Yes, Amazon Autos is moving into the used-car market, as Automotive News and others reported earlier this month. But to be clear, it would not be a competitor to traditional dealerships, a la Carvana, CarMax, etc. It’s not a direct-to-consumer model. Instead, Amazon Autos would continue using a marketplace model, where dealer partners would use […] [Read More]

Rivian believes thinking small has big potential, and is spinning off a company to prove it. The electric vehicle manufacturer announced the creation of Also, Inc., a spinoff of Rivian’s micromobility business that will focus on small, lightweight vehicles designed to “meet the global mobility transportation challenges of today and tomorrow.” Rivian retains a “substantial” […] [Read More]

For many folks, March is the NCAA Tournament/“March Madness” month while for others, it’s the month of St Patrick’s Day and the ever-elusive “Luck of the Irish.” If you look at the car business today, it has hints of madness. We are looking at the beginning of a multi-million used-car shortage and a 50% drop […] [Read More]

Awards honoring dealers’ 2024 achievements have been announced, and two Ford dealerships in the West have reason to celebrate — again. Castle Rock Ford in the Denver metro area announced it was selected for the Ford Motor Company President’s Award for the third consecutive year. The dealership said the award recognizes Ford dealerships that prioritize […] [Read More]

Tekion is evolving its artificial intelligence offerings. The cloud-native platform serving the automotive retail ecosystem announced the launch of Tekion AI Agents, which it called “the next evolution of its AI-powered platform.” Tekion plans to launch a suite of AI agents for the automotive industry, beginning with Tekion AI Agent for Service, which the company […] [Read More]

Owning and operating an automotive dealership, or group, is a demanding yet rewarding business. However, one of the most critical and often neglected aspects of owning a dealership is succession planning. While many dealers focus on day-to-day operations, few take the necessary steps to ensure long-term success through structured, transitional strategies. Succession planning isn’t just […] [Read More]

Retailing used electric vehicles should be plug-and-play easy for dealers, right? Especially since the latest research from iSeeCars shows used EV prices fell 15.1% over the past year, perhaps making those vehicles some of the most appealing units in your inventory. Well, Cox Automotive’s Q1 2025 Dealer Sentiment Index (CADSI) indicated that dealerships aren’t necessarily […] [Read More]

Lithia and Driveway, the most active dealership group in the buy-sell market, is at it again — this time as a seller. Lithia has sold three dealerships in West Virginia to Atlantic Coast Automotive Group, a move broker Dave Cantin Group said was “a key strategic divestiture” for the giant group, which operates some 340 […] [Read More]

In an era of “go big or go home,” CDK is going small. The auto industry’s largest dealership software provider, used by major dealership groups throughout North America, has launched a system for the little guys — the CDK Fundamentals Suite, a scalable core business system designed for one- to two-rooftop franchise dealerships and independent […] [Read More]

While certified pre-owned sales ticked up only marginally, Cox Automotive spotted “the largest jump seen in recent years,” when analysts combed over retail used-vehicle sales information for February. And the estimated sales lift might continue to help dealer sentiment that Cox Automotive said already was improving. According to an analysis of Cox Automotive’s vAuto Live […] [Read More]