Import automakers enjoyed solid months in the certified pre-owned market, as European brands increased their CPO sales by more than 16 percent in November while Asian brand sales climbed nearly 2 percent and pushed their year-to-date sum above 1 million, according to Autodata Corp. European certified sales came in at 34,931 units for the month […] [Read More]

Big 3 automakers combined to sell nearly 70,000 certified pre-owned vehicles in November, beating year-ago figures by 16.9 percent, according to Autodata Corp. Specifically, the 69,915 CPO sales among domestics in November put the year-to-date tally at 758,486 sales, a 15.7-percent improvement over the first 11 months of 2013. Ford’s brands sold 22,552 certified cars […] [Read More]

Chrysler Group’s vice president of dealer network development announced late last week his intentions to retire. Peter Grady, who also leads Maserati North America as the company’s president and chief executive officer, will be stepping down, effective March 31. The company said in the meantime, Grady will retain his current responsibilities and remain a member […] [Read More]

AutoNation reported year-over-year increases in several new-vehicle metrics for the month of November. The group posted 27,055 new-vehicle sales for November, marking a 6-percent increase compared to November 2013, despite having one fewer sale day in 2014. The sales in each segment each rendered a year-over-year increase, with the biggest jump being in domestic sales, up 8 […] [Read More]

Year-to-date certified pre-owned sales have already eclipsed the 2 million mark, with last month’s tally of 192,952 sales marking the best November ever for CPO, according to Autodata Corp. The aforementioned November record beat year-ago figures by 9.3 percent and pushed annual sales to 2.14 million, a 10.2-percent increase over the first 11 months of […] [Read More]

Though sales rep turnover continues to be an issue for automotive dealerships, weekly earnings continue to rise above most other private sector businesses as the dealership workforce continues to expand. NADA’s third annual industry report on the dealership workforce showed dealerships were adding new employees, paying above-average wages and showed weekly earnings growth last year. […] [Read More]

Honda and Toyota are leading a charge in calling for a coordinated industry-wide joint initiative to independently test Takata airbag inflators that have been the subject of recent recalls. The companies said the goal of this initiative is to address affected automakers’ issues related to the airbag inflator recalls and supplement testing being undertaken by […] [Read More]

As federal regulators shared an update about the availability of parts to repair vehicles with faulty ignitions, General Motors announced its 79th recall of the year this week, detailing a campaign for more than 300,000 older sedans and SUVs because of a problem with their headlamps. The affected models for possible intermittent or permanent loss of […] [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive announced this week the expansion of its coverage in the United Kingdom with three new acquisitions. The dealer group has purchased Elms Bedford BMW/MINI, Elms Cambridge BMW/MINI and Elms Stansted BMW/MINI. The three dealerships, which will continue to operate under the Elms name, are estimated to generate $225 million in annual revenues. Earl […] [Read More]

Used-car sales in November were relatively static from year-ago figures, but eclipsed the 3 million mark and pushed year-to-date figures well above 38 million, according to data and analysis released by CNW Research. Overall, there were 3.11 million used vehicles sold last month, a figure that includes sales by franchised and independent dealers as well […] [Read More]