Dealers set a new quarterly record with $1,769 in average F&I income per vehicle retailed, partially offsetting an 11.8% slide in franchised dealership profitability. +
Conversica has launched Ignite, an AI-native platform built to unify valuable customer, vehicle, sales, service and conversation data from existing dealer systems. +
The latest quarterly VIN-based inventory report from Lotlinx finds rebounding sales driven by new launches but offset by persistently aged inventory. +
A nonbinding proposal from Penske’s largest shareholders would take one of the “Big 6” publicly traded dealer groups private at $210 per share. +
A new Impel report cites high rates of unanswered calls and mishandled leads, lost revenue and low winback rates to make the case for agentic AI as the next operating standard in automotive retail. +
In a reversal of a reversal, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has approved a rebate for first-time ZEV buyers to offset the loss of a federal tax credit. +
“‘Mid’ is in,” say Kelley Blue Book analysts in their latest monthly report, which finds smaller SUVs contributing to a sub-$50,000 average transaction price. +
VantageScore’s new credit scoring model promises better auto loan predictions with post-pandemic data and proprietary, AI-powered GAIN attributes. +
Ikon Technologies’ Christopher Schouten says AI routing is helping dealers retain more service customers as the industry average for dropped calls stands at 13%. +
Hendrick Automotive Group’s portfolio now includes 31 brands in 140 rooftops with the purchase of Foreign Cars Italia of Charlotte and Greensboro. +
