Normal. Stable. Those are not necessarily words used to describe the used-vehicle market over the last five years, but 2024 closed with analysts calling wholesale price patterns exactly that. Their specific metrics and methodologies differ, but respective monthly used-car value indices from Black Book and Cox Automotive illustrate a wholesale market that’s perhaps as steady as it has been post-COVID ... [Read More]

Anthony Pordon knows that companies can’t stand still when it comes to technological innovation. Pordon is executive vice president of investor relations and corporate development for Penske Automotive Group, and he said the company’s used-vehicle business, CarShop, first started testing artificial intelligence technology in its retail service departments. “By the time you think you’ve got [AI] understood, it’s completely changed,” Pordon said. But AI has helped CarShop customers schedule appointments, which has resulted in ... [Read More]

One thing that never changes in the used-car business is change. Which means dealers must always be ready to adapt. That, of course, includes the certified pre-owned sector. The supply of used vehicles suited for certification is shrinking. Costs have risen for both new and used cars, making affordability a critical issue for consumers. And the rise of used electric vehicles begs the question of how they can find a way into the CPO mix. During Used Car Week 2024 in Scottsdale, Ariz., four industry experts assembled to discuss those issues, their effect on the CPO sector and ways dealers and other stakeholders can ... [Read More]

It’s been almost 30 years since Lexus launched the industry’s first certified pre-owned program, during which CPO has grown into a strong and important sector of the used-vehicle market. But after all those years, car dealers are still learning and finding better ways to sell customers on the CPO experience. In a panel session during Used Car Week 2024 in Scottsdale, Ariz., titled “Best Practices from Best CPO Dealers,” moderator B. Miller of Cars Commerce asked four dealers to discuss what they’re doing at the dealership to give car shoppers confidence about buying a CPO vehicle ... [Read More]

Matt Bradley knew that he would soon become the CEO of Super Dispatch. But few, if anybody, in the Used Car Week exhibit hall did. So, as he walked the expo hall floor last month, “surveying” attendees to get their take on the transportation management company, it was a bit like something out of “Undercover Boss” on CBS.  “I went around the floor and ... [Read More]

The year-over-year growth isn’t quite as steep as it was in prior months, but used electric vehicles are still flying off dealership lots and auction yards, according to respective analyses from Cox Automotive and the National Auto Auction Association. In its latest EV Market Monitor, Cox Automotive reported there were ... [Read More]

Two online wholesale vehicle marketplaces had satisfying third-quarter results and touted their technological advantages as their strongpoints, with artificial intelligence looming large. They continued to face inventory headwinds, however, and that's an issue that is expected to continue for at least several more quarters. OPENLANE reported third quarter revenue of ... [Read More]

Good news for dealers and consumers, alike: there are now more certified pre-owned vehicles available and they are also less expensive. Not quite as good news: these CPO vehicles are older than usual, though their mileages haven’t increased dramatically. That’s according to the latest Intelligence Report from CarGurus, which included a special spotlight on the certified vehicle market this month ... [Read More]

Many electric vehicle skeptics are reluctant to consider the purchase of an EV until the availability of chargers is equivalent to that of gasoline stations. But that 1-to-1 ratio of charger availability to gas stations mindset tends to disappear among actual EV owners who live in single-family homes because many EV owners typically use EV home chargers to charge their vehicles overnight. That’s noteworthy because 53% of Americans ... [Read More]

Some 215,000 electric vehicles are expected to come off lease in 2026, which would be a 230% year-over-year rise following an expected 2% decline in 2025, according to J.D. Power. That’s part of what appears to be a “complicated” market for used EVs going forward — one that hinges on governmental policies, OEM decisions and other tentacles, the company said in its E-Vision Intelligence Report for October. Driving this expected off-lease surge of EVs is ... [Read More]