The first quarter of 2024 marked the first time since the second quarter of 2021 that AutoNation has shown an increase in new-vehicle sales and used-vehicle sales together in the same quarter. AutoNation CEO Michael Manley provided that news during the company’s first quarter 2024 earnings call on April 26. But used vehicles and the company’s AutoNation USA used-vehicle business were not a big focus of the earnings call, as AutoNation representatives spent more time discussing other areas such as its customer financial services business and inventory levels. The limited discussion that did take place on the company’s used-vehicle business was mostly ... [Read More]

Asbury Automotive Group in its first quarter pivoted its used-vehicle strategy, which had been focused on gross profit, to put more emphasis on volume, said David Hult, the company’s president and CEO. So when it came to sourcing used vehicles for retail sale in the quarter, Asbury doubled the percentage of vehicles it typically purchases outside of its own structure including trade-ins, from about 10% to 20%, said Hult, during the company’s quarterly earnings call for the three-month period ending March 31. Though the company makes less money on used vehicles it purchases for retail sale than those it takes on trade, the revised acquisition strategy ... [Read More]

Bigger isn’t always better. Sonic Automotive can attest to that. Last June, the company significantly downsized its EchoPark used-car operation, suspending operations of eight stores, 14 related delivery/buy centers and three Northwest Motorsport locations within the EchoPark segment. Now EchoPark is a success story, with ... [Read More]

British luxury automaker Bentley Motors has named Holman’s Lauderdale Collision Center as its 2023 Bodyshop of the Year in North America. The award honors the Bentley body shop that best demonstrates an unwavering devotion to quality, continued training and outstanding customer service, Holman said. “This incredible achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication […] [Read More]

How many leads does it take for a dealer to sell a car? No, that’s not the setup to a joke. It’s the question asked in a study conducted by sales software firm Foureyes, which looked at dealership data in the first quarter of 2024 to identify how many leads dealers received on average per […] [Read More]

Carvana is celebrating Mobility Awareness Month with its second annual Pickleball for All event – an accessible pickleball exhibition and clinic in Atlanta for athletes of all abilities. The online used-vehicle retailer is working with the Professional Pickleball Association to lower the barrier of entry to the sport of pickleball for the millions of Americans […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group’s CarShop used-only retail stores saw sequentially improving sales and margins in the first quarter of 2024 as it recovered from somewhat dismal full-year 2023 used-vehicle results. “We’ve seen CarShop really make a big step forward in margin in the U.S. as we’ve been able to ... [Read More]

Ford Motor Co. has gone Hollywood with its dealer training. Last week, the automaker launched Ford University, a fully digital, video-based training platform that takes a “cinematic” and “storytelling” tactic to dealer training in a format designed to be personalized for each user. Sort of like a streaming video platform ... [Read More]

Auto industry attorney Steve Levine, owner and chief legal and compliance officer of Ignite Consulting Partners, is not a scary guy. But he told a chilling tale in his session at the 2024 BHPH United Summit in Las Vegas, frightening the dealers in attendance with the gory details of the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed CARS […] [Read More]

Car Pros Automotive Group again got a double dose of good news this week as two of its locations were selected among Kia America’s top 50 U.S. dealerships. Car Pros Kia Glendale and Car Pros Kia Moreno Valley have been named to Kia’s President’s Club, honoring the 50 dealerships among the brand’s network of 775 […] [Read More]