August 14, 2023 — The number of U.S. dealerships is up slightly during the first six months of the year according to Urban Science’s 2023 midyear Automotive Franchise Activity Report (FAR). Since the forced elimination of thousands of General Motors and Chrysler stores in 2009 as part of the government’s automotive bailout plan, the franchised… Continue Reading
July 25, 2023 — A few months ago, analysts and industry observers were convinced that used-vehicle online retailer Carvana would be forced into bankruptcy by the end of the year. Once the darling of Wall Street with a valuation of over $50 billion in 2021, the company crashed in 2022 after tearing through more than… Continue Reading
July 10, 2023 — Dealers selling one or more of the Big Three domestic automotive brands may want to mark September 14, 2023, on their calendars. At midnight on September 14, the current contracts between the United Auto Workers Union and Ford Motor Co., General Motors, and Stellantis will expire, resulting in what likely will… Continue Reading
June 25, 2023 — A surprise announcement last week as The Alpha Auto Group (a Canadian-based with stores in the US) has made a bid to acquire the UK-based Lookers group for $596 million (£465mn). A few months ago, we heard that a Canadian group was looking at the British market but assumed it was… Continue Reading
June 20, 2023 — Remember Knight Rider? Nearly 41 years ago, the talking and intelligent 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (AKA known as KITT) first appeared on NBC, tickling our imaginations about what it would be like to have a conversation with our cars. Nothing more than fantasy land. Talking to a car has been… Continue Reading
June 9, 2023 — Dealership M&A activity continues a brisk pace in 2023 as six transactions involving 20 different rooftops were announced the first week of June. Meanwhile, word on the street is that a record-breaking transaction for a single-point store is close to getting across the finish line and could be days from being… Continue Reading
January 26, 2023 — M&A activity in the auto retail vendor space continues its brisk pace at the beginning of 2023 with Vehlo’s announcement this week that it has acquired Velocity Automotive from Hugh Hathcock and Rapid Recon from Dennis McGinn. Both deals were completed late in the fourth quarter, but announced only this week.…
January 10, 2023 — Acquisition activity in the automotive retail vendor space is off to a brisk start in 2023. Following last week’s announcement that APCO Holdings had acquired National Auto Care, J.D. Power announced this morning it has acquired ZappyRide, to bolster its new E-Vision initiative created to provide software and data to greentech… Continue Reading
September 5, 2022 – General Motors’ strategy to buy out Buick dealers not wanting to transition to an all-electric future is good news for the brand and its dealers. The automaker introduced its plans to Buick dealers on Friday (kudos to Mike Colias of the Wall Street Journal for breaking the news). The move follows Buick’s announcement… Continue Reading
August 23, 2022 — President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law a week ago. The new law enacts several changes to the tax credit available for new electric vehicles. As we noted prior to the law’s signing, many of the changes are confusing and needed clarification from the government. In the last week,… Continue Reading