July 25, 2019 — Public dealer stocks have jumped an average of more than $5 over the last two days fueled by stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings from AutoNation and Lithia Motors. The run began with AutoNation’s second-quarter earnings release on Tuesday in which it reported a record $1.12 earnings-per-share exceeding analysts expectations. The nation’s largest dealer…
July 23, 2019 — Late yesterday afternoon, AutoNation announced long-time CFO and vice president Cheryl Miller as its new CEO and president. She’s replacing Carl Liebert. On the surface, the change was a shock. Liebert had only assumed the top job at the nation’s top-selling dealer group in March after a months-long search that reportedly…
May 1, 2019 — Yesterday’s announcement that PE firm Thoma Bravo is acquiring Autodata Solutions from Internet Brands could be Act Two in what may be an ambitious play in automotive. The pending transaction also portends an M&A market that is heating up after a slow first quarter that saw only 11 deals completed, down…
March 10, 2019 — An announcement regarding who Cars.com’s new owner will be could be made as early as this week. The company is an attractive play for numerous players — both from a strategic and an investment perspective. Cars announced in January the board had voted at the end of September to retain J.P.…
February 6, 2019 — This week, General Motors began the difficult task of laying off more than 4,000 salaried employees as part of a massive restructuring this year that includes the idling of five North American plants, eliminating vehicles and an overall workforce reduction of 14,700 employees. The moves are designed to save the automaker… Continue Reading
January 21, 2019 — A flurry of several mergers and acquisitions last week among auto retail vendors started 2019 off with a bang. Through the first two weeks of the year, six deals have been announced. The fast start follows a record-breaking 2018 in which 77 deals were completed. Additionally, Cars.com announced last week its board retained…
January 13, 2019 — Two somewhat obscure press releases last week hint at what may be the next “disruption” in the auto retail industry. Disruption is an easy term to throw around, but in automotive retail, three areas are ripe for significant innovation — CRM, service, and dealer management systems. The Banks Report isn’t in… Continue Reading
January 13, 2019 — As part of its transformation into becoming a leading player in automotive mobility, Cox Automotive’s Mobility Group launched its new Pivet brand Sunday at a media event in Detroit prior to today’s opening of the North American International Auto Show. Pivet aims to build a network of service and maintenance hubs…
December 20, 2018 — Fueled by a $385 million Series B investment led by SoftBank, vehicle subscription platform Fair is going global. After officially launching in August 2017, Fair is now in 26 U.S. markets with nearly 52,000 vehicles from 3,200 dealerships available on its mobile app. More than 20,000 consumers have used the platform… Continue Reading
November 13, 2018 — A flurry of 26 deals since the beginning of September has pushed the year’s total to 64, a record for investments and acquisitions in the automotive retail vendor space. The blistering pace continued into the first week of November with data analytics firm Marchex’s purchase of Telmetrics and Infomedia’s acquisition of…