Early indications are that May was another solid month for used-car departments at franchised dealers, including their certified pre-owned operations. Citing data from the National Automobile Dealers Association, Cox Automotive chief economist Tom Webb said in a monthly commentary released Tuesday that franchised dealers’ retail used-car sales were up 5 percent in the first four […] [Read More]

The National Automobile Dealers Association has hired Peter Fong as senior vice president of dealership operations. Fong’s more than 20 years of experience include various executive-level sales, marketing and brand management positions at Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC. He also guided Carmoza, an auto transport start-up company, through its merger and acquisition. He most […] [Read More]

With rising off-lease vehicle volume being described as a “tailwind,” the April dealer survey conducted by KeyBanc Capital Markets indicated that 71 percent of respondents posted an increase in used-vehicle sales during the month. But not only did the remaining 29 percent of dealers surveyed sustain a drop in used turns, it might have been […] [Read More]

For the fourth consecutive year, members of the KAR Auction Services group of companies — ADESA, AFC, Insurance Auto Auctions and TradeRev — will auction off a premier vehicle during the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association Convention and Expo to benefit the NIADA Foundation. Officials highlighted this year's vehicle is an ivory white 2015 Chrysler 300 […] [Read More]

Industry-wide certified pre-owned sales for May hadn’t been reported as of Thursday afternoon, but here is what we know so far, based on individual automaker sales reports. Kia sold 6,359 certified vehicles in May, up 12.1 percent year-over-year. Sales through five months, which have reached 29,525, were up by the same percentage. Mazda sold 3,178 […] [Read More]

On Thursday, more details emerged as to which specific makes and models are associated with the ongoing Takata airbag recall. Coming on the heels of a U.S. Senate report detailing how new models are being assembled with airbags that eventually will need to be replaced, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted recall documents connected […] [Read More]

According to a U.S. Senate report released Wednesday, Fiat Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Volkswagen are continuing to sell new vehicles equipped with faulty Takata airbags — knowing that these vehicles will have to be recalled by 2018. The automakers admitted during an investigation by Senate Commerce Committee Democrats that they are selling cars equipped with […] [Read More]

TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence didn’t have upbeat news for either dealerships or finance companies looking to turn new metal coming out of the holiday weekend. The firm’s Auto Demand Index (ADI) — which measures the intent of consumers to buy or lease a new vehicle within the next six months — registered a sharp decline in […] [Read More]

Asbury Automotive Group has opened a Q auto store in Holiday, Fla. The latest used-car standalone store was announced Friday and is the second facility in the Tampa market. There is an existing Q auto store in Brandon, Fla. Asbury also has a Q auto location in Fort Myers, Fla. Casey Coffey, president of Q auto, […] [Read More]

Not to ruin the holiday weekend for used-car managers or auction personnel, but Auto Remarketing collected announcements from automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week indicating the specific Takata airbag recalls for more than 8 million units in the U.S. Recall campaigns include vehicles from Honda, Chrysler, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi […] [Read More]