The quarterly loss reported after the close Thursday caps a disastrous year in which Carvana’s stock plummeted 98%, erasing almost $37 billion of market capitalization. Carvana spent $2.2 billion last year to acquire Carmel-based KAR Auction Services Inc.’s physical auto auction business, ADESA.
It’s been more than a dozen years since Jeff Wood became company president, and he has used that time to diversify Tom Wood Automotive Group—often following his own interests to see where they lead.
Carmel-based KAR Auction Services Inc., which has been working to transform itself into a digitally operated company, took a big step toward that goal when it sold its U.S. physical auto auction business to Tempe, Arizona-based Carvana for $2.2 billion in cash.
Finalized this week for an undisclosed price, the purchase makes Champion Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram at 4505 W. 96th St. the Mohr company’s 12th dealership.
Overfuel, which had its public launch this week, is targeting small- to medium-sized independent car dealers, offering them software that helps them streamline their websites and glean more information about customers’ online activities.
The list of employees being eliminated includes personnel in management, finance, facilities, recruitment, marketing, technology and strategy.
The biggest U.S. chain of car dealerships said used-vehicle prices are softening as rising interest rates curb demand from more price-sensitive buyers.
The acquisitions of Terry Lee Hyundai and Terry Lee Genesis closed on Tuesday. Lee, who has owned car dealerships since 1995, said the sale marked his departure from the automotive sales business.
GM has set a goal of building only electric passenger vehicles by 2035. It has pledged to have 30 electric vehicle models for sale globally by 2025.
Buyers have no negotiating power. Zilch, Dunn tells podcast host Mason King. And that’s because there are as many buyers on a lot looking for a vehicle as there are cars.
When the government reported that consumer inflation rocketed 6.8% in the 12 months that ended in November—the sharpest jump in nearly 40 years—the biggest factor, apart from energy, was used vehicles.
Inventories of used cars remain tight, but a decline in customer traffic in recent weeks has prompted some dealers to trim prices.
The used-car lot, ordinarily a haven of haggling and wheeling-and-dealing, is now a hotbed for wallet-busting transactions.
Consumers desperate for new vehicles often paid over the sticker price, pushing the average sales price in June above $40,000 for the first time, according to J.D. Power.
In the past year, used vehicle prices on average have climbed 30%, according to Black Book, which tracks car and truck data. That’s created many crazy situations where high-demand vehicles are selling for more than they did when they were new.
Napleton Automotive Group claims a former general manager in Carmel took confidential information when he left in February for the same role at Bob Rohrman Kia in Lafayette.
The demand is sending used-car costs soaring. The Manheim Index, which measures prices at wholesale auctions, shows that they’re 52% higher than they were a year ago.
Automakers sold more than 3.9 million vehicles during the first three months of the year, with several major companies reporting March sales that were nearly double from the same month a year earlier.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said the dealer sold cars online in a way that led consumers to believe the seller was a private owner. For its part, the dealer said it was a one-time occurrence.
The price of an average new vehicle jumped 6% between January and December 2020, to a record $40,578, according to data from Edmunds.com. Yet, that increase was nothing next to what happened in the used market.
