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]

This month’s projected new-vehicle sales activity is likely to push lenders’ portfolio total higher — along with elongated terms connected with those contracts. J.D. Power estimated that consumers will spend $33.5 billion purchasing new vehicles this month, a historic record level for the month of April. The previous April high was $30.5 billion in 2005. […] [Read More]

The Dodd-Frank Act provided the foundation for more regulation of auto financing by federal regulators. Now a state-level agency is leveraging Dodd-Frank to seek orders against a New York-based subprime lender. Benjamin Lawsky, who is New York’s Superintendent of Financial Services, obtained a temporary restraining order in federal court this week against Condor Capital Corp., […] [Read More]

As weather warmed up across the country last month, sporty cars were in high demand and short supply. This is according to the latest installment of vehicle scarcity data that is provided monthly to Auto Remarketing by AutoTrader.com. As consumers started turning their attention toward sportier rides, many key models in this segment appeared on […] [Read More]

Lithia Motors took another step during the first quarter toward reaching its goal of turning 75 used vehicles a month at each of its stores. The dealer group reported on Thursday that it retailed 16,316 used vehicles during Q1, representing a 19.4-percent lift year-over-year. Selling the extra 2,655 used vehicles above the year-ago quarter’s total […] [Read More]

Although Sonic Automotive is still relatively mum on how its forthcoming stand-alone used retail business differs from the CarMax model, an analogy from the dealer group’s management team this week gives a bit of a glimpse. During this week’s conference call discussing first-quarter results, Sonic’s leadership say they “very much admire” CarMax and said that […] [Read More]