 to 19, 2026 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California.
Best for: Used-car managers, inventory buyers and anyone who deals with wholesale, reconditioning or auto finance.
What it offers: Separate tracks including auto finance, the National Remarketing Conference and a pre-owned track, plus networking events. The site advertises limited-time complimentary registration for dealers who apply.
Worth knowing: Much of the audience is on the wholesale and lending side, which is useful for sourcing relationships but lighter on showroom sales skills. usedcarweek.biz
8. ASOTU CON
ASOTU CON is the live event from Automotive State of the Union (ASOTU), the automotive media company behind the ASOTU podcast and daily email. Its website lists ASOTU CON 2027 for May 11 to 13, 2027 in Maryland; the city and venue were not posted yet when we checked.
Best for: Dealership leaders interested in culture, people and fresh ideas, including rising managers.
What it offers: Talks and candid conversations with dealership operators and guests from outside the car business; ASOTU publishes many past sessions as podcast episodes.
Worth knowing: Expect leadership and perspective more than step-by-step process. Listen to a few past ASOTU CON Sessions episodes to see if the style suits your team. asotucon.com
9. Women In Automotive Conference
The Women In Automotive Conference is an annual event built for women in dealership and industry roles at every career stage. The 2026 conference was held in Austin, Texas on July 17 to 20, and the organizer has posted a save-the-date for July 16 to 19, 2027 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Best for: Women in sales, F&I, service, BDC and leadership, and dealers who want to recruit and keep them.
What it offers: Four days of programming, networking and celebration, plus a year-round community and mentorship platform.
Worth knowing: The 2027 program details were still to come when we checked. womeninautomotive.com
How to Get More From an Automotive Conference
Add travel, hotel and a manager off the floor, and a conference is expensive. Decide what you want back before you go.
Before the show
- Write down the two or three problems you want solved, such as missed phone-ups, slow used-car turn or weak service-to-sales.
- Pick sessions against that list, and book vendor meetings in advance.
- Send the person who will own the change, not only the person who earned the trip.
After the show
- Hold a one-hour debrief within a week and pick one change to put in place in the next 30 days.
- Compare vendor proposals side by side, and ask for references from stores like yours.
A disclosed aside: training events
Conferences are good for ideas; they are not designed to retrain a sales floor. If your team needs hands-on skill work, try focused sales training instead. Our own PDS Boot Camp, run by Pinnacle Dealer Services, a division of Pinnacle Sales and Mail (the publisher of this site), is a 3-day training session next held November 10 to 12, 2026 in Cornelius, North Carolina. We did not rank it here because it is a training class, not an industry conference, and it is ours. For a wider comparison, see our list of the best dealership sales training companies and our dealership training resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which conference should a franchised dealer attend first?
For most franchised dealers, the NADA Show is the first pick, because it combines education, manufacturer franchise meetings and a large expo in one trip. The 2027 show is February 17 to 20 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Independent dealers usually look to the NIADA Convention & Expo instead.
Which conference is best for independent used-car dealers?
The NIADA Convention & Expo, set for June 20 to 23, 2027 in Nashville, is built for independents. Buy-here, pay-here operators should also look at NIADA's BHPH Dealer Forum in Austin on November 1 to 3, 2026, and used-car managers who buy at auction often get value from Used Car Week.
Are automotive conferences worth it for a single-point store?
They can be, if you go with specific problems to solve and send the person who will own the fix. A smaller event with roundtables or pre-set meetings, such as DealerPoint or the BHPH Dealer Forum, can give a single-point store more face time than a very large expo.
When are 2027 conference dates announced?
It varies by organizer. The NADA Show, DealerPoint, NIADA and ASOTU CON had already published 2027 dates in September 2026. Digital Dealer had not announced its 2027 dates when we checked, so watch the organizer's site rather than third-party calendars.
Summary
The NADA Show and J.D. Power Auto Summit anchor February for franchised dealers, NIADA serves independents and BHPH lots, Used Car Week covers wholesale and finance, Digital Dealer and DealerPoint cover digital retail and vendor selection, and ASOTU CON and Women In Automotive focus on people and leadership. Pick one or two, go with a plan and bring back one change. If the change you need is more traffic or a sharper team, Get In Touch or read how our sales event work compares.
