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AUTOMOTIVE SALES PROFESSIONALS SALARY DATA - DETROIT Our Recruiting office pulled together the salary data from THOUSANDS of sales professionals in the automotive industry and we would like to share it. This salary data reflects one of the key components found in the compensation package for Account Managers (and Sales Engineers), Sales Managers, Directors Sales, and VP Sales: Base salary. We do note and highlight in our office the three primary elements of a full compensation that vary from company to corporation: Base Salary, Car benefits, and Bonus. After 24 years in recruiting, we don't get into the weeds on healthcare and vacation/PTO. These tend to be a wash when shifting from one job to another however they are carefully evaluated and sometimes modified at the time of the job offer. The compensation ranges shown in the chart compile the actual figures quoted to us this year. There are some outliers, people making much more and those making far less, the second category are often candidates we highlight to companies when marketing. It's also important to recognize that in 2026, there is NO TREND reflecting an individuals earnings BASED ON THE TIMING OF THEIR WORK EXPERIENCE! This is important. The underlying theory is that these salary figures are a reflection of each candidate's merits, performance, skills, and success REGARDLESS of how much time they've put into their role. Hence, there are Account Managers with 8 years of experience having salaries at $140,000 and also Account Managers with 12 or more years of experience having a salary of $120,000. This information is geographically isolated to the Greater Detroit Area. Our DATA does NOT overlap well with other formal internet sources such as Glassdoor and many of the top tier AI models. We believe, because we used actual numbers quoted by real, live human beings that our data is solid. We know the other sources on the internet are using calculations and algorithms taking into unknown factors to warp and modify their results. What you'll see are overlapping curves for people at various levels of the organization. Hence, an Account Manager with no direct reports can feasibly earn a similar compensation to a VP Sales who manages an entire sales team. Write me at steve@nehezrec.com if you have inquiries about this post. Core data: Account Manager 7-12 years experience: $110-140K base Account Manager 12-20 years experience: $120-180K base Account Manager 20+ years: $130-200K base Sales Managers with direct reports: $120-180K Director Sales: $140-210K VP Sales: $150-240K
GAME OF THRONES: AUTOMOTIVE My family, typically chronic late arrivals for popular shows, eventually pushed our way through a couple hundred seasons of Game of Thrones back in the day. In hindsight, partly because I never read the books and didn't comprehend half of the dialogue until we discovered subtitles, it was hard to choose a side to root for. So much going on between factions so we just sat back to see the winner. And that was it. One poll I sure would like to see right now would address Election Exhaustion. The circles of people around me seem to appear to be in just about the same place we were in the final season of Game of Thrones: "Just get it over with." Looking at the US auto market, I believe we're at a hinging point for automotive production in the future. Put a flag on this time period for posterity. Our elected leaders in each branch of our government, have seemingly determined if they want a gas-powered future or EV future that would include China OEM's. Canada and Mexico have already allowed Chinese EV manufacturers to set up in their countries including dealership networks. Meanwhile, US OEM's, including GOEM and JOEM manufacturers, dumped billions of mystery money into EV development yet, especially after government kick-backs were extinguished, consumers adoption of EV or gas still wanes. EV's make up roughly 2.5% of vehicles on the road the US...and this number includes 1000's of Amazon delivery trucks among others. However, this election, in my estimation, will secure US policy ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. Two significant US automotive milestones are one's that many people still remember: The invention of the minivan and SUV. Both were wildly adopted by consumers virtually overnight. The minivan eventually lost it's mojo and automakers shifted the market to cross-overs and more SUV's. It's what the people wanted. The OEM's went for it. But regardless of the this incredible food-fight that's been taking place between fervent EV enthusiasts VERSUS gas traditionalists, I see no proof that the majority of people really care all that much to join in the debate. The powerful people who are deciding our future are much the same group that switched us all from old school incandescent lightbulbs to LED. The hubbub and arguments ran their course. There's a good chance, as our elected officials control everything we do, that this election will result in the creation of governmental policies that will determine our plug-in versus gas future for good. Unlike Game of Thrones, we will have to live with the consequences.
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