Asbury Automotive Group in its first quarter pivoted its used-vehicle strategy, which had been focused on gross profit, to put more emphasis on volume, said David Hult, the company’s president and CEO. So when it came to sourcing used vehicles for retail sale in the quarter, Asbury doubled the percentage of vehicles it typically purchases outside of its own structure including trade-ins, from about 10% to 20%, said Hult, during the company’s quarterly earnings call for the three-month period ending March 31. Though the company makes less money on used vehicles it purchases for retail sale than those it takes on trade, the revised acquisition strategy ... [Read More]

Bigger isn’t always better. Sonic Automotive can attest to that. Last June, the company significantly downsized its EchoPark used-car operation, suspending operations of eight stores, 14 related delivery/buy centers and three Northwest Motorsport locations within the EchoPark segment. Now EchoPark is a success story, with ... [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group’s CarShop used-only retail stores saw sequentially improving sales and margins in the first quarter of 2024 as it recovered from somewhat dismal full-year 2023 used-vehicle results. “We’ve seen CarShop really make a big step forward in margin in the U.S. as we’ve been able to ... [Read More]

Ford Motor Co. has gone Hollywood with its dealer training. Last week, the automaker launched Ford University, a fully digital, video-based training platform that takes a “cinematic” and “storytelling” tactic to dealer training in a format designed to be personalized for each user. Sort of like a streaming video platform ... [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive’s first quarter used-vehicle sales were not bad given used-car price volatility in recent times. Its executives credited using technology in part for the results. “Given the speed and depth that the industry used car valuations declined in the U.S., during the latter half of 2023, we are pleased with ... [Read More]

While the used-car market for CarMax’s fiscal year 2024 was slightly less volatile than the previous year, the market still faced affordability challenges, negatively impacting the company’s results, CarMax president and CEO Bill Nash said in a press release. “We believe vehicle affordability challenges continued to impact our fourth quarter unit sales performance, with ongoing headwinds due to widespread inflationary pressures, higher interest rates, tightened lending standards and low consumer confidence,” Nash said. He put a more positive spin on the situation during the fourth quarter earnings call on April 11, however ... [Read More]

While the upswing in 2024 isn’t likely to be as strong as last year’s, the wholesale vehicle market is showing a gradual rebound in volumes and has started the year with some impressive gains. At the Manheim auto auction chain, wholesale sales climbed in 11 of the first 13 weeks of the year and were up 15% year-over-year in the first quarter, said Jeremy Robb, senior director of economic and industry insights at parent company Cox Automotive. Year-to-date through February, there were ... [Read More]

This feature is part of Auto Remarketing’s upcoming “Beyond the Transaction” edition, which is the May print issue of the magazine. It is available for Cherokee Media Group Premium subscribers now. As technology continually reshapes the automotive industry, the evolution of inspections and condition reports stands out as a pivotal chapter.  With artificial intelligence taking the wheel, there is a transformative shift in how both consumers and auto dealers navigate the often complex and sometimes opaque world of vehicle inspections. Gone are the days of relying solely on [Read More]

This feature is part of Auto Remarketing’s upcoming “Beyond the Transaction” edition, which is the May print issue of the magazine. It is available for Cherokee Media Group Premium subscribers now.  For consumers, the greatest concern when it comes to buying a car can be summed up in one word. Affordability. While the price of cars has dropped over the past year, they remain substantially elevated compared to before the COVID pandemic. Currently, the average price of a used vehicle is in the $25,000-$28,000 range, depending on which analyst’s data you’re looking at — well above the sub-$19,000 average of early 2020. And with interest rates soaring to their highest point in ... [Read More]

This feature is part of Auto Remarketing’s upcoming “Beyond the Transaction” edition, which is the May print issue of the magazine.  It is available for Cherokee Media Group Premium subscribers now.  There are still times, Justin Osburn said, when he can see the wheels spinning in a car dealer’s head as he explains to them how reinsurance works. “When you understand it, it’s a no-brainer,” said the founder and CEO of Automotive Reinsurance Concepts, “but it can be complicated to explain to somebody how it works, which can create fear. Because anytime you start using words like ‘offshore company tax advantages’ and ‘IRS,’ you can get this thing running through a dealer’s head like, ‘Well, what does that mean? And who are you?’” Fortunately, those sorts of conversations are ... [Read More]