It’s usually the other way around. But a major move in the automotive investment space this week is said to be the first time that an integrated automotive services organization has obtained a general partner interest in an auto industry venture capital firm. FM Capital, a venture capital firm focusing on early- to mid-stage companies, […] [Read More]

Automotive sell-side advisory firm Kerrigan Advisors announced it has added former AutoNation executive Chris Gempton as senior vice president of sell-side advisory. The new SVP will open Kerrigan Advisors’ new Florida office in Miami, which will serve clients in the Southeast, a market the company said is very active for dealership buy/sell transactions. Kerrigan Advisors […] [Read More]

Two of the growing factors impacting electric vehicles are charging them and securing affordable insurance, and three research projects shed more light on those elements of EV ownership and how consumers are adjusting. First, Mercury Insurance compiled a list of the most affordable new EVs to insure, but a Tesla is not mentioned among the […] [Read More]

The movement in wholesale vehicle values for July varied from index to index, but in general, prices are down from a year ago, though they remain elevated from pre-pandemic levels. Starting with Black Book, its Used Vehicle Retention Index came in at 145.0 for July, which was down 1.1% month-over-month and off 15.2% from July […] [Read More]

Logan Green, co-founder and chairman of Lyft, has joined venture capital firm Autotech Ventures as a venture partner. In a news release, Autotech said Green’s “experience in leading Lyft from inception through hypergrowth and his vision for more equitable and efficient transportation solutions will be invaluable” as Autotech continues to identify and support startups in […] [Read More]

Chaiz, an Austin, Texas-based startup that provides a comparison marketplace for extended car warranties, announced an oversubscribed $3.7 million seed funding round on Wednesday. Leading the round is ResilienceVC, with participation from Anker Capital, Automotive Ventures, Everywhere Ventures, FJ Labs, Monte Carlo Capital, Never Lift Ventures, RedBlue Capital, and Springtime Ventures. Chaiz’s prior investors include […] [Read More]

Full acknowledgement that a good portion of the data-driven updates Cherokee Media Group published on Tuesday contained negative subjects, with a discussion about the possibility of a recession already happening as well as another notable increase in bankruptcy filings. Well, here’s some more upbeat news courtesy of Black Book, which shared its expectations on Tuesday […] [Read More]

Virtually every auto dealer knows data is a powerful tool for their business. They’re just not quite sure how to use it. That’s perhaps the biggest takeaway from Cox Automotive’s 2024 Power of Data study, released this week. The surveys of 393 franchise dealers and 191 dealership managers found a large majority of dealers — […] [Read More]

In almost every conversation I’ve recently had regarding the future of the electric vehicle market — specifically, battery electric vehicles — there is a passionate stance for one side of the argument or the other. Either, “Everyone will have one soon,” or, “It’s a fad and I’ll never have or sell an EV.” The conversations […] [Read More]

Perhaps it’s jumping to conclusions, but the only segment in Black Book’s tracking to squeeze out a wholesale value uptick last week might relate to vehicles in position to solve one of the pressing current challenges to get cars financed and retailed. Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke said last week that “retail vehicle demand […] [Read More]