BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. -

Not only did Penske Automotive Group sell nearly 14 percent more used vehicles in the third quarter than it did a year ago, but the retailer also made more money on each of the used cars it sold.

Penske moved 43,518 used retail units in the third quarter (including U.S. and international operations), which was up from 38,287 used retail sales in Q3 of 2012.

Average gross profit per unit on these vehicles was $1,870, an increase of $19 or 1 percent compared to last year.
Gross margins on these vehicles were at 7.4 percent, up 10 basis points.

In nine months of 2013, Penske has retailed 125,947 used vehicles, which is 13.7 percent ahead of its year-to-date total through three quarters of 2012.

Its year-to-date gross profit per vehicle retailed of $1,918 is down from $1,980 in the year-ago period, and gross margins are down 10 basis points at 7.6 percent.

Used-vehicle revenue came in at $1.1 billion for the third quarter, up from $969.13 million a year ago. Year-to-date used revenue is at $3.18 billion, against $2.84 billion in Q3 of 2012.

All of this is part of robust overall results that included the strongest third quarter and nine months income from continuing operations and related earnings per share ever for Penske.

“Our business produced another outstanding quarter. We remain confident in our ability to continue growing our business, and we expect both the U.S. and U.K. markets to continue to perform well,” said chairman Roger Penske.

“On a same-store basis, retail revenue improved 11.3 percent in the U.S. and 13.3 percent in our international markets demonstrating the strength and resiliency of our key markets,” he continued.

“We improved service and parts margin by 230 basis points and continued to demonstrate expense leverage as the ratio of selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of gross profit improved by 150 basis points, contributing to a 30 basis point increase in operating margin.”

Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.