Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association

What Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association does

Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association (HADA) is a membership-based trade association representing over 70 automobile dealers across the State of Hawaii, operating through its legal entity Hawaii Public Policy Advocates, LLC. The association's mission is to help auto dealers comply with applicable laws and to make car buying trouble-free for the public, executed through legislative and regulatory advocacy at local, state, and federal levels. HADA serves new car dealers (Active Members) and used car dealers and supporting service businesses (Associate Members), with board representation across all four Hawaiian counties (Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui, Kauai). Notable member enterprises include Servco, Tony Group, Lithia Motors, Jim Falk Automotive Group, and a roster of single-store dealers and mid-size groups.

HADA's revenue model is primarily subscription-based on annual membership dues ($5,000 Primary Active / $1,000 Additional Active; $450 Primary Associate / $100 Additional Associate), supplemented by event registration fees and sponsorships from industry partners such as Ally Financial. The association delivers member services through annual conventions rotating among Hawaiian islands, Dealer Day at the Capitol advocacy events, HR workshops, a job posting and resume bank, and quarterly Hawaii Auto Outlook market intelligence reports. Workforce development is a core operating pillar, executed through partnerships with Honolulu Community College and Leeward Community College for technician training and career-path programs.

The organization is small (1-10 employees) and privately operated by Hawaii Public Policy Advocates, LLC from a single headquarters at 1099 Alakea Street, Suite 2530, Honolulu. HADA is governed by a board of directors drawn from member dealerships, with leadership including Executive Director Melissa Pavlicek and President Stan Masamitsu (Tony Group). No external investors, funding rounds, M&A activity, or technology products are associated with the organization.

Name

Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association

Legal name

Hawaii Public Policy Advocates, LLC

Website

https://hawaiiautodealer.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association (HADA) is a membership-based trade association representing over 70 automobile dealers across Hawaii, providing legislative advocacy, workforce development partnerships, industry events, and quarterly market intelligence reports.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues — Active Members: Primary Active Members (new automobile dealers in Hawaii) pay $5,000 annually, with Additional Active Members from the same company paying $1,000 per year. This is the core revenue stream supporting HADA's advocacy, events, and workforce development activities.
2. Membership Dues — Associate Members: Primary Associate Members (used automobile dealers and supporting service businesses) pay $450 annually, with Additional Associate Members paying $100 per year. These fees fund access to networking events, educational opportunities, legislative updates, and quarterly newsletters.
3. Event Registrations and Sponsorships: Revenue generated from the annual HADA Convention (registration fees), golf tournaments, and pickleball tournaments, as well as sponsorships from industry partners (e.g., Ally Financial, other convention sponsors). These events also serve as member engagement and recruitment vehicles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

HADA is a membership-based trade association that advocates for automobile dealers in Hawaii at local, state, and federal levels. It sells annual memberships to new and used car dealers, delivers legislative and regulatory advocacy, hosts an annual convention and industry events, publishes quarterly Hawaii Auto Outlook market reports, and operates a workforce development program including a job posting and resume bank.

Product overview

Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association (HADA) is a trade association serving automotive dealers across the state of Hawaii. Rather than offering a unified software product or platform, HADA provides a suite of member services including legislative advocacy, industry events and conventions, workforce development programs with job posting and resume search capabilities, quarterly Hawaii Auto Outlook market reports, and educational workshops. The association facilitates networking and professional development for its 70+ member dealers representing new and used automobile dealerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Active Membership (Primary Active Member)
• Associate Membership (Primary Associate Member)
• Annual HADA Convention
• Quarterly Hawaii Auto Outlook Reports
• Job Posting and Resume Bank
• Dealer Day at the Capitol
• HR for Auto Dealers Workshop
• Legislative Bill Tracking and Updates

Named customers15 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Hogan Consulting GroupsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Dailyn Yanagida, President of Hogan Consulting Group, moderates the HR for Auto Dealers panel at HADA's 2026 HR workshop. As a human resources consulting firm with expertise in Hawaii employment law, Hogan Consulting Group provides specialized content expertise for HADA's workforce development programming.
• Ally FinancialsupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Ally Financial participated as a sponsor of the 2025 HADA Annual Convention and made a charitable donation to The Food Basket Hawaii Island's Food Bank during the event. This demonstrates Ally Financial's role as a financial services partner to HADA and its member dealers, supporting both industry engagement and community philanthropy.
• Honolulu Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHADA partnered with Honolulu Community College (HCC) as part of its workforce development initiative. Through summer dealership visits, HCC students explored career paths and gained insight into the future of automotive innovation in Hawaii. This partnership supports HADA's goal of addressing workforce shortages in the automotive industry by connecting educational institutions with member dealers.
• Leeward Community College Automotive Tech ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHADA partnered with Leeward Community College to establish career-path training for automotive technicians and conducted resume-writing workshops for students. HADA also sponsored the program's 50th Anniversary celebration, bringing together current students, instructors, program graduates, past instructors, and automotive dealers. This partnership directly addresses the skilled technician workforce shortage in Hawaii's auto industry.
• Velocity (Automotive Training Facility)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHADA's workforce development initiative included HCC students visiting Velocity's automotive training facility, where they explored the repair shop and showroom, met with staff in meeting rooms, and learned about career paths in the auto industry. Velocity serves as a hands-on training venue for students considering automotive careers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Hawaii Chamber of Commerce: Hawaii's broader statewide business membership organization serving cross-industry members. Not a direct competitor but operates in the same Hawaii geographic membership-association space, sharing some overlapping members and competing for general business-advocacy mindshare.

Broad incumbents

• National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA): National trade association focused on independent (used-car) dealers, whereas HADA's Associate Member tier serves used-car dealers. NIADA represents the broader national used-car dealer association space that intersects with HADA's associate segment.
• Alliance for Automotive Innovation: The national trade association representing major automakers and is shaping EV, regulatory, and dealer-policy positions that directly affect HADA's members. Operates at the OEM level but is a structural counterpart in the auto-industry policy ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Illinois Automobile Dealers Association: Statewide trade association representing Illinois franchised automobile dealers with legislative advocacy, dealer education programs, and industry events. Closely mirrors HADA's structure and value proposition at the state level.
• New York State Automobile Dealers Association (NYSADA): State-level dealer trade association serving New York franchised automobile dealers with advocacy, education, and member benefits. Directly comparable to HADA in services offered and membership model.
• California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA): State-level automobile dealer trade association providing legislative advocacy, dealer services, and industry events to California franchised dealers. Directly comparable to HADA in mission, dues structure, and advocacy focus, but operating in a far larger state market.
• Florida Automobile Dealers Association (FADA): Florida's statewide trade association for franchised automobile dealers, providing legislative advocacy, compliance support, and industry events. Functionally identical to HADA's value proposition at a much larger scale.
• Texas Automobile Dealers Association (TADA): State trade association representing Texas franchised automobile dealers, offering legislative representation, dealer education, and member services. Closely mirrors HADA's structure as a state-level dealer association with dues-funded advocacy and convention programming.
• National Automobile Dealers Association: The national umbrella trade association for U.S. franchised new-car dealers, with which HADA has a direct representative linkage (Mike Niethammer sits on NADA's board). NADA is the federal-level counterpart to HADA's state-level advocacy, lobbying, and dealer-services mission.

Others

• Automotive Trade Association Executives: Industry association of state and metro automobile dealer association executives. Functions as the professional network for executives running organizations like HADA and is a peer only at the management/peer-network level rather than competing for members.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association