May 22, 2017 — Coming off its second most profitable year ever, Ford Motor Co. has decided to replace its CEO and President Mark Fields. The announcement is expected this morning, according to numerous media reports breaking Sunday night. Jim Hackett, former board Ford member and current head of the automaker’s mobility division, is being named… Continue Reading
May 14, 2017 — Acquisition activity among auto retail vendors is slowly rebounding following a first quarter that brought only one deal. In recent weeks, Dominion Web Solutions, Drivin, Automatic and World Dealer were acquired while Carvana launched an initial public offering (IPO). Next up is Cars.com which will begin trading on the New York…
May 9, 2017 — Tesla’s moment of truth is nearly here. This year’s introduction of its Model 3 may be the auto industry’s most critical vehicle launch since Ford’s Model T took over America’s roads more than a century ago. Whether the fledgling company becomes the ultimate disruptor and a truly viable automaker will be determined by the…
May 2, 2017 — Carvana’s less than stellar first couple of days on the New York Stock Exchange raises questions not only about its business model, but could also impact the IPO plans of other companies in the automotive retail space. The online used vehicle retailer launched its initial public offering last Friday raising $225 million on the…
May 2, 2017 — Authenticom, a firm providing data integration services to car dealers, filed a lawsuit late yesterday against CDK Global and Reynolds and Reynolds alleging the two companies engaged in antitrust practices. The suit could have far-reaching implications — not only on the companies involved, but also on the entire automotive retail space. It’s another chapter… Continue Reading
April 6, 2017 — (UPDATE — SEE BELOW) Acquisition activity among automotive retail vendors has ground to a halt in the the first quarter this year, according to data compiled by The Banks Report. Other than Solera Holding’s purchase of the British-based Autodata the first week of January, there have been no investments, IPOs or acquisitions…
March 18, 2017 — Although 2016 saw a slight downturn in the number of transactions from 2015, dealership buy-sell activity the last three years has stayed fairly consistent, according to data compiled by The Banks Report. And 2017 is shaping up to be on par with the previous three years. From 2015 to 2016, the…
February 20. 2017 (UPDATED) — The industry had a scare last Thursday when it appeared that a large data breach occurred involving several dealer management system (DMS) providers and dealer groups. What actually happened was much more benign, and involved none of the DMS vendors. Nor did the event involve any sensitive personal data. The… Continue Reading
February 4, 2017 — In what may become the year’s biggest story in automotive retail, the long simmering battle over data access in the automotive retail world escalated yesterday when a third party vendor sued tech giants CDK Global, Reynolds and Reynolds and one of their joint ventures for engaging in antitrust practices. This is the first…
February 2, 2017 — As the National Automobile Dealers Assn. celebrated its 100 year anniversary at its annual convention in New Orleans last week, it capped an nine year period that might have been its toughest, yet finest hour. But 2017 brings a new set of daunting challenges. Playing Defense For the last nine years, the association…