EchoPark, Sonic Automotive’s stand-alone used vehicle operation, strives to acquire vehicles at prices that allow it to keep its customers’ used vehicle monthly payments under $500. “That’s going to be in the $24,000 price range,” said Sonic Automotive president Jeff Dyke, during the company’s earnings call covering its quarter that ended March 31. But that goal was challenged when wholesale vehicles prices suddenly ... [Read More]

Michael Manley said AutoNation decided to “realign, reposition and reduce” its used-car inventory in the first quarter of 2022. That appeared to be a wise move as the year went on, said Manley, who is AutoNation’s CEO. “It did, however, set us up for a tough comp per unit volume in Q1,” Manley said during AutoNation’s first quarter 2023 earnings call on April 20. Manley said during the call that the company will “remain nimble” in its approach to used vehicles. “And expansion of our AutoNation USA footprint remains ... [Read More]

Wholesale vehicle prices fell in April, and it’s a decline that’s likely not going to end any time soon. That’s according to indices released this week by Black Book and Cox Automotive, respectively, which signaled that last month’s softening may only be the beginning of a broader downslope in used-car pricing. While still significantly stronger […] [Read More]

In 2019, as OPENLANE was celebrating its 20th anniversary, Jim Hallett — who at the time was CEO of then-KAR Auction Services — looked back on the company’s 2011 acquisition of OPENLANE as an “inflection point” for KAR that “changed our company overnight.” “Over the years, of all the acquisitions we did, I would look at OPENLANE as being one of the most transformative acquisitions we made in the history of our company,” Hallett said in a January 2019 phone interview. “And we went from being a laggard to a leader with the acquisition of OPENLANE.  “And it didn’t change our company only because we sold more cars. It changed our company because of ... [Read More]

The auto transport industry continues getting used to the fact that electric vehicles are having a strong impact on the business, Dan Kennedy says. EVs are heavier than gasoline-powered vehicles, said Kennedy, who is senior vice president, business development, for CT Services. EVs tend to sit a little bit lower, which can limit the choice of equipment you can use to move the vehicles, he said. “[That] basically will say to the customer ... [Read More]

A consumer survey released by MINI USA on Friday found that nearly half of U.S. consumers plan on going electric with their car purchase by 2028. And some used-car shoppers, it appears, are already jumping in. CarMax said in its Spring 2023 CarMax Electric Vehicle Consumer Report released Monday that search volume for the term […] [Read More]

Times are changing. That’s true for the entire auto industry. And it’s no different for the reconditioning segment. Auto Remarketing spoke with a collection of recon and auction leaders to get the pulse on today’s challenges and opportunitites in the segment. The year kicked off with ... [Read More]

Most industries today have felt the pains of an across-the-board labor shortage after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on industries across the board. The labor shortage in the reconditioning and service departments was a challenge long before the outbreak of the COVID pandemic. This just made it even worse. That’s apparent from Auto Remarketing’s conversations with recon execs and leaders in March, who all vocalized how difficult it is to find quality recon workers that have the potential for long-term employment. Many candidates ... [Read More]

Dealers and others who need to know the true condition of a used vehicle or perhaps want to quickly inspect a customer’s vehicle sitting in their service drive, are being given more options than ever before for obtaining that peace-of-mind intel. Some of the more recent entrants into the inspections and condition reports space use apps to get the job done and along with others, have developed sophisticated technology, often powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. Then there are companies such as [Read More]

In the past few years, high used- and new-vehicle prices kept many from scooping up their next vehicle, be it an electric or traditional internal-combustion engine vehicle. As prices normalize, EVs — which normally tout a higher price tag than comparable ICE vehicles — are becoming more viable for consumers trying to make a vehicle-purchase decision. To get a pulse on further movement in the used EV market in Canada, Auto Remarketing Canada explored recent news and reached out to experts throughout  the industry ... [Read More]