In what the retailer says is one of the largest purchases ever in terms of franchise count, Lithia Motors & Driveway announced Tuesday that it has purchased The Suburban Collection. The Troy, Mich.-headquartered Suburban Collection includes 56 franchises, with 33 brands across 34 locations. It is also Lithia's first major entry into the North Central […] [Read More]

John Brasher, who last week announced he was stepping down from his leadership post with the ServNet auction group at the end of the month, will become EBlock’s next chief operating officer on May 3. Brasher became executive director of ServNet on Jan. 1, 2020. He has spent close to his entire career as part of […] [Read More]

Among a host of other projections and assessments, six main highlights surfaced on Tuesday when Black Book and Fitch Ratings released its joint U.S. vehicle depreciation and auto asset backed securities (ABS) report. With wholesale prices setting records, Black Book is forecasting an annual depreciation rate of 5% this year as the effects of the […] [Read More]

The first quarter closed with the largest amount of consumer bankruptcy filings registered during a single month since the pandemic began. According to filing statistics from Epiq’s AACER bankruptcy information services business, there were 41,150 new non-commercial consumer filings in March, representing a 41% month-over-month increase and the largest single month of new filing activity […] [Read More]

Based on the sales reports from automakers, the certified pre-owned market in Canada took a positive turn in March.  For example, Honda Canada said it had its best-ever month for certified pre-owned sales, moving 3,551 units. That was up 114% year-over-year. Additionally, the company said each of its regions in Canada had record CPO sales, as […] [Read More]

Chad Caswell is the new chief executive officer for connected-car platform Zubie, with Caswell saying he will work toward an increased focus on growing Zubie’s technology and software capabilities and leading the company’s growth in the rental and fleet markets. Caswell replaces former CEO Gary Tucker, who will become a consultant focused on strategy and […] [Read More]

It’s one thing for wholesale vehicle prices to “bounce” this time of year. But what happened last month was a “leap,” says Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke. After increasing 26.2% year-over-year, the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index reached an all-time high of 179.2, according to a news release from Cox Automotive. The month-over-month gain […] [Read More]

Digital marketing technology company Orbee has appointed co-founder Atul Patel as its new chief executive officer. Patel, who recently served as the company’s chief operating officer, replaces Daniel Kim, who was the CEO since he co-founded the company with Patel. The company said Patel and Kim have worked together for the past five years to […] [Read More]

Experian reported that 2020 closed with used vehicles representing 8.30% of the total lease market. That’s down a bit from the previous year, as 2019 finished with used models constituting 9.01% of the leasing space. Swapalease.com is looking to give the used-vehicle leasing space a jolt with the newest offering the site launched on Monday. […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive has opened its newest EchoPark specialty pre-owned vehicle store in Birmingham, Ala. The 27,000-square-foot facility is the company’s 22nd location to date and its first in Alabama. David Smith, chief executive officer of Sonic Automotive and EchoPark Automotive, said Birmingham has long been a strong market for Sonic’s new-vehicle business. “More and more […] [Read More]