The key to a good customer experience is customization, said panelists at the “Top CX strategies to set dealers up for success in 2024” panel during Used Car Week, which was held earlier this month in Scottsdale, Ariz. Creating a good customer experience starts with your choice of digital marketing vendors, said panelist Samantha Splane, marketing and customer experience director at Sterling Auto Group. Sterling Auto Group in Louisiana has 15 locations including seven used-only stores. In a vendor, Splane looks for ... [Read More]

Inventory shortages the last few years may have hurt new-car sales, but they were a boon for used-vehicle sales, including those that were certified pre-owned. New inventory may be improving, but consumer interest in CPO models will remain and dealers and manufacturers should take note, said participants on the “Top Used Car Strategies from ‘Best CPO Dealers’” panel during Used Car Week. “We saw a huge value in ... [Read More]

Lithia & Driveway’s expanding international footprint and customers who keep their vehicle payments affordable by opting for used vehicles instead of new ones, were among the topics discussed during the dealership company’s conference call detailing its earnings for the third quarter that ended Sept. 30. “You have a lot of customers that manage their overall payment by going into the used market,” said Chris Holzshu, who is chief operating officer at Lithia and joined the Oct. 25 earnings call with CEO Bryan DeBoer. “We lost 10 million units in production (because of pandemic constraints), which is ... [Read More]

AutoCanada is in its 30th year of existence and its 18th year as a public company. This also marks the five-year benchmark of its “Go Forward” plan, which included stabilizing the company in 2018, as well as contemplating and acting on what the future holds. With continuing this growth in mind, AutoCanada held a series of operational strategy sessions this past summer, which were used to “create the playbook that’s going to lead our organization for the next five years ... [Read More]

When OPENLANE wanted to know what dealers want when they do business on wholesale used-vehicle digital marketing platforms, it simply surveyed over 1,000 dealers in the United States and Canada. From a collective standpoint, dealers said they want a large variety of used vehicles offered for sale on platforms that are easy to navigate and they want reliable condition reports. And of course, everything has to be backed by responsive customer service, the survey said. Now, as its recent rebranding continues and with that dealer feedback in mind, OPENLANE is consolidating its ... [Read More]

Officials at Carvana spent a good portion of the company’s third quarter 2023 earnings call on Nov. 2 talking about the three-step plan Carvana implemented in the fourth quarter of 2022 to achieve positive free cash flow. And they spent most of that time talking about step 3, which is to return to growth after completing the first two steps. Those first two steps are to ... [Read More]

While Vroom continues to suffer a negative financial impact from aged inventory, it did make progress selling down older units in the third quarter. The online used-car retailer sees brighter days ahead and aims to raise capital in 2024, it said during the NASDAQ-listed company’s third quarter earnings call. “This has been a challenging year as we work through ... [Read More]

Sonic Automotive’s scaled-back, standalone EchoPark used-vehicle operation is narrowing its losses and gaining positive momentum, said its executives during the dealership group’s most recent quarterly earnings call. EchoPark’s income loss of $16.9 million in its third quarter that ended Sept. 30 represents a 46% improvement over the year-ago quarter loss of $31.1 million according to Sonic’s financial results. In the third quarter, EchoPark grew its ... [Read More]

Like most dealership groups, Penske Automotive Group faced headwinds in its used-car business in the third quarter. “The new-vehicle market remains solid while used-vehicle supply and affordability remains challenging,” said CEO Roger Penske. But PAG is counting on an improving supply of loaner cars from the manufacturers to boost its used-vehicle supply going forward, he […] [Read More]

AutoNation’s used-car business remained challenging in the third quarter, so the publicly listed auto retailer chose to focus on sequential improvement in used- vehicle sales during its earnings call. Used-vehicle unit sales increased by 5% in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter to 72,517 units, “which would not be possible without a daily focus on vehicle sourcing,” said CEO Mike Manley He acknowledged continuing difficulty obtaining enough used inventory and highlighted AutoNation’s ... [Read More]