Big Dealer Groups to ‘Raise the Bar’ for Fixed Ops
Executives at Lithia Motors and Sonic Automotive, two of the nation’s “Big 6” publicly traded dealer groups, tell WardsAuto’s Jim Henry they are not satisfied with the gains in service and parts revenue they and their competitors reported in the fourth quarter.
Lithia President and CEO Bryan DeBoer tells Henry his group needs to “find another gear” for fixed ops — more customers, more ROs, more shifts.
“It’s more of a mindset issue from the service advisers in the organization and management. They believe that there are only so many hours there. And they can find the efficiency,” DeBoer says.
Henry notes combined Big 6 fixed ops revenue totaled $4.2 billion in Q4 2024, a 6% improvement led by Sonic Automotive’s 10.1% gain over the prior-year quarter.
