This holiday season, Jim Ellis Automotive Group is running its fifth annual Holiday Giving Campaign, an endeavor that this year will benefit Atlanta Children’s Shelter, a nonprofit organization that provides homeless children with free day care, emotional support and an education program, along with focused social services for their families.   In a program running […] [Read More]

In more ways than one, this is sounding like a broken record after what was already a strong earnings report week for the publicly traded auto dealer groups. Lithia, AutoNation, Asbury and Penske reported record third quarter 2021 earnings during their calls in late October. On Oct. 28, Sonic Automotive and Group 1 Automotive announced […] [Read More]

Despite vehicle price increases and tight inventory supplies caused by the global microchip shortage and the lingering pandemic, used-car retailers CarLotz Inc., Vroom Inc., and Shift Technologies, posted revenue gains and unit sales increases in the third quarter. And all suffered net losses in the three-month period that ended Sept 30. CarLotz’s tactical changes CarLotz’s […] [Read More]

CarMax, the nation’s largest used-vehicle retailer and Carvana, a used-vehicle retailer known for its giant car-vending machines, each generated strong unit sales and revenues and significantly increased the number of vehicles they bought from consumers. But each wrestled with managing increased demand from consumers, in their most recent respective quarters … [Read More]

Perhaps there are some strategy recommendations to help dealerships sell used vehicles that can be plucked from the J.D. Power 2021 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study, which focuses on retailing new models. Three of the four key findings might be especially relevant to used departments since they are associated with subjects such as trade-in values, […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive said Tuesday it has acquired Cook Volkswagen in Fallston, Md. The dealership, will has been renamed Volkswagen of Fallston, is the 89th franchised location for Sonic. The store, which is 30 miles from Baltimore, is also Sonic’s fourth VW location. “We are excited to expand our automotive sales and service network with Volkswagen […] [Read More]

To see how recent third quarter earnings reports have gone for the top auto dealer groups, a statement from Asbury Automotive Group president and chief executive officer David Hult summarized it well during that company’s earnings call on Oct. 26. In spite of supply issues, Asbury reported record earnings. “Though our new-car inventory levels continue […] [Read More]

On Monday, Ally Financial and TIME announced the 47 nominees for the 2022 TIME Dealer of the Year award. Those dealers are set to be recognized at NADA Show on March 11 in Las Vegas. Ally president of dealer financial services Doug Timmerman and TIME global chief revenue officer Viktoria Degtar will announce the winner […] [Read More]

Haig Partners LLC has named a director of marketing and business development, hiring Aimee (LaBrake) Allen for the position. Allen had previously been an independent consultant for firms providing car dealers with accounting, banking, business valuation and succession planning services. Her background includes team heading up marketing and growth for DHG Dealerships. “We pride ourselves […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group said Thursday it has opened a CarShop location in Scottsdale, Ariz., which is its eighth used-car standalone store in the U.S. and 23rd worldwide. The store features a 45,000-square-foot facility located at the Scottsdale AutoShow on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. “We are certain that our new Scottsdale location will become […] [Read More]