Carvana is adding physical capacity to increase its current volume by approximately three times, CEO Ernie Garcia said on the recent second quarter earnings call. Carvana has cited inventory constraints as a barrier to faster growth. Combined with the ADESA U.S. acquisition, Carvana has the real estate to handle vehicle reconditioning at approximately eight times the current run rate, he said. “We also have very clear plans and high confidence in ... [Read More]

Before the cyberattack that hit dealership software provider CDK Global, Group 1 Automotive’s used vehicle and aftersales businesses were performing well in the second quarter, said Group 1 president and CEO Daryl Kenningham. But the CDK outage “significantly affected” Group 1’s U.S operations from June 19-26, Kenningham said during Group 1’s second quarter 2024 earnings call on July 24. “We do believe that we could have [Read More]

The wholesale vehicle market has emerged out of COVID with a few new wrinkles, some driven by the pandemic itself and some happening coincidentally. For instance, more electric vehicles are making their way into the wholesale market, a trend likely applicable to the latter.  Even more pronounced than a rise in EVs is the increased digitization of the market, a phenomenon more applicable to the former. In data sets, presentations, interviews and calls with the media this summer, leading executives and analysts ... [Read More]

Even as inventory levels recover, affordability is still the biggest challenge facing dealers and auto finance companies in Canada, industry participants and analysts told Auto Remarketing Canada. “I would say while it is not unique to Canada, the biggest challenge (auto finance companies are facing) is simply the affordability factor,” said Mike Buckingham, managing director, auto finance at J.D. Power. Vehicle prices are up 30% since the third quarter of 2020 and interest rates have ... [Read More]

It hasn’t had quite the swings of, say, electoral politics in the past decade (or past month). But the ups and downs of used-vehicle prices in the last five years might rival the volatility of any other industry. According to the latest Industry Insights Report from Cars Commerce, the monthly average list price for used […] [Read More]

Affordability is an issue car dealers have been battling daily over the past couple of years as retail prices for used and new vehicles soared to unprecedented highs. This year, though, those prices have been falling steadily while, as noted by Cox Automotive’s analysts in their 2024 midyear review, consumers’ incomes are rising. And yet sales growth has been slow. Turns out it’s not just about the price of the car ... [Read More]

There were 3.41 million units sold at auction in the first half of the year, which is an 8% hike, according to AuctionNet data from the National Auto Auction Association. But the oldest contingent of that group showed even steeper growth: Auction sales of vehicles 11 years and older climbed 11% in the first half of 2024, NAAA said. The reason? It’s repo. [Read More]

It wasn’t long ago that the new-vehicle supply was so dire that rental-car companies were becoming buyers in the wholesale market rather than sellers. But with the mid-pandemic new-car production issues largely squared away, rental car volume in the wholesale market has bounced back the last three years. Though unlikely their numbers will reach pre-pandemic levels ... [Read More]

Don't let the improvement in off-lease volumes in the wholesale vehicle market fool you.  At least take these gains with a grain of salt.  Numbers in this segment are expected to take a hit in the second half of 2024 and are not likely to return to pre-pandemic levels any time soon.  Here's how the numbers shake out:  Looking at year-to-date auction check-ins at Manheim locations through the first half of the year, lease check-ins have climbed 94% year-over-year, but trail 2019 levels by 58%, data from Cox Automotive shows.  Industry-wide, the number of off-lease units ... [Read More]

Dealertrack regularly watches what conditions are like for consumers to obtain auto financing; a landscape that’s been tightening in recent months. What about the credit environment for finance companies to get the resources they need to book originations? Especially in the non-prime and subprime spaces? While perhaps an interest rate reprieve is arriving sometime this year, Kyle Birch, who is president of North America operations at GM Financial, described the rough sledding the industry is experiencing ... [Read More]