Sonic Automotive is planning a $10 million to $20 million ad campaign to spur the growth of its EchoPark used-car network, President Jeff Dyke told investors last month.
“We’re going to bring the EchoPark brand to life,” Dyke said in a Feb. 18 conference call, which discussed fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results. In the coming years, the ultimate goal is for EchoPark to sell more than 1 million used vehicles annually, he said.
Besides promoting all-around awareness of the EchoPark brand, the ad campaign — which will launch later this year — will also introduce a new EchoPark e-commerce app, and tout what Dyke called a “one-two punch” of below-market pricing and high customer-satisfaction scores.
For competitors, “that's going to be very difficult to deal with, on top of an amazing selection of inventory,” Dyke said. That last word — inventory — is the magic word which makes the rest possible.
EchoPark hasn’t been dead, but its growth has been frozen. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortage of late-model used cars drove up prices. This was especially the case for the late-model used cars three years old or younger that had been critical to the EchoPark business plan.
Sonic reacted to the used-car shortage by pruning the EchoPark “hub-and-spoke” network starting in 2023, eventually reaching 18 locations in 10 states at the end of 2025, versus 52 locations in 21 states at the end of 2022. EchoPark kept operating hubs — larger locations with reconditioning facilities — but shut smaller satellite locations used as delivery centers.
EchoPark plans to start up two additional locations by the end of 2026, re-starting its growth, Dyke said. He said the goal of 1 million sales for EchoPark isn’t new. That was the goal when the pandemic hit, at the end of the first quarter of 2020.
“We were well on our way, and the whole world changed. Now — methodically and strategically — we’re on our way again, and we darn well believe that that is something that we can do,” he said in the conference call.
EchoPark has a long way to go to reach 1 million units. The EchoPark segment reported retail used-vehicle unit sales volume of 67,636 in 2025, down 2% year-over-year. In the fourth quarter, it was 15,743 units, down 6%.
Lease returns are riding to the rescue, Dyke said. A surge in lease maturities starts in the second half of 2026, and ramps up in 2027. The recovery in off-lease units in turn mimics a recovery in leases, which began in the second half of 2023.
Off-lease units are desirable for resale as certified pre-owned cars because they command a premium: they’re relatively new, they are reconditioned to automaker requirements, and they carry a factory-based warranty, on top of what remains of the first owner’s new-car warranty.
Separately, Cox Automotive reported in January that auto lenders expect about 2.4 million lease maturities in 2026, up from an estimated 2.3 million in 2025. In 2027, lease maturities should hit 3.1 million, Cox Automotive said.
Meanwhile, the downsized EchoPark segment has been performing well, said David Smith, chairman and CEO of Sonic Automotive. EchoPark adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) for 2025 was a record $49.2 million, up 78% year-over-year, he said.
Smith said, “we believe we are well-positioned to resume a disciplined store opening cadence for EchoPark beginning in late 2026, assuming used vehicle market conditions continue to improve.”
