March 2020

Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2020, 04:05 PM CARY, N.C.  –  The impact of the COVID-19 to the auto industry is complex, widespread and trickle-down in nature, impacting everything from manufacturing and supply chains to retail/wholesale sales and ancillary services.  Scot Wingo, co-founder and CEO of Spiffy, joined the Auto Remarketing Podcast on Tuesday to discuss how the panedmic has impacted his company’s area of expertise: the mobile car care and the Fleet Management as a Service segments. He also discussed the implications for ride-share food delivery and e-commerce delivery (like Amazon… Read More »PODCAST: Spiffy CEO on fleet maintenance response to COVID-19

Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2020, 03:04 PM CARY, N.C. –  One of the founding members of the Automotive Intelligence Council is tackling perhaps one of the most daunting challenges ever — how collections will proceed once the coronavirus pandemic subsides. SubPrime Auto Finance News is hosting a free webinar featuring DRN executive vice president and general manager of fintech Jeremiah Wheeler, who will delve into five crucial takeaways to help auto-finance companies and recovery firms navigate through collections and repossessions after COVID-19. The free session is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on… Read More »Upcoming DRN webinar focused on post COVID-19 collections

CARY, N.C.  –  What will the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately have on used-car prices in 2020? That hinges on a number of factors. Depending on which of two scenarios play out, used-car prices could decline about 10% in coming months and then recover in the fourth quarter or fall by as much as 15% before starting a recovery towards the end of the year. That’s according to RVI Group, which has released a detailed analysis of the pandemic’s potential impacts on the general economy, new- and used-vehicle markets,… Read More »Used-car price impacts: A tale of 2 (or 3) scenarios

Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2020, 02:59 PM IRVING, Texas –  Finance company Exeter says its auction partners “are a vital part of Exeter’s servicing arm.” “They are asked to perform transportation of thousands of units, reconditioning, redemptions and most important, market to our dealer base,” the company said in an emailed statement Exeter continued, “The stronger the marketing of our brand, the more dealers that come into our auction lane, and online, to purchase our assets.” With that in mind, Exeter has announced its 2019 Exeter Auction Excellence Awards. Exeter said it… Read More »Exeter honors annual auction award winners

FRANKLIN, Tenn. –  Auction Academy’s current 2-year class group, Class 6, met Feb. 27 to 29 for the fourth of eight training and education sessions. Auction Academy is a career-continuing education program from TPC Management Co. for auto auction industry professionals. The 6tth class group launched last May in Birmingham, Ala. Tom and Cathy Adams hosted the group for dinner and an opening session headed by Chuck Redden of AutoTec. The group toured ADESA Birmingham and America’s Birmingham Auto Auction the following day. ADESA GM Ed Burton and America’s GM Russ Sapp… Read More »Auction Academy session features facility tours, instruction

DETROIT –  With the spread of COVID-19, General Motors says it has sought to use its talents and resources to help in the shared fight against the pandemic. The pandemic created a shortage of face masks, and GM on March 20 launched what it described as a “rapid-response project” to produce masks at scale to help protect workers in essential services across the country. “Working around the clock, our team rallied with incredible passion and focus to come up with a plan to produce masks that will help protect the women and… Read More »GM details ‘rapid response’ face mask project

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. –  Black Book generated a wide-ranging update as both the wholesale and retail segments grind to nearly a halt in many places because of the coronavirus pandemic. Analysts also offered both short-term and long-term projects about when activities and values might rebound, depending on severity of a recession. Black Book began by noting that Manheim was still hosting digital sales last week, but the company was not allowing sellers to physically represent their vehicles on the block, nor were buyers allowed to come to facilities to physically inspect inventory… Read More »Black Book closes March with sweeping assessments of wholesale, retail markets

Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2020, 12:38 PM LAS VEGAS –  For many dealership employees, working from home might be a bit unknown since so many regular activities happen at the showroom. To help store managers and their employees during the coronavirus pandemic, Dealer Profit Pros founder and president Kenny Atcheson produced a free, downloadable tip sheet to help dealers who find themselves in the unusual position of having employees working from home. “There are a number of factors and distractions that can take place when working from home instead of the dealership… Read More »Dealer Profit Pros shares guide for dealership staff working at home

Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2020, 12:36 PM NEW YORK –  Ally Financial is continuing to expand its commitments to online-only vehicle retailers as the coronavirus pandemic cripples the economy. On Monday, Vroom announced a $450 million inventory financing relationship with Ally Financial, broadening the floorplan financing it has provided to Vroom since 2016. Executives said the new agreement — finalized earlier this month — doubles the total amount of available credit and is Ally’s first fully committed facility to Vroom. “We’re thrilled to be broadening our financing relationship with Ally, so we… Read More »Vroom secures $450M in floorplan funding from Ally

Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2020, 11:25 AM EDMONTON –  CARFAX Canada knows that the COVID-19 crisis is having a profound effect on its customers and employees. The company said it is committed to supporting its partners and listed several steps it is taking in that area. First, the company said it is available to help its partners through email and phone. Because its team is working from home, face-to-face visits and sales support collateral are not currently available. CARFAX Canada is applying a 50% credit for all VHR subscriptions in April and… Read More »CARFAX Canada provides COVID-19 update