Swickard Auto Group recently announced that it acquired Brien Ford of Everett, Wash., the company’s second dealership in the Pacific Northwest.
The Seattle-area Ford dealership has been renamed Epic Ford but will continue to sell and service both new and used Ford cars, trucks and SUVs.
“This purchase is an ideal platform for growth in the Puget Sound region with the coveted Ford brand,” Swickard Auto Group president and chief executive officer Jeff Swickard said in a news release.
“This transaction represents a great opportunity for our customers and employees. We’re pleased to welcome Epic Ford as the newest member of the Swickard Auto Group family. We are excited to work with the great team at Epic Ford — which shares our passion for customer experience.”
Epic Ford will retain former co-owner Casey Salz as general manager in addition to most current employees such as the dealership’s current management team, according to Swickard Auto Group.
The combined businesses will employ about 200 people. Epic Ford’s facility has been in operation since 1971.
Swickard Auto Group is headquartered in Wilsonville, Ore. The company also owns Mercedes-Benz of Wilsonville, which it acquired in May 2014.
Since its acquisition, the dealership has had the top Mercedes-Benz sales volume in the state.
“Our commitment to service has helped make Mercedes-Benz of Wilsonville the No. 1 Mercedes-Benz dealer in Oregon in new-car sales volume and we were recognized by Mercedes-Benz last year as a Best of the Best Dealer,” Swickard said.
DealerRater announced that, on Wednesday, Cars.com began to feature its database of online consumer reviews. The integration expands the reach of DealerRater and broadens the current review platform of Cars.com.
“This is the first tangible evidence of being part of the Cars.com family, and it’s a win-win for both our brands as well as the industry,” said DealerRater chief executive officer, Gary Tucker.
In July, Cars.com chief executive officer and president Alex Vetter explained to Auto Remarketing the company’s decision to acquire the car dealer review website.
Consumer reviews posted on DealerRater now appear on Cars.com, alongside the reviews the site collects.
“What we’ve developed is what we think is the most powerful consumer review in the industry and that’s because of the reach that it has,” said Tucker. “We’re very excited about the expansion of our footprint, if a dealer earns a review on DealerRater that one review will show up on DealerRater.com, Cars.com, Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, the dealers own website, Facebook and Google.”
Since encompassing DealerRater reviews, Cars.com has adjusted its dealership ratings to only reflect reviews posted within the last two years.
DealerRater said this change is beneficial to both consumers and dealerships because more recent reviews are most helpful during the car shopping process as well as allow dealerships to gauge current consumer satisfaction best. Tucker said, “On Cars.com, prior to this change it was a lifetime rating, there was no time period and DealerRater has always had the two-year window.”
DealerRater collected about 70, 000 reviews last month and is on track to get over a million reviews in the next year, according to Tucker.
“As consumers see our content in more and more places we think we’ll continue to see growth in DealerRater reviews,” said Tucker.
Just last month, DealerRater reached a notable milestone when it collected its 3 millionth online consumer review.
Boosting its presence in Texas, the XLerate Group on Thursday announced it has added a new member to its auction family with the acquisition of Lone Star Auto Auction (LSAA).
Company leadership highlighted the Lubbock-based auction complements XLerate’s existing Texas locations in Dallas and El Paso as well as the two sites in Austin. XLerate Group also maintains sales in California, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Wisconsin.
“LSAA represents yet another step in XLerate’s plan to grow our business, footprint and service offerings by acquiring high quality independent sales with strong management,” XLerate chief executive officer Cam Hitchcock said.
“Formerly owned by Jim McNulty, LSAA is the dominant auction in west Texas and offers both dealer and commercial consignors another turnkey XLerate option in the critical Texas market.” Hitchcock continued, “This acquisition bolsters our capabilities to service fleet/lease and financial institution customers.
“We are honored that Dale Martin and his LSAA team will join XLerate’s operating management team and that Jim McNulty has entrusted XLerate Group with his highly respected sale and team,” Hitchcock went on to say.
LSAA commenced operations in 1985. The auction has dealer consignment, fleet/lease and financial institution sales each Wednesday at its Lubbock, Texas, facility.
LSAA operates a seven-lane arena, reconditioning facility, and mechanical shop situated on approximately 111 acres.
“Joining the XLerate Group is exciting for me, and for the LSAA auction family,” said Martin, who is LSAA’s general manager. “A geographically diverse group of sales like XLerate will provide a wide-range of growth opportunities for both our employees and our business.”
Add yet another public dealer group to the growing standalone used-car store movement.
Penske Automotive Group announced Thursday morning that it has signed a deal to buy CarSense, a Northeast-based standalone used-car retailer.
CarSense — whose no-haggle model focuses on late-model units — has five stores throughout the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia metro areas, including southern New Jersey. It was started in 1997.
Penske said the model can be expanded elsewhere in the U.S. and plans to use it to broaden the dealer group's used-car footprint.
Penske believes the purchase of CarSense will bring annual revenues of about $350 million; annual accretion is estimated at $0.07 to $0.09 per share annually.
The deal is subject to customary conditions and will likely close in the first quarter of next year.
“The acquisition of CarSense, a proven high-quality and trusted brand with attractive customer demographics and strong repeat business, continues to diversify our business and provides Penske Automotive Group with an opportunity to grow its customer base while capitalizing on the highly fragmented used automotive retail segment,” Penske Automotive Group chairman Roger Penske said in a news release.
Added Penske executive vice president Whit Ramonat added: “We believe the CarSense model is scalable to other markets across the United States and complementary to our existing core auto retail business. With the completion of this acquisition, we intend to expand our share of the growing used-vehicle marketplace.”
Chalk up dealerships changing hands as another industry component being impacted by the presidential election.
According to analysis from the Blue Sky Report released on Tuesday, dealership M&A activity declined by 7 percent year-over-year during the first nine months of 2016. Kerrigan Advisors, which publishes Blue Sky Report each quarter, explained that sellers are likely to push closings to 2017 in anticipation of potential tax benefits from the incoming Trump administration
Overall, the report mentioned premium pricing declined in the first nine months of the year, but buy/sell activity remained strong with a 32-percent increase in the number of multi-dealership groups selling in the first nine months of 2016.
Today’s is the auto industry's most comprehensive and authoritative quarterly report and analysis of dealership mergers and acquisition activity and franchise values. It includes analysis of the first nine months of 2016 – laying out the high, average and low blue sky multiples for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments for the quarter – and offers a detailed view of public and private company dealership acquisition activity.
Key data and analysis from the report also includes:
• 172 dealership buy/sell transactions completed in the first nine months of 2016 versus 184 transactions in the first 9 months of 2015.
• Buy/sell activity declined slightly in the second and third quarter, resulting in a 7-percent decline year-to-date.
• Pace of acquisition activity is not likely to increase in balance of 2016.
• Transaction sizes are rising and multi-dealership groups are coming to market at an increasing pace.
• For the third quarter of 2016, Kerrigan Advisors’ average blue sky multiples remained relatively stable.
• While premium pricing of auto dealerships is on the decline, most buyers are willing to acquire dealerships within Kerrigan Advisors blue sky multiples.
• The auto retail markets made a dramatic shift to high margin trucks and SUVs, driven by low gas prices.
“Buy/sell activity remains strong but, with the expectation of a tax reduction from the Trump administration, fourth-quarter activity could decline as sellers hope for a more favorable tax rate on their sales proceeds in 2017,” said Erin Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors.
The report identified three key trends moving forward into 2017:
• Auto retail’s hedged business model sustains dealership profitability.
• Economies of scale and scope drive consolidation.
• Foreign interest in U.S. auto retail rises.
“A trend we are watching closely for 2017 is the entry of foreign investors into the market,” Kerrigan said. “Because international companies are attracted to the franchise protections afforded to U.S. auto dealerships and are seeking geographic diversification beyond their borders, we expect foreign investors to make their mark on 2017 with at least one or two completing sizable acquisitions.”
The Blue Sky Report is published four times a year and includes Kerrigan Advisor’s signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. The multiples are based on Kerrigan Advisors’ view of franchise values in the current buy/sell market and can be applied to adjusted pre-tax dealership earnings to estimate blue sky value. To download the report, click here.
On Tuesday, Lithia Motors announced the acquisition of Honolulu Ford in Honolulu, Hawaii.
"We are pleased to welcome the newest members of the Lithia family with the addition of Honolulu Ford, our fifth store in the state of Hawaii,” said Bryan DeBoer, Lithia president and chief executive officer. “Clustering locations in a condensed geographic area allows us to develop and share talent, leverage corporate overhead, and build on our positive reputation in the market.”
The store brings an additional $90 million in estimated annual revenues.
“This store continues the cadence of acquisitions we have established in 2016 and brings our cumulative estimated annual revenues acquired to over $1.1 billion this year," said DeBoer.
KAR Auction Services has acquired Flint Auto Auction, which will now operate as ADESA Flint.
“Fortifying KAR’s presence in the epicenter of the U.S. automotive industry has been a long-term strategic priority,” KAR chief executive officer Jim Hallett said in a news release. “ADESA Flint enhances KAR’s end-to-end remarketing platform in Detroit and positions us to accelerate growth in the very dynamic Midwest marketplace.”
This marks the sixth KAR location in the Detroit area.
“Flint Auto Auction has a successful 63-year history serving customers in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and beyond,” ADESA CEO and president Stéphane St-Hilaire said in a news release. “By integrating ADESA’s technology solutions and complementary online, digital and mobile capabilities, we will empower those buyers and sellers and simplify their auction experience.”
Flint AA is an eight-lane facility located on 60 acres. Lawrence Cubitt will remain general manager.
“ADESA is a leading brand in the industry, and Flint Auto Auction is very pleased to join their international network of auctions,” Bill Williams Jr., president of Flint Auto Auction, said in the release. “Both companies share a culture of innovation and a strong commitment to customer service. Joining the KAR platform will help us meet the demands of our increasingly sophisticated buyers and sellers, many of whom have been with us for generations.”
Integrated Auction Solutions said Sunday it has acquired an ownership stake in AuctionVcommerce, a company that provides online infrastructure support services that launched at Used Car Week 2015.
The company declined to disclose the exact percentage of ownership it acquired.
In a news release, IAS said that AuctionVcommerce will be brought into the IAS family but will maintain its “agnostic” approach to providing services to auctions.
“Our goal to improve the credibility of online auto auctions is industry-wide, not technology-specific,” AVC president and co-founder Kelly Bianchi said in a news release. “Our concern is for the sustainability of the traditional auto auction in the virtual space.”
Since its launch, AVC has added an Online Clerk Simulation and Certification Training System that aim to make online bidding more stable, reduce block errors and help clerks foster online participation.
Integrated Auction Services plans to offer AVC to its customers to help them drive their online business. IAS also plans to utilize AVC for product testing and feedback.
“AuctionVcommerce provides the solution that Independent Auto Auctions need to address their lack of resources at an affordable cost. AVC brings the dealer experience into focus, and it’s a perspective that we all need to be acquainted with on a daily basis. We feel that this service will increase the ROI for any online operation,” Peter Levy, vice president of sales and business development of Integrated Auction Solutions, said in a news release.
He added: “AuctionVCommerce augments the AWG product suite by enhancing the user experience through best practices and subject matter training. The AVC training creates confidence in the technology and promotes a culture of reliability.”
Bob Hollenshead, co-founder of AuctionVcommerce, added: “Our in-lane business has evolved to the point that over 90 percent of our 30,000 annual sales are touched by an Internet bidder, which includes units from $200 to $300,000. Simulcast auctions are less sensitive to weather, time of day, the lane number but more sensitive to trust, critical mass volume, logical lane arrangement, consistent pictures/CRs, and lanes/sellers that convert. A skin-in-the-game consignor understands that trained, competent block personnel are as important as the arbitrage simulcast enables. They can make you or break you.”
AutoAlert announced this week it has acquired The Ready Group, LLC, and its subsidiary, DirectAlert.
And now AutoAlert is introducing One-to-One Intelligent Marketing, a data-driven, customer-communication solution that will offer dealers a 360-degree view of their existing customers.
Experts at AutoAlert have developed a big-data platform that identifies customer ownership and lifecycle milestones, providing dealers the opportunity to engage with every customer in a unique and individual manner to ensure they are receiving the right message, with the right offer, at the right time.
Having the ability to communicate intelligently with each customer will not only build trust and credibility, but will enhance the overall customer experience, the company said.
By implementing AutoAlert’s One-to-One Intelligent Marketing solution, dealers will experience a consistent increase in incremental sold units, as well as higher than average gross profits and ROI, while reducing their overall marketing and advertising expenses.
Every One-to-One Intelligent Marketing campaign includes precision-targeted, personalized mailings, two strategically deployed emails with accompanying PURLs, individual customer landing pages, and call tracking and monitoring. Each multi-channel campaign component includes real-time reporting and tracking mechanisms, enabling dealers to monitor and measure campaign effectiveness.
“This comprehensive, integrated, multi-channel marketing platform will become an invaluable solution for all of our clients. Not only will they have the most powerful industry-leading data-mining platform, they’ll also be able to seamlessly target top opportunities, track and measure the success of every campaign initiated on their behalf, and close more deals,” said AutoAlert chief executive officer Mike Dullea.
“My goal is to ensure every AutoAlert dealer-client experiences immediate bottom-line growth, as well as improved overall customer satisfaction and retention upon implementation.”
In preparation for spinning off from its parent company next year and eventually becoming a publicly traded entity, Cars.com has hired a chief legal officer.
The company said in a news release Monday it is bringing on former Orbitz executive James Rogers.
Rogers, most recently senior vice president and general counsel for Orbitz Worldwide, will take on the Cars.com CLO role on Oct. 24.
He will head up legal and compliance matters for Cars.com. That includes the legal-related aspects of strategic initiatives as well as acquisition-related legal and integration areas.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jim to the Cars.com family as we prepare to become an independent, publicly-traded company once we spin from TEGNA in 2017,” Cars.com president and chief executive officer Alex Vetter said in a news release.
“It’s an important time in the history of our company and we are confident Jim's extensive legal experience and understanding, particularly in the public company sector, will make him a tremendous addition to our leadership team as we continue to grow,” Vetter said.
Rogers has worked in law for more than three decades, including his time as senior VP and general counsel for LASIK provider TLC Vision and practicing at the Washington office of Latham & Watkins law firm.
Part of his time with TLC included preparing the company’s main business unit for a sale; at Latham & Watkins, his experience included heading up a corporate practice counseling tech sector clients on various legal and business matters.
“Cars.com is an innovator and leader in the rapidly expanding digital automotive industry and I'm pleased to be joining the team,” Rogers said. “I look forward to helping to navigate the opportunities presented as the company enters this new phase in its storied history.”
