Multiple sources of auto-finance data and more intriguing economic trends surfaced in recent days, with experts touching on defaults, interest rates and the possibility of a recession. Let’s begin this roundup with the auto portion of the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. Experts determined the July auto default rate came in at 0.82%, ticking up […] [Read More]

With revenues climbing from a year ago, AutoCanada chairman Paul Antony and his team dove deep on how various operational initiatives have pushed the publicly traded dealer group. These initiatives, including selling more pre-owned cars while keeping less inventory in stock, were supported by “robust market conditions,” said Antony during a call to announce and analyze AutoCanada’s second-quarter operating results. "New light inventories have begun to replenish, and this coupled with high demand following the pandemic supply constraints has resulted in [Read More]

Demand for quality used vehicles is up across the country. There’s nowhere this trend is more evident than in the certified pre-owned vehicle market. July marked the 11th consecutive month where Hyundai Canada set a record CPO sales tally for the respective month.  And June was the program’s best month ever, as it moved 1,940 CPO units. Through July, year-to-date sales are ... [Read More]

Vroom CEO Tom Shortt noted during the company’s second quarter 2023 earnings call on Aug. 9 that its e-commerce units grew approximately 5% sequentially. “This quarter is the first quarter with sequential growth since we realigned the business and introduced our long-term roadmap in the second quarter of 2022,” Shortt said. That long-term roadmap remains unchanged, and it includes three key objectives and four focused strategic initiatives. The objectives are ... [Read More]

AutoTrader’s newest Price Index Report for Canada reflects growing consumer intent-to-buy and an industry still plagued with supply issues. In an effort to further drill down into the index results and what they mean for the Canadian pre-owned market, Auto Remarketing Canada connected with AutoTrader analysts. According to Baris Akyurek, vice president of insights and intelligence at AutoTrader, the index reveals some “interesting variations” in ... [Read More]

Wholesale vehicle prices have declined double-digit percentages for two consecutive months, but it’s important to “put some perspective on that,” according to analysis around Cox Automotive’s latest Manheim Used Vehicle Value index. Last month's 11.6% year-over-year decline in the Manheim index  (adjusting for mix, mileage and seasonality) — which followed June’s 10.3% drop — is a far cry from ... [Read More]

There appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel for off-lease vehicles, the auction segment whose volumes were hit hardest in the aftermath of COVID-19, and for overall commercial consignment. While an immediate turnaround in volumes isn’t imminent, macro-economic conditions suggest “an improving outlook for commercial off-lease volumes,” OPENLANE CEO Peter Kelly said in the company’s second-quarter earnings call last week “I believe that the headwinds of the last three years look set to ... [Read More]

Earlier this summer, Cherokee Media Group generated a two-part series focused on the potential challenges associated with car owners having to pay monthly subscriptions for features such as heated seats or increased electrical-vehicle power. Perhaps those hurdles might not be as foreboding as initially thought based on research done by S&P Global Mobility. First, let’s recap the entire situation. Cox Automotive sees multiple challenges automakers could face if they embark on ... [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive’s second quarter used vehicle business was “challenged,” said president and CEO Daryl Kenningham in the earnings call. The publicly listed auto retailer sold 46,764 used retail units on a consolidated basis in the second quarter, down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Used vehicle gross profit per retail unit dropped […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive said Thursday it will be able to “turn the lights on” quickly at its shuttered EchoPark stores if used vehicle wholesale prices continue to drop and market conditions improve, company executives said in its quarterly earnings call. In June, Sonic suspended operations indefinitely at eight of its EchoPark used car stores, 14 related […] [Read More]