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19 Straight Quarters of Used-Car Gains for Public 7
The string of consecutive year-over-year increases in same-store used retail sales has reached 19 quarters, according to a recent post on Manheim Consulting chief economist Tom Webb’s blog.
Market conditions, tough as they may have been, and steep comps couldn’t deter growth for the retailers, whose streak of quarterly gains is now approaching five years.
“That was despite the dampening effect of harsh weather in many parts of the country,” Webb said of the latest quarter’s triumphs, in his blog post. “And, obviously, as this string has continued the year-over-year comps represent an increasingly high hurdle.”
He pointed out that gross margins are slim, but dealers have started to see these numbers even out on a year-over-year basis. Not to mention, fast-turning inventory, robust F&I income and more efficient operations have led to record profits, Webb added.
Interestingly enough, he went on to note that the used market is stronger than some indicators would suggest.
“As we have noted in explaining the strength in wholesale pricing this year, the retail used-vehicle environment is stronger than suggested by nationally reported unit sales,” Webb said.
“Last quarter’s earnings reports confirm that,” he continued. “And conversations with the large privately-held dealerships groups indicate they did as well as — if not better — than the seven publicly traded ones.”
On an overall sales basis, here is a rundown of how the dealer groups total retail used-vehicle sales fared in their most recently reported quarterly performances, according to their respective earnings releases:
Asbury Automotive Group
Q1 Retail Used-Vehicle Unit Sales: 18,503
Year-Over-Year Change: Up 13.2 percent
AutoNation
Q1 Retail Used-Vehicle Unit Sales: 52,136
Year-Over-Year Change: Up 3.2 percent
CarMax*
Retail Used-Vehicle Unit Sales: 132,856
Year-Over-Year Change: Up 12.3 %
*Note: Results are for its fiscal fourth quarter ending Feb. 28.
Group 1 Automotive
Q1 Retail Used-Vehicle Unit Sales: 26,877*
Year-Over-Year Change: Up 15.7 percent*
*Note: Includes international and U.S. results
Lithia Motors
Q1 Retail Used-Vehicle Unit Sales: 16,316
Year-Over-Year Change: Up 19.4 percent
Penske Automotive Group
Q1 Retail Used-Vehicle Unit Sales: 45,370*
Year-Over-Year Change: Up 14.8 percent*
*Note: Includes international and U.S. results
Sonic Automotive
Q1 Retail Used-Vehicle Unit Sales: 27,657
Year-Over-Year Change: Up 4.5 percent
As these dealership groups have reported their quarterly performance, Auto Remarketing has been sharing the used-car strategies that their respective leaders have discussed in Q1 (or fiscal Q4 ending Feb. 28 for CarMax) earnings calls.
Below are links to some of our stories on the seven public retailers that can keep you up-to-date on the latest used-car happenings for these groups:
