In their third quarter earnings call, Vroom executives said the firm would purposely slow down in order to improve the online used car retailer’s customer experience. They warned it would impact fourth quarter results. Boy did it. “Sequential declines in e-commerce unit volumes impacted e-commerce gross profit by approximately $12 million. Additionally, the impact of ... [Read More]

Sonic Automotive and Group 1 Automotive each made executive moves to reinforce their human resources and other company infrastructure. Beginning with Sonic, the company announced the promotion of Angela Broadway to chief human resources officer (CHRO) in a move that was effective Feb. 8. “Angela has made an amazing impact on our company with her […] [Read More]

In the fourth quarter of 2022, Sonic Automotive began to see improvement in new-vehicle production, and that helped the company gain higher new-vehicle retail sales volume at its franchise dealerships. That sales volume outperformed the volume change for the overall industry, quarter over quarter and year over year, said Sonic chairman and CEO David Smith. Used-vehicle performance also shined. Sonic’s diversified business model helped its used-vehicle business outperform the change in industry volume. That strong used-vehicle performance took place despite ... [Read More]

On Monday, SmartGroups: 20 Groups Reimagined finalized another major partnership to put the advantages of 20 Group membership within reach of virtually every dealer. The latest dealerships association deciding to collaborate with the firm is the Florida Independent Automobile Dealers Association (FIADA). SmartGroups’ partnership portfolio now includes seven associations representing eight states. FIADA joins Alabama […] [Read More]

AutoNation is continuing to expand its standalone used-vehicle store presence with “more than 20 additional facilities currently under development” and it expects to open “over 10 new stores over the next 12 months,” said Joe Lower, the company’s chief financial officer. Asbury Automotive Group CEO David Hult, said the company incurred $2.7 million in costs for ... [Read More]

Although though overall used-car sales in February are still likely to fall from the same month of 2022, the market is showing progress from January. TrueCar is forecasting 2.8 million used-car sales this month. That is 8% softer than February 2022, but beats January numbers by 5%. In a separate analysis this week, Cox Automotive […] [Read More]

The Dave Cantin Group’s nonprofit partnership DCG Giving raised more than $250,000 for pediatric cancer research during its first fundraising event of the year: a dinner party at last month’s NADA Show in Dallas featuring heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson. Part of the event, which was held at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, an auction […] [Read More]

Automotive tech startup Carmigo announced this week it has reached a significant milestone: 4,000 vehicles sold on its online used-car marketplace. Carmigo launched in January 2021 and sold just over 1,000 units its first year, before picking up significant momentum in 2022. “Last year was an exciting ride, seeing the used car market reach stratospheric […] [Read More]

If franchised dealerships didn’t retail as many used and new vehicles in January as they anticipated, perhaps their service drives helped to keep the store finances on a positive path. While still a mixed bag, the latest Cox Automotive analysis of Xtime metrics showed service activity decreased but service revenue increased month-over-month at U.S. franchised […] [Read More]

As more dealerships changed hands, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA) wrapped up its annual charity project in collaboration with Operation Warm as member stores raised more than $100,000 for a coat drive and donated thousands of coats to more than 30 schools and charitable organizations throughout downstate New York. The campaign finished […] [Read More]