Consolidation has been a big theme in the auto industry this year, and a move announced Thursday involved the fleet/lease space. The combination of Wheels, Inc., and Donlen, LLC has closed, announced Athene Holding Ltd., a financial services company that is the lead investor in the transaction.  Athene had previously purchased Donlen from Hertz Global […] [Read More]

KAR Global chief economist Tom Kontos elaborated a bit in his newest Kontos Kommentary about a primary way franchised dealerships have been able to satisfy their customers who wanted a new model that simply wasn’t available. [Read More]

In the new-car market, the electric vehicle segment was up 51.3% year-over-year with 106,562 EV sales during the third quarter, according to Kelley Blue Book. Year-to-date, there have been 323,479 new EV sales, KBB said, which is an 88.2% hike. But the influx of EVs isn’t just happening in the new-vehicle market. As the wholesale […] [Read More]

After piloting the program in September, Hertz will now sell used vehicles directly to consumers online through Carvana. Like its peers in the rental-car space, Hertz has traditionally leaned on auctions, direct-to-dealer programs and its network of retail locations to remarket used inventory from its fleet. The partnership between the rental giant and Carvana announced […] [Read More]

The National Auto Auction Association announced its Warren Young Fellows for 2021 on Tuesday. Each of the four recipients were recognized following their terms leading their respective NAAA chapters as president. This year’s honorees are: — Eric Autenrieth, who is NAAA vice president, owner of Indiana Auto Auction and general manager of Carolina Auto Auction. […] [Read More]

Wholesale vehicle prices have climbed for eight straight weeks, and the lack of supply continues to exacerbate the odd dynamics, perhaps even frustration, in the used-car market. According to the latest Market Insights report from Black Book, which recapped the week ending Saturday, there was a 0.63% increase in wholesale values last week. That’s up […] [Read More]

KAR Global named a chief digital officer on Monday, hiring a former Microsoft and Amazon leader. Appointed to the post is James Coyle, who was most recently the chief executive officer of RealSelf, a digital marketplace in the medical space. Coyle’s experience includes time with Microsoft and Amazon, where he headed up consumer electronics. His […] [Read More]

Dealers Auto Auction of Oklahoma City has named a new general manager to replace longtime GM Bruce Beam. Hired for the position was former XLerate Group chief operating officer Pat Stevens, whose experience also includes time with Manheim and ADESA. Stevens started his auto auction industry career in 1993 at Manheim Dallas, where was fleet […] [Read More]

CarLotz is launching a second hub in California, this time setting up shop in the nation’s second-largest metropolitan area. The consignment-to-retail used-car marketplace is opening a hub Monday in Pomona, Calif., that will serve Greater Los Angeles. This will complement the existing CarLotz hub in Bakersfield, which opened in June. Plans for the LA-area hub […] [Read More]

Obviously, vehicles cannot be transported to and from auctions and dealerships without someone to load them and drive the hauler to the intended destinations. United Road is boosting its efforts to ensure that key person is readily available to meet vehicle transportation demands. This week, United Road president and chief executive officer Mark Anderson announced […] [Read More]