US Equity Advantage, a provider of bi-weekly and early loan payoff services to the automotive industry, announced that veteran F&I expert Karena Raino-Nevratakis joined the company as regional account manager for the western United States. The company highlighted Raino-Nevratakis’ primary responsibility will be to provide training and sales support to dealerships in Washington, Oregon, California, […] [Read More]

General Motors Financial is not booking as much subprime paper for its parent automaker as it was a year ago, but company leadership isn’t alarmed by the modest decline experienced during the first quarter. The lender’s share of subprime contracts associated with GM vehicles in Q1 came in at 31.8 percent. That figure is down […] [Read More]

As Earth Day rolled around last week, analysts took a look at the fast-growing hybrid and electric vehicle segments, which have become increasingly popular given how more and more consumers are focusing on environmental sustainability while looking for their next vehicle. While Experian Automotive looked at the financial factors behind why a consumer chooses to […] [Read More]

As part of a partnership announced Monday morning, Black Book has become the official vehicle valuation service of Cars.com. With this deal, Cars.com customers will be able to utilize the same Black Book valuation that dealers use to price vehicles. “Cars.com is a leader in providing consumers with the resources they need during the buying […] [Read More]

Though initial projections for April’s used-car sales total vary a bit, it appears the market should well exceed 3 million units sold for the month. TrueCar is forecasting just over 3.4 million used sales for April, with a new-to-used ratio of approximately 1-to-2.5.  Meanwhile, over at Edmunds.com, analysts are projecting 3.08 million used-car sales this […] [Read More]

Despite storms in the U.S. that threw a monkey wrench into its operations in early 2014, Group 1 Automotive still managed to increase its global used-car retail sales by nearly 16 percent in the first quarter and boost its U.S. numbers by nearly 8 percent. When looking at consolidated international and U.S. results, Group 1 […] [Read More]

Two other publicly traded dealer groups are well on their way to rolling out special stand-alone stores that only sell used vehicles. Lithia Motors tried that retail concept about seven years ago, and company executives don’t appear eager to attempt it again. When investment analysts asked Lithia leadership whether an approach like the respective concepts […] [Read More]

Demonstrating the value of the remarketing industry to not only the auto sector, but also the local economy, one Manheim auction in California played host to a congressman looking to learn. Manheim Riverside hosted U.S. Rep. Mark Takano of California on Tuesday for a tour of a fast-paced sale, highlighting the work done to maximize […] [Read More]

In discussing its first-quarter performance, Penske Automotive Group highlighted double-digit increases in used-vehicle retail sales while also touching on how the expected rise in off-lease vehicles may lead to even bigger opportunities in pre-owned. Looking at the company’s retail performance in Q1, it retailed 45,500 used units during the quarter for a year-over-year increase of […] [Read More]

This week, digital acquisition, retention and conquest marketing and sales solutions provider ChannelNet announced the renewal of its three-year contract with Hyundai Capital America. ChannelNet provides the captive finance company with strategic Web solutions to support: —Hyundai and Kia dealers with a transactional one-stop portal to streamline their consumer vehicle financing, customer leads and facility […] [Read More]