McLEAN, Va. -

The average franchised dealer pulled in total revenue last year that was more than 12 percent stronger than 2010, with pre-tax net profits soaring nearly 24 percent.

That’s according to the NADA Data 2012 report issued Monday, which the National Automobile Dealers Association put out as its annual state-of-the-industry look at dealer financial trends.

Sharing its “average dealership profile,” NADA said that the average store pulled in $34.7 million in total dealership sales during 2011, which was up 12.3 percent year-over-year. The used-vehicle department, on average, pulled in $11.3 million in revenue for a 9.8-percent uptick. The new-vehicle department increased revenue 15.6 percent at $18.9 million. Average service and parts revenue climbed 5.7 percent to $4.6 million.

Meanwhile, pre-tax net profits jumped 23.6 percent from 2010 and came in at $785,855.

Adding some more insight, officials noted: “New-vehicle department operating profit increased at the typical dealership. Used vehicles contributed one-quarter of operating profit in 2011, down from one-third of operating profit in 2010, as higher used-car values relative to new-car costs reduced consumer interest.”

Overall, total dealership revenue nationwide was more than $609 billion, a 10.2-percent increase, NADA said.

More on Used Department

Delving further into the used side of things, NADA emphasized that the used-vehicle department at franchised dealerships was even more profitable in 2011 than it was in 2010

The report showed that net profits from used-vehicle departments moved forward slightly last year, hovering between $100,000 and $150,000 for an average franchised dealer. This compares to an average of less than $100,000 in 2009 and losses in 2008.

“Net used-car profits improved further in 2011. Dealerships dealt with a shortage of trade-ins caused by lower sales in the recession and recovery years, which increased used-car and used-truck prices,” reads the report.

“Financial institutions offered more attractive rates for used-car purchases because they recognized that used values would remain at higher levels for several years,” it added. “Also, new- and used-vehicle loans are performing relatively well compared with other lending areas, particularly residential real estate. The result: many promotions of attractive financing rates and loan features, as well as attractive lease terms by financial institutions. High used-car prices provide more trade equity for new-vehicle customers.”

Sharing some sales figures, NADA said franchised dealers moved 15.6 million used cars last year, 8.7 million of which were sold retail. The remaining 6.9 million were sold wholesale.

Touching on how dealers found these used cars, NADA said that close to three-fifths of the used vehicles retailed last year by franchised dealers were sourced from trade-ins. The report also found that 28 percent of used units retailed in 2011 were acquired by the dealer through an auction.

Meanwhile — breaking down the aforementioned units acquired via trade-in — NADA said dealers grabbed 35 percent of the used vehicles they sold retail through trade-ins on new-vehicle sales and 22 percent through trade-ins on used-vehicle sale.

They turned to street purchases 6 percent of the time and utilized “other” means 9 percent of the time.

Comparing these numbers to a decade earlier, NADA said trade-ins on new vehicle-sales commanded a 39-percent share in 2001, while trade-ins on used sales were at 21 percent. Back then, dealers got 35 percent of the used units they retailed from the auction, and turned to street purchases/other means a combined 5 percent of the time.