Source: http://www.autoremarketing.com/content/trends/nada-franchised-used-sales-almost-15-dealer-profitability-40-year-over-year
Auto Remarketing - June 23, 2011
Dealers achieved pre-tax net profit of 2.5% in 1st 4 months of 2011 Almost 30% stronger than same period of 2010 Last year dealers recorded pre-tax net profitability of 2.1%, compared to 1.5% in 2009 New-vehicle sales up 26.6% from the same period of 2010, used sales up 14.8% Service and parts sales climbed 10.3% Year-to-date sales through May have reached 5.26M units, up 13.9% year-over-year Last year dealers faced a difficult economy recovery, brand discontinuation This year dealers face mountainous challenge of Japanese earthquake; disrupted production Dealing w/ high gas prices that have affected demand Demand for small car and crossover major reason for increased profits Lower floor plan expenses caused by lower inventory after Japanese earthquake also pivotal June sales will reflect supply hurdles; forecasts strong 2nd half of year for dealers "Despite challenges such as higher gasoline prices and generally slow economic growth, dealers have managed to increase sales while keeping their expenses low. As production ramps up in July, and lenders increase their loan volume, we can expect to see continued growth in both sales and profits." -- Paul Taylor, chief economist, National Automobile Dealers Association