In what turned out to be the company’s best second quarter for earnings per share in five years, Lithia Motors achieved double-digit gains in same-store used revenue and same-store used sales, the company revealed Wednesday. Furthermore, Lithia more than doubled its adjusted net income from continuing operations, which totaled $14.6 million ($0.54 per share), up […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group revealed this week that its board of directors increased its quarterly dividend 14 percent from the previous quarter. The cash dividend Penske intends to pay is 8 cents per share, up from 7 cents per share. The company noted the dividend is payable on Sept. 1 to shareholders of record on Aug. […] [Read More]

A total of 18 different nameplates topped the industry average that reached an all-time high since J.D. Power and Associates began orchestrating the U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study. With the industry average increasing to 781 on a 1,000-point scale, J.D. Power indicated that figure is greater than any average analysts have seen […] [Read More]

AutoNation notched a significant gain in used-vehicle gross profit during the second quarter, which along with a major lift in new gross profits, helped the retailer’s operating income climb double digits. In other good news for its used operations, AutoNation moved 42,833 retail-used sales during the period, an improvement of almost 6 percent from the […] [Read More]

Chevrolet revealed today it will be involving its fans and customers in its 100th birthday celebration. As the countdown to the big day — Nov. 3 — begins, the automaker will be encouraging its followers to vote for their favorite Chevy cars and trucks and “take the birthday party to their communities with the help […] [Read More]

Reporting second-quarter earnings on Tuesday morning, three of the country’s largest dealer groups — Asbury Automotive Group, Group 1 Automotive and Sonic Automotive — enjoyed lifts in their used-car operations from a year ago, helping all three succeed in an auto environment that was limited due to the Japanese disasters. [Read More]

Though the company still incurred a net loss in the second quarter, Chrysler’s top boss was upbeat about the automaker’s progress and where it may be headed. When quarterly results were released Tuesday — which marked the first time Chrysler and Fiat have unveiled results together — not only was Chrysler’s progress highlighted, but officials […] [Read More]

Ford’s second-quarter results released Tuesday revealed that the automaker’s North American wholesales in the second quarter came in at 736,000, up 77,000 from a year ago. This is some good news for auctions that have been seeing lower wholesale volumes for some time. Moreover, North American revenue came in at $19.5 billion, up $2.6 billion […] [Read More]

Does the Internet mean the end of solid gross profits? This is a question every retailer faces, but retailers in other industries understand their higher and lower margin products. In the auto industry, dealers traditionally haven’t thought about having high and low margin products in their pre-owned cars. Therefore, the first step towards earning high […] [Read More]

Automotive finance and insurance product company JM&A Group announced Tuesday the launch of a new plan designed for lease and short-term vehicle owners. Term Care Select offers drivers mechanical failure protection on the majority of mechanical components, as well as wear-and-tear coverage on items such as brake pads, batteries, headlamps, belts and hoses, fuses, light […] [Read More]