Certified vehicles still a sought-after product, but late-model scarcity limits sales
Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, 03:52 PM
AutoNation earnings highlight uncertainty, used-vehicle optimism
Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, 01:04 PM
Sonic fourth quarter results take hit from too much used inventory
Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, 03:59 PM
Premium Articles
Carvana tests same-day vehicle delivery with an eye on future sales
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, 11:49 AM
Arlena Sawyers, Correspondent
Carvana’s used unit sales in its third quarter set a new sales record. The company is also making strides toward its previously announced goal of selling 3 million used vehicles annually within the next five to 10 years with a pilot program that provides same-day or next-day delivery of vehicles to customers in its Phoenix […] [Read More]
Acquisition issues hold back Penske’s profitable used-car operation — for now
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, 11:31 AM
Andrew Friedlander, Associate Editor
Roger Penske is quite pleased with his used-car operation’s performance in the third quarter. After all, on a same-store basis revenue from used-vehicle sales companywide was up 7.5% year-over-year and gross profit rose 5.7%, with gross per vehicle retailed up 8.5% same-store and 12.2% overall. But the chairman and CEO of Penske Automotive Group knows […] [Read More]
Used vehicles an unsung hero in Group 1 earnings report
Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, 02:31 PM
Daryl Lubinsky, Correspondent
Although Group 1 Automotive achieved record quarterly used-vehicle retail revenues in the third quarter, the company didn’t spend a great deal of discussion time on the used-vehicle category during its third quarter 2025 earnings call on Oct. 28. Group 1 president and CEO Daryl Kenningham did say, however, at the beginning of the call that […] [Read More]
Plummeting sale rates at Canadian auctions point to ‘tough 6 months ahead’
Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, 10:57 AM
Andrew Friedlander, Associate Editor
At Canadian auto auctions, October ended with a thud. A sale at an auction was very much an exception last month, according to Canadian Black Book’s weekly Market Insights reports, as the average monitored auction sale rate plummeted below 30% in each of the month's last three full weeks — including a miniscule 22.1% conversion […] [Read More]
Sonic’s F&I, fixed ops driving franchise dealer profitability
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, 01:39 PM
Sarah Rubenoff, Correspondent
Sonic Automotive generated a record quarter for franchise dealer revenues of $3.4 billion, representing a 17% year-over-year increase and an 11% rise on a same-store basis. Fixed operations was a bright spot, helping to drive this success in the publicly traded dealer group’s latest quarterly report, with same-store gross profit up 8%, while same-store customer […] [Read More]
Lender executives & industry experts distill current status of subprime auto finance
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, 10:48 AM
Nick Zulovich, Senior Editor
Suspicions are intensifying about the current health of auto finance, especially within the subprime space stemming from the bankruptcy filings of Tricolor Holdings and PrimaLend. For example, the first question from an investment analyst during Carvana’s quarterly conference call last week focused on its outstanding portfolio. And Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke wrote an […] [Read More]
End of EV tax credit sparks ‘reset era’ where pragmatism rules
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, 03:57 PM
Joe Overby, Senior Editor
The appetite for electric vehicles hasn’t evaporated. Far from it. It’s just that now, with the $7,500 tax credit having expired, the demand that exists (albeit smaller) is more genuine interest and “less deal-driven.” Or as Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds put it in an analysis, perhaps alluding to the most electric of singer-songwriters, EVs have […] [Read More]
Sonic’s Q3 EchoPark performance impacted by ‘off-rental supply headwinds’
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, 02:43 PM
Sarah Rubenoff, Correspondent
Sonic Automotive’s third-quarter earnings report revealed its strongest quarter for franchised dealer revenues in the history of the dealer group, but the picture painted by results for its used-only brand — EchoPark Automotive —wasn’t quite as rosy, mainly due to expected pressure on vehicle gross margins and unexpected off-rental supply headwinds. The dealer group’s used-only […] [Read More]
Asbury sees room for improvement in used execution after Q3 sales drop
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, 12:20 PM
Alysha Webb, Correspondent
Asbury Automotive Group had a strong third quarter, but used vehicles were a weak spot. That’s the area the group sees the most room for improvement, said an executive on the earnings call. “We see our performance in used vehicles as our biggest opportunity to improve execution,” Asbury vice president of operations Paul Whatley said. […] [Read More]
How Protective plans to leverage past F&I acquisitions to make most of upcoming Portfolio addition
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, 10:39 AM
Nick Zulovich, Senior Editor
Rick Kurtz, senior vice president and chief distribution officer for Protective Asset Protection, spent a few minutes with Cherokee Media Group on Thursday after the company entered into an agreement to acquire Portfolio Holding and its subsidiaries from Abry Partners. Kurtz shared that he had just chatted with Portfolio leadership about how the latest acquisition […] [Read More]
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