After expanding to Northeast, Sonic brings EchoPark to Arizona

Sonic Automotive continues to expand its standalone used-car program, announcing Tuesday it has opened an EchoPark Automotive location in the Phoenix suburbs.

The store, located in Avondale, Ariz., is Sonic’s 19th EchoPark location.

On Friday, the retailer said it brought two Used Car King locations in New York State into the Echo Park fold, putting the count of retail stores and delivery/buy centers to 18. That also expanded the EchoPark program into the Northeast for the first time.

Sonic opened four EchoPark locations in the fourth quarter.

“Our fiscal year 2020 success reflects EchoPark’s continued value proposition and its truly unique guest experience, inventory selection and unbeatable pricing,” Sonic and EchoPark president Jeff Dyke said in Tuesday’s news release. “We’re kicking off the New Year by opening an EchoPark store in a new market, right here in Phoenix, Arizona, and will continue executing our accelerated expansion plan, bringing the EchoPark guest experience to many additional markets in the coming months.”

It was a record year for EchoPark in 2020, as the used-car stores pulled in all-time highs for revenue and retail sales volume.

Specifically, EchoPark generated $1.42 billion in total revenue during 2020, beating 2019 figures by 22.1%. EchoPark retailed 57,161 used vehicles last year for a 15.4% hike.

Sonic opened seven new EchoPark stores in 2020. By 2025, it aims to have a 140-point, national EchoPark distribution network, with the used-car program pulling in 575,000 retail sales annually as well as $14 billion in annual revenues.

“EchoPark continues to break records. For fiscal year 2020, we achieved all-time record revenue and retail sales volume while opening seven new EchoPark locations during the year,” Sonic and EchoPark chief financial officer Heath Byrd said in a news release. “EchoPark’s growth and performance tell us two things: the EchoPark hybrid business model continues to be compelling, and the market for specialty pre-owned vehicles continues to be favorable for expansion.”