CARY, N.C. -

The used-car market was a strong suit for publicly traded dealer groups in the first half of the year, including Asbury Automotive Group and Penske Automotive Group, both of which released earnings reports this week.

Starting with Asbury, it retailed 50,375 used vehicles during the first half of the year, a 30% increase from the same period of 2020.

The average selling price of a retail used car for Asbury in the first half ($27,134) was up 22% year-over-year.

Asbury reached total used-car revenues of $1.20 billion in the first half of the year, beating 2020 figures by 34%.

Used-car retail revenue of $1.12 billion was up 36%, while wholesale used-car revenue was up 13% at $89.6 million.

Asbury generated $114.1 million in used-car gross profits in the first half, a 73% spike. Used retail gross profits climbed 67% to $101.3 million, while used wholesale gross profits soared 151% to $12.8 million.

Asbury generated $2,402 in average gross profit per used vehicle retailed in the first six months of 2021, a 48% leap from the first half of 2020.

Used retail gross margins were at 8.9%, up from 7.3%.

Meanwhile, over at Penske Automotive Group, its retail automotive operations results (including U.S. and international) showed the dealer group retailed 135,151 used units in the first half of the year, a 27.9% increase.

Its used retail revenue was at $4.14 billion in the first half, a 48.5% increase.

Revenue per used car retailed came in at $30,599 in the first six months of the year, a 16.1% increase. Gross profit per used car retailed at Penske was $2,246, a 67.5% uptick.

Used retail gross margins were at 7.3% in the half, up from 5.1% a year ago.

Within retail automotive operations at Penske, is the CarShop used-vehicle SuperCenters, which include 19 stores throughout the U.S. and U.K.

In the first half of the year, the CarShop locations combined to move 30,137 used retail units, a 31.5% uptick from the same period of 2020.  

Revenue for these stores came in at $650.8 million, a 48.6% increase.

In the second quarter, CarShop moved 18,742 units, a 184% spike. Q2 revenue for these stores was $408.2 million, a 207.9% gain.

Specific to the U.S., CarShop unit sales were up 113% in the second quarter.