November 23, 2014 — Cox Automotive continues to be active in the acquisition space buying the assets of small used car data firm last week, following its $325 million purchase of Xtime two weeks ago. It.has spent approximately $3 billion on both U.S. and international (China and Brazil) acquisitions since 2010. Meanwhile, the Atlanta-based firm…
November 13, 2014 — Next month, AutoNation will take a big step in making true online transactions in the car buying process a reality when it begins the roll out of its SmartChoice Express initiative. It’s one of its biggest initiatives to date and could move the automotive retail space into the next phase of car…
It continues to be a sizzling year for acquisitions in the automotive retail space. The Banks Report has learned the latest company to be acquired is Xtime, a firm that provides technology solutions to dealership service departments. Cox Automotive is announcing this afternoon that it has acquired the Redwood City, CA-based firm for $325 million…
The automotive retail space is within striking distance of 300 dealership acquisitions for all of 2014 following a monster October that saw 49 rooftops change hands. Meanwhile, prices for deals start to climb in wake of Buffett’s announcement. Fueled by Lithia Motors’ acquisition of the DCH Automotive Group, the 49 rooftops that changed owners in…
November 3, 2014 –The dealership buy-sell market remains hot through for the year with 200 acquisitions through the third quarter. While Warren Buffett’s announcement brought a renewed sense of energy to the market, it ultimately may dampen potential acquisitions for the next couple of quarters as buyers are content to wait out what is proving to…
November 1, 2014 — A dealership in Great Britain is going to try to sell cars without any salespeople. You read that right — no sales people. The dealership provides iPads located throughout the store for customers to use to complete the entire transaction online, including the financing. The dealership does have “product angels” available… Continue Reading
October 9, 2014 — Cox Automotive’s investment in AutoMD is continued indication that interest in the dealership service repair sector is growing and represents huge potential for vendors over the next 10 years. Cox Automotive and Federal-Mogul Motorparts announced last night they have made a minority investment in AutoMD, Inc., previously a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Auto Parts Network,…
October 8, 2014 — A federal judge in New Jersey Monday approved the settlement of a class action lawsuit resulting from BMW’s long standing practice of forcing dealers to help inflate its monthly sales numbers in what is commonly known as “punching” sales. The lawsuit alleged BMW cheated customers by reducing the length of its four-year Ultimate…
October 7, 2014 — Lexus has built a virtual test drive simulator that will be in place at upcoming auto shows and customer events over the next several months, beginning with the Orange County International Auto Show, which was held last week. In March, we wrote a piece called The Coming Changes to Automotive Retail, in which we… Continue Reading
Our analysis of yesterday’s stunning announcement from Warren Buffett that he is acquiring the Van Tuyl Group: Welcome to the Industry, Mr. Buffett. I’ve had several conversations and have read numerous blogs that speculate Buffett will usher in a new world for automotive retail — improving the shopping and buying processes both online and offline. Some of… Continue Reading