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]

The Justice Department and Hyundai’s captive finance company settled allegations this week involving repossessed vehicles. Officials announced on Wednesday that Hyundai Capital America has agreed to pay $333,941 to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by illegally repossessing 26 vehicles owned by servicemembers. In a complaint filed in the U.S. […] [Read More]

Experian rolled out a new tool on Thursday to help finance companies and other lenders work with consumers who might not be in the prime space or have robust credit histories. The company announced the launch of Cashflow Attributes, a solution to help expand what Experian sees as “fair and affordable” access to credit, particularly […] [Read More]

Dealers Auto Auction of Mobile in Mobile, Ala., has named longtime KAR Global (now known as OPENLANE) executive Mike Drzayich as its new general manager. Drzayich’s experience includes more than 15 years with KAR Global, beginning in sales and as fleet lease manager in Dallas, selling 50,000 cars annually for some of the largest commercial […] [Read More]

Auto haulers crisscross the American kaleidoscope of highways and interstates, but the vehicle transport and logistics space took to a new route this week: Wall Street. Proficient Auto Logistics said Wednesday it priced its initial public offering at $15.00 per share, with the 14,333,333 common stock shares in the IPO expected to generate total gross […] [Read More]

Montway Auto Transport unveiled a new program this week to get the best professionals the company can get behind the wheel. The provider of third-party logistics brokerages launched its Preferred Carrier Network program, which is an initiative designed to attract and reward high-caliber car haulers. Montway highlighted this unique program offers “unmatched” benefits to carriers, […] [Read More]

Dealers looking to secure late-model vehicles at auction are in luck. One- to 3-year-old vehicles was the only age group to show a month-over-month increase in wholesale auction sales volume during April, climbing 3%, according to AuctionNet data from the National Auto Auction Association. Sales of 1-3-year-old vehicles climbed 15% from April 2023, as all […] [Read More]

America’s Car-Mart is poised to surge past a baker’s dozen of locations in the Lone Star State. The company announced last week that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the dealership assets of Texas Auto Center (TAC). According to a news release, the transaction — which excludes legacy finance receivables — is […] [Read More]

Are traditional car dealerships becoming less relevant in this era of digital disruption? Not according to the latest study conducted by Urban Science and The Harris Poll. The 2024 Urban Science Dealership Transformation Index polled 3,005 U.S. car buyers in three “key dimensions” — dealer relevance, trend resistance and actions — to measure customer perception […] [Read More]