The certified pre-owned vehicle market continues to rocket toward what would be the 10th record year in the past 11. CPO sales through seven months are up more than 4% from 2019, which was the best year ever for certified, and are beating 2020 figures by 15%. That’s according to a Cox Automotive analysis of […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive said Tuesday it has opened an EchoPark Automotive delivery center in Austin, which marks the seventh Texas location for Sonic’s standalone used-car program. The retailer plans on opening approximately 25 EchoPark locations a year (including 20 delivery centers and five medium or large retail hubs) from 2021 to 2025. The company anticipates covering 25% […] [Read More]

Lithia is tackling Dallas expansion with the help of a former New York Giants linebacker.  In an update Tuesday, Lithia & Driveway said it added two open points in Texas, including one in which it teamed with former NFL star Jesse Armstead. For its new Grapevine Honda store in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, Lithia partnered with […] [Read More]

One of the reasons Cherokee Media Group added the National Auto Venture & Investors Conference (NAVIcon) was because of how much investment activity is happening in automotive nowadays. Another development surfaced on Monday, as Turo announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating […] [Read More]

Dealership mergers and acquisitions aren’t just involving large groups absorbing multiple rooftops nowadays. Performance Brokerage Services aided in the transaction of a North Carolina franchised store from a single owner to a married couple looking to relocate and run their own store. On Thursday, Performance Brokerage Services announced the sale of Baker Chevrolet in Red […] [Read More]

Quantum5 wants to transform dealership training and bridge the gap between traditional and digital customers. To help the firm accomplish that goal, the company recently welcomed a new vice president of content strategy who has a background with automakers’ operations in both the U.S. and Canada. Taking on the role is Terry Staggs, who will […] [Read More]

As it turns out, EchoPark isn’t the only piece of Sonic Automotive with expansion plans. In addition to the growth in its line of standalone used-car stores, Sonic plans to increase its presence on the franchise new-car dealer side. For the most part, the geographic footprint of Sonic’s 86 franchised dealerships includes the majority of […] [Read More]

As part of its "50-50 strategic plan" — through which the company aims to reach $50 billion in revenues and $50 in earnings per share over five years — Lithia & Driveway said Tuesday it has expanded the senior leadership in its marketing department. That includes the hiring of a chief marketing officer. Appointed to the […] [Read More]

CARY, N.C. — While Sonic Automotive leadership declined to comment further after announcing a strategic review of EchoPark Automotive, company president Jeff Dyke did share more details about Sonic’s investment in its standalone used-car program in an interview with Auto Remarketing on Thursday. The wide-ranging conversation included more details on the digital retailing platform in the works for […] [Read More]

For Toyota and Lexus dealerships in southern California with overwhelmed service drives and recon shops, help literally is on the way. On Friday, Universal Technical Institute announced the first local cohort of students have begun their accelerated 12-week training to complete eight Toyota and five Lexus class credentials preparing them to join one of the […] [Read More]