July 19, 2016 — As news leaked yesteday that the FBI and SEC is investigating Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for possible sales fraud, a key question kept popping up in conversations — how is what FCA allegedly did any different than what other automakers do when it comes to reporting sales? For years — even decades —… Continue Reading
July 18, 2016 — In a meeting with dealers on Friday, Volkswagen executives said they would make a decision within the next month regarding compensating its dealers for damages from the diesel emissions scandal. Friday’s event is part of a series of meetings with dealers in which VW executives are outlining how the company plans to… Continue Reading
July 12, 2016 — Dealership acquisition activity is showing a slight slowdown according to data compiled for TBR’s 2016 Mid-Year Dealership Buy-Sell Report. (Subscribers to The Banks Report can download Excel files with buy-sell activity going back to January 2013). Through June of 2016, there were 108 different transactions accounting for 177 rooftops changing hands. In…
July 7, 2016 — AutoNation announced this morning it is acquiring four luxury dealerships in the Westchester County, New York market. AutoNation is buying BMW Mt. Kisco, Land Rover Mt. Kisco and Jaguar Land Rover Larchmont/New Rochelle from The Premier Collection. It also is adding White Plains Jaguar from DiSimone Imports The new stores are… Continue Reading
July 7, 2016 — The automotive retail technology world is dominated by three players today — Cox Automotive, CDK Global, and Reynolds and Reynolds. On the CRM side, the major players are DealerSocket and ELead1One. Meanwhile, Salesforce is hovering around the industry. The question is, will this power structure continue over the next two to… Continue Reading
July 3, 2016 — The long term effects on the auto industry resulting from Great Britain’s vote to exit the European Union may well be determined by how amicable the divorce proceedings are. Early indications are that the breakup could be ugly. But it’s only been a week since the Brits shocked the world so…
(UPDATED June 30 with dealer information) June 28, 2016 — Volkswagen is expected to announce settlements with U.S. regulatory agencies and 475,000 customers for lying about its diesel emissions today that could exceed $15 billion. According to numerous media reports, the deal only affects the 475,000 customers that purchased 2009 – 2015 2.0 liter diesel Volkswagen…
June 16, 2016 — Dominating headlines over the last 10 days was Cadillac’s pending move to “encourage” approximately 400 of it smaller franchises to become virtual stores. It’s a story that demands attention — Cadillac moving to virtual reality dealerships. But the reality (not virtual) is, the move likely will have little effect except to ultimately force…
June 14, 2016 — (UPDATED June 16) Of the nine dealership acquisitions through the first two weeks of June, four occurred in the Denver market. In two separate transactions last week, the Larry H. Miller Group acquired three stores from Doug Moreland — Cherry Creek Dodge in Denver, Fiat of Denver and Colorado Chrysler Jeep of Aurora… Continue Reading
May 31, 2016 — With only 86 transactions through May of 2016, the dealership buy-sell market appears to be slowing down from the record-setting pace in 2015 in which The Banks Report recorded 107 transactions over the same period. The number of rooftops changing owners is also down significantly with 149 this year compared with 222…