In recent years, several automakers have expanded the age eligibility limits for vehicles in their respective certified pre-owned programs. And although there’s room for improvement, dealers are improving the customer experience in the service department. Both are good signs, given what S&P Global Mobility discovered about the average age of vehicles on the road. At 12.6 […] [Read More]

Used-car retail sales in April were ahead of prior-year figures, but the market was challenged, given the end of tax season and the hurdles of low supply, affordability and high interest rates. And that’s to be expected, says Cox Automotive. The company said in a Data Point report last week that independent and franchised dealers […] [Read More]

AccuTrade has hit the accelerator. Cars Commerce’s “instant appraisal engine” took a leap forward in the first quarter of 2024, CEO Alex Vetter said during the company’s recent earnings call, growing to just under 1,000 accounts and generating more than 622,000 appraisals in that span. And that growth was a key piece in Cars Commerce’s successful Q1, which ended March 31. Overall, the company reported ... [Read More]

If you’re like me, you probably have a favorite television show or movie you repeatedly watch over and over and over again. Mine is The West Wing. The writing is phenomenal. The acting is outstanding. And, as you might know, I love politics. An episode titled “Constituency of One” follows deputy chief of staff Josh […] [Read More]

Inventory management remains critical for auto retailers today in determining profitability, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency. The traditional methods of inventory management, reliant on manual processes and intuition, are proving inadequate in the face of rapidly evolving consumer preferences, market fluctuations, and the complexities of the automotive industry. To thrive in this competitive landscape, auto […] [Read More]

Edmunds director of insights Ivan Drury highlighted multiple tailwinds that could help the retailing of used cars. What could be most beneficial for dealerships of all stripes is getting a boost of older, more affordable vehicles. Drury cited a variety of positive data points as reasons why via his analysis of the first quarter. “The […] [Read More]

The most stolen vehicles in America are no longer trucks. In part as a result of social media videos showing how to steal Kia and Hyundai vehicles, cars from those manufacturers have jumped to the top of the list of America’s most stolen vehicles, compiled annually by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Six of the […] [Read More]

The number of battery-electric vehicles sold at auction through April is nearly double the amount sold in the first four months of 2023, and prices for EVs have declined at a faster rate than the overall market. That’s according to respective wholesale car market analyses by the National Auto Auction Association and Cox Automotive. NAAA’s […] [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]

Affordability and availability of used electric vehicles is improving, and in some cases, so are sales. Over 4% of Carvana’s sales in the first quarter were battery-electric vehicles, more than doubling their share of sales from Q1 2023, according to a study released Wednesday by the online used-car retailer. Specifically, BEVs represented 4.3% of Carvana’s […] [Read More]