Fitch Ratings projected that increased supplies of off-lease vehicles coupled with rising inventories and new-vehicle production could hurt the wholesale market and auto ABS performance metrics over the long term. Citing data from Ward's Automotive, Fitch indicated that days' supply (the number of days the used-vehicle inventory would require to be completely liquidated) at the […] [Read More]

Amid stepped up federal regulatory enforcement against alleged discriminatory and deceptive lending practices, Zurich North America prepared a package of initiatives to assist dealers in managing their entire credit origination processes. Zurich highlighted these initiatives are designed to assist dealerships in limiting their risk associated with potential allegations involving noncompliance with fair lending laws. "Zurich […] [Read More]

As the finance company closed the year with a 16.2-percent jump in active dealers, Credit Acceptance Corp. watched its unit and dollar volumes rise by double figures during the fourth quarter as well, to leave the operation with a healthy gain in consolidated net income for 2013. Credit Acceptance reported unit and dollar volumes increased […] [Read More]

Cars.com projected that new-vehicle incentives dipped noticeably in January compared to sequential and year-over-year levels, but chief analyst Jesse Toprak doesn’t suspect that trend will continue, to the benefit of the used-vehicle industry. Toprak estimated that the average incentives given by automakers to turn new vehicles came in at $2,383 during January, down $151 or […] [Read More]

Cars.com discovered the Ford F-150 is the most popular new vehicle purchased in both Seattle and Denver, home to the football teams that played in Super Bowl XLVIII. While pro football fans in the city of Seattle are rejoicing because of the Seahawks’ victory against the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday night, […] [Read More]

AutoNation retailed close to 205,000 used vehicles in 2013, which was good for a 13.1-percent improvement during what turned out to be a record year on the earnings side for the nation’s largest dealer group. The company’s adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations for full-year 2013 of $2.98 was an all-time high; likewise, the […] [Read More]

In late January, TrueCar.com was calling for used-vehicle sales north of 4 million units for the month, with a new-to-used ratio under 1:3. This projection comes after CNW Research forecasted a much lower number: 2.32 million used sales for the month. The forecasted sum from CNW would be a 1.6-percent year-over-year decrease. But as CNW […] [Read More]

Manheim announced two major deals with two of the country’s largest dealership groups at the NADA Convention & Expo in New Orleans. The auction company was selected to be the exclusive remarketing partner of Hendrick Automotive Group, the nation’s second-largest privately held dealer group; and in separate news, Manheim has teamed up with Sonic Automotive […] [Read More]

The number of leases written in 2013 marked a 13-year high and a 26-percent year-over-year hike, according to the 2014 Used Car Market Report from Manheim. The report said there were 3.2 million lease originations in 2013; comparatively, when the market bottomed out in 2009, there were only about 1 million leases. Manheim also noted […] [Read More]

The new 2015 Chrysler 200, revealed at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, is set to hit the markets in the second quarter. Amid the market buzz about the new model, David Paris, automotive analyst for NADA Used Car Guide, took a look back at the original 200 on NADA […] [Read More]