Top 100 Retailers Ranked by Used-Vehicle Sales - S3

Carvana makes its debut at No. 8 on list
Online retailer joins top 100
as used competition heats up

E

spots to No. 20, both strong used sales and acquisitions helped,
CEO Brett Morgan said. But strong used sales did not cut into
sales of new vehicles at the dealership group - at least not last
year.
"It's really just been in the last 90 days that our new business
has softened," Morgan told Automotive News. "We're not
hitting the panic button there yet."
In 2018, used-vehicle sales at the 37-store group rose 4
percent on a same-store basis, Morgan said. In total, sales
soared 29 percent to 25,066 vehicles, according to the
Automotive News Data Center. The group acquired eight stores
in 2018.

David Muller

dmuller@crain.com

ven as used-vehicle sales and revenue are on the rise,
dealers are facing increased competition.
The industry's most prominent new competitor in
the used-vehicle market, online startup Carvana,
debuts at No. 8 on Automotive News' list of the top 100 retailers
based in the U.S. ranked by used-vehicle retail sales. Carvana
retailed 94,108 vehicles in 2018, more than double what it sold
the year before. The company was not on the 2017 list.
Since it went public nearly two years ago, Carvana has been
moving headlong into new markets to sell 15,000 vehicles for
sale on its website. It offered as-soon-as-next-day delivery in 85
markets at the end of 2018. That number had risen to 115
markets by mid-April.
Carvana's rapid growth has the industry taking note. Carvana
CEO Ernie Garcia calls it just the beginning.
Most consumers "still don't even know
exactly what is meant when you say you
'buy a car online,' " Garcia said on the
company's fourth-quarter earnings call.
As consumers gain awareness of Carvana
and get "more comfortable with what we
do," Garcia said, the company's sales could
skyrocket. Garcia predicts the online
retailer can reach 2 million units in sales,
Garcia: Just
which would put it far ahead of any other
the beginning
retailer in Automotive News' top 100.
That goal of 2 million vehicles generally will result from
reducing prices and making the buying experience less
cumbersome, Garcia has said. With the largest player having
just a 1.8 percent market share, the used-vehicle market is
fragmented and wide open to more competition, he notes.

Top 10
The largest player Garcia was referring to is CarMax, which
once again finished first on the top 100 list, with a 7.5 percent
gain in used-vehicle sales to 721,512. It was followed by
Penske Automotive Group, which posted a 12 percent
increase to 282,500 used vehicles. AutoNation rounded out
the top three with a 1.5 percent bump, retailing 237,722 used
vehicles.
Lithia Motors rose to the No. 4 spot, with sales of 151,234,
swapping places with Group 1 Automotive, which had sales of
147,999 used vehicles for the No. 5 spot. Sonic Automotive Inc.
and Hendrick Automotive Group followed at No. 6 and No. 7.

'Back to basics'

Carvana's vending machines are part of its strategy to make
the car buying experience less cumbersome.

After Carvana, Asbury Automotive Group Inc. and Larry H.
Miller Dealerships rounded out the top 10.
Total used-vehicle retail sales across the top 100 grew 9.7
percent to 3.4 million last year. The top 100's share of the overall
used-vehicle market also grew, from 7.8 percent in 2017 to 8.6
percent in 2018.
Industrywide used-vehicle sales edged up to 39.5 million
units last year vs. 39.4 million in 2017, according to Cox
Automotive. Across the top 100, used-retail revenue in 2018
rose 12 percent to $70.4 million.
Some retailers benefited on the used side as new-vehicle
affordability challenges pushed some buyers into the used
market. Other retailers climbed the used ranking by acquiring
dealerships.
For Morgan Auto Group in Tampa, Fla., which jumped seven

Morgan's used-vehicle sales have continued to pick up speed
in 2019, with total sales up 42 percent through March and
same-store sales up 12 percent.
Morgan credited the growth to a "back to basics" strategy.
That included a comprehensive digital retailing component,
focused pricing and frontline strategies such as properly
displaying vehicles on the lot.
Jumping into the top 20 on the list were Napleton Automotive
Group and Chapman Automotive Group. Napleton hopped
five spots to No. 16, while Chapman climbed 15 spots to No. 18.
Island Auto Group climbed eight spots to No. 48, while Gee
Automotive moved up 15 spots to No. 51. And #1 Cochran
Automotive rose 11 spots to No. 74.
After Carvana, the companies with the biggest year-over-year
increases were Chapman, with a 54 percent gain, and Feldman
Automotive Group, with a 48 percent spike.
Taking the biggest tumble down the list was Tuttle-Click
Automotive Group, with a 17-spot drop to finish at No. 100.
McCombs Automotive dropped 12 spots to No. 67. Bergstrom
Automotive, Russ Darrow Group and Mac Haik Auto Group all
slid 11 spots in 2018.
Some retailers that might have qualified for the top 100
declined to respond to Automotive News' survey. They
included Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, formerly Van Tuyl
Group.
Ten retailers on last year's list either did not meet this year's
cutoff or didn't respond for the 2018 list. One of them, Reagor
Dykes Auto Group of Lubbock, Texas, is operating under
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after being sued by Ford
Motor Credit Co., which accused the dealership group of
massive floorplan financing fraud. It was No. 70 on last year's
list.
Ten retailers are either new to the list or returning after an
absence in 2017. After Carvana, the highest-ranking among
those 10 was Cardinale Group at No. 19. n
Top 100 Retailers Ranked by Used-Vehicle Sales

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