Even before the COVID-19 coronavirus became a pandemic and changed operational strategy in the auto industry, both the wholesale and retail segments of automotive were shifting towards increasingly digital futures that seemed poised to blend online and brick-and-mortar operations. With that fact in mind, Cherokee Media Group has developed a two-part white paper series on […] [Read More]

Automakers and their captive finance companies rolled out generous offers to keep new-vehicle deliveries going during the coronavirus pandemic; efforts such as 0% annual percentage rates for 84 months for well-qualified buyers. Perhaps, not quite to that generous level, some captives and other finance companies launched efforts to help used-vehicle financing, too, especially for certified […] [Read More]

The week ending March 22 represented the largest week-over-week decline in wholesale vehicle prices in at least 20 years — and most likely, it’s the largest decline ever, says Larry Dixon of J.D. Power Valuation Series. The 5% drop in wholesale prices last week was the largest in J.D. Power’s data set, which goes back […] [Read More]

The COVID-19 pandemic is already impacting the used-vehicle retail market, with sales for March — usually the year’s strongest month for pre-owned — expected to fall dramatically. And some expect full-year used-car sales could be 9% to 34% lower than original projections, depending on how the crisis plays out. At Edmunds, analysts are forecasting 2.5 […] [Read More]

Kevin Filan, vice president of marketing at Cox Automotive Inventory Solutions, joins the Auto Remarketing Podcast. He and Auto Remarketing's Joe Overby discuss some of the relief measures the company is making to help dealers as they deal with the fallout from COVID-19 and the transitions Cox Automotive has made. Plus, they review how dealers can […] [Read More]

Coming off consumer-connected improvements in February, analysts at Swapalease.com and Wantalease.com shared their latest findings for approvals for vehicle-lease transfer applications as well as the most favorable leasing deals currently available. The sites reported this week that several brands offered significant discounts on midsize cars and SUVs, likely a result of falling sales due to […] [Read More]

KAR Global made another move late on Tuesday to help dealers navigate through the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. Business unit Automotive Finance Corp. (AFC) immediately launched its customer relief program as eligible customers can choose to defer curtailment payments due through May 31 on eligible unsold units, including principal, fees and interest on those […] [Read More]

NextGear Capital is offering a relief package to support independent dealers during the COVID-19 crisis. Among those measures are base rate reduction by 50 basis points, deferred curtailment and extension payments for eligible floorplan advances and no late fees. Company president Scott Maybee stated in a letter to the dealers that he hoped the measures “can […] [Read More]

According to a new study measuring the usefulness of U.S. automotive third-party websites during the process of shopping for a new or used vehicle, Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book rank highest in a tie in the desktop segment, with a score of 790 out of 1,000. But according to the J.D. Power 2020 Automotive Website […] [Read More]

The first month of 2020 was the strongest January for the certified pre-owned market in a decade. February then beat those sales by 10%. That’s according to Monday’s Data Point report from Cox Automotive, which, citing Motor Intelligence, said there was 238,229 CPO sales in February. That beats year-ago figures by 13% and puts year-to-date […] [Read More]