PHOENIX -

Service providers of many stripes within digital vehicle retailing often remark about the “Carvana model” when touting their offering or discussing the general state of the industry.

But how is Carvana really doing? Well, the company reported after the markets closed on Thursday that it finished 2020 with a 37% increase in retail units sold, a 42% rise in revenue and a 57% jump in total gross profit fueled by a $400 uptick gross profit per unit.

With all of those tremendous gains, Carvana said that its annual net loss came in at $462 million, an increase from the $365 million loss recorded in 2019.

Carvana founder and chief executive officer Ernie Garcia certainly appears to be confident of the company’s long-term potential, saying in a news release, “2020 highlighted the strengths of our business model and validated our vision for the future of car buying.

“We’re extremely proud of how our team navigated an unprecedented year of constant adaptation,” Garcia continued. “Their exceptional execution and relentless focus on delivering the best experiences to our customers vaulted us to becoming the second-largest seller of used cars in the country, another meaningful milestone in our march to becoming the largest and most profitable automotive retailer.”

Here are more specific details about Carvana’s 2020 performance:

• Retail units sold totaled 244,111, an increase of 37%

• Revenue totaled $5.587 billion, an increase of 42%

• Total gross profit was $794 million, an increase of 57%

• Total gross profit per unit was $3,252, an increase of $400

Another segment of Carvana’s business that made major improvements in 2020 was purchasing vehicles from consumers, acquiring 204,000 units last year. That figure is up 95% year-over-year, as Carvana purchased 104,000 units from consumers in 2019.

Carvana also highlighted that it enhanced its footprint in three ways during the closing quarter of the year, including:

• Launched two new inspection and reconditioning centers in a quarter for the first time, opening its 10th near Orlando, Fla., and 11th near Memphis, Tenn.

• Opened two vending machines near Detroit and in Atlanta, bringing its end-of-year total to 27

• Added five new markets, bringing its end-of-year total to 266 covering 73.7% of the U.S. population

In a letter to shareholders, Carvana discussed its expectations and objectives for 2021.

“We expect to accelerate growth in retail units sold, and with demand for our offering currently outpacing our supply chain capacity, we expect the level of growth and timing of sales to be governed primarily by the speed at which we scale our production,” the company said.

“We expect revenue growth in FY 2021 to be in line with retail units sold growth,” Carvana continued. “We expect total GPU, which includes retail, wholesale, and other gross profit, in the mid-$3,000’s in FY 2021, continuing our progress on increasing GPU. Finally, in light of the size of our opportunity and our strong financial position, we expect to invest in building our business for the long-term, leading to a small EBITDA margin loss in FY 2021 while continuing our progress on demonstrating leverage.

“We are excited about 2021 which we expect to be another significant step toward our long-term goals,” the company reiterated.