Dealers: Page 38
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ColumnIs There a Good Labor Day Deal in Today’s New Car Market?
Autotrader recently published a list of 20 new vehicles that consistently sell above MSRP while Kelley Blue Book published its list of the best lease and purchase deals available through Labor Day weekend.
By Brian Finkelmeyer • Sept. 3, 2021 -
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Column
Four Changes Can Improve Service Center Profits
Value-based programs enable Fixed Ops to generate more profits and foster repeat customers.
By Troy Scheer • Aug. 27, 2021 -
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The DNA of Today’s Car Dealership – and Tomorrow’s
Dealerships that prioritize the customer experience and convenience grow, retain staff and get positive reviews.
By Erin Williamson • Aug. 25, 2021 -
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Mobile Auto Repair Service Attracting Investors’ Interest
Founded in 2018, RepairSmith counts Mercedes-Benz and Porsche among its investors. But that does not mean those automotive brands would make RepairSmith part of an OEM-backed plan to have dealers offer mobile service.
By Jim Henry • Aug. 23, 2021 -
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Auto Retailer Sonic Growing EchoPark Used-Car Business
Sonic projects 2025 revenue of $14 billion for EchoPark, vs. $1.4 billion for 2020. Sonic expects EchoPark stores to make less gross profit per unit retailed but make it up on volume.
By Jim Henry • Aug. 19, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
New, Used Auto Lenders Seeing Low Delinquency Rates
TransUnion says auto delinquencies of 60-plus days accounted for 1.23% of the amount outstanding as of the end of the second quarter. That’s an improvement over a delinquency rate of 1.51% a year ago, in the depths of coronavirus-related business shutdowns.
By Jim Henry • Aug. 18, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Column
Dealers Must Adapt to Millennial Car Buyers’ Needs
Branding is critical for millennials. If your 65-year-old dealership owner still insists on being the face of every traditional television advertisement, you’ll still sell cars to this generation, but you won’t maximize your opportunities.
By Matt Copley • Aug. 17, 2021 -
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Squeezing Out More Vehicle Supply
Automakers currently have very lean inventory, significantly improved margins and strong sales. COVID disruptions have potentially created a new paradigm: An industry days’ supply standard that is closer to 50 days than 80 days, and a determination to maintain vehicle margins at their current levels.
By Warren P. Browne • Aug. 16, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Column
OSHA Violations Are Avoidable
Begin by evaluating the current state of your workplace to locate areas where you can improve conditions for your employees.
By Micah O'Shaughnessy • Aug. 12, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Turning the Digital Tables: Car Dealers Become Buyers
For consumers who want to sell their cars, the CarGurus initiative instantly presents them with the highest offer available from thousands of dealerships.
By Steve Finlay • Aug. 11, 2021 -
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How Car Dealers Can Keep, Win Back Service Customers
U.S. dealers earned $111.2 billion in service and parts sales in 2020, a third of the vehicle maintenance and repair industry’s total revenue, according to the National Automobile Dealers Assn. Local repair shops and car-care chains get the rest.
By Steve Finlay • Aug. 9, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
It’s an Unreal Way for Car Dealership Websites to Show Vehicles
“Everything you are looking at is essentially fake, but it is absolutely product-correct,” eVN founder Peter Stevenson says of his company’s vehicle imagery provided to car dealers.
By Steve Finlay • Aug. 6, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Column
Thirteen Ways Dealers Can Tackle Inventory Shortages
Industry crises such as the global chip shortage can be daunting for any business. However, working daily to address gaps in the business will help dealers ensure they will continue to serve their customers now and in the future.
By Ryan Soffa • Aug. 5, 2021 -
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Auto Loans, Lease Originations Soar in Second Quarter
“There is an increase in both the number of loans and the size of loans,” say researchers for the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
By Jim Henry • Aug. 4, 2021 -
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Largest Dealer Groups Report Big Gains in Fixed Operations
Despite the gains, fixed ops as a department – especially in warranty work – continues to lag the astronomical gains the dealer groups are putting up in other profit centers: in new- and used-vehicle gross profits, and finance & insurance.
By Jim Henry • Aug. 3, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Column
Digital Technology Can Reach Millennial Car Shoppers
The pandemic’s effect on traditional vehicle sales, combined with millennials’ increased purchasing power, has led franchised and used-car dealers to recognize the need to change how they sell cars and trucks, to ensure they get their share of the business.
By Rusty West • Aug. 2, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Asbury Automotive Group Taps Brakes on Growth
For the second quarter, Asbury’s reported net income of $152.1 million, more than triple the year-ago quarter. That’s on a 70% increase in total revenue, to about $2.6 billion, vs. a year-ago quarter hit hard by the pandemic.
By Jim Henry • July 28, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
How Car Dealers Can Handle an OSHA Visit
“If you don’t have a written (safety) program, (OSHA) will smell blood,” Summit Automotive Partners’ Brian Boase tells the Association of Dealership Compliance Officers.
By Steve Finlay • July 28, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Retailer Lithia Motors Sees New-Vehicle Shortage Ending
“Generally speaking, we expect inventories to continue to normalize throughout the back half of 2021 and in the first part of 2022,” Chris Holzshu, Lithia chief operating officer, says in an earnings conference call.
By Jim Henry • July 27, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
How Dealers Can Prepare for a Possible Corporate Tax Increase
Primarily, it is important for dealers to re-address their long-term strategy with short-term cash flow needs. While any tax changes at this point are still unknown, the intent is to raise long-term capital gains taxes, which raises qualified dividend rates.
By Matt Gibson • July 26, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Take Back Control of Your Dealership
Cloud-native DMS built on Microsoft Azure empowers dealers with secure, flexible solution.
By Sharon Kitzman • July 26, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Used-Vehicle Demand Adds Black Ink to Ally’s Bottom Line
Ally says the $5 million net recovery on charged-off auto loans for the quarter was a first in the 102-year history of Ally and its predecessor company, General Motors Acceptance Corp.
By Jim Henry • July 21, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Column
CTV Advertising Can Help Jump-Start Car Buying in 2021
As brand loyalty continues to shift post-pandemic, finding and engaging potential car buyers is harder than ever. Streaming-related advertising can help auto dealers find and interact with consumers who are excited about car buying again.
By Dan Silver • July 16, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Manheim Deploys Car-Tracking Technology at Auction Sites
LotVision already employs more than 400,000 tracking devices at 49 Manheim sites and will be operating at an additional 19 locations by Sept. 30, the company says.
By Jim Henry • July 15, 2021 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Used-Car Buying ‘Frenzy’ Lets Up, But What a Ride
“Normal pricing patterns depend on the absence of desperate sellers or desperate buyers,” Says Cox Automotive’s Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke.
By Steve Finlay • July 14, 2021
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