Top 100 retailers ranked on used-car sales: Shift in focus

Zeigler Automobile Team of Kalamazoo, Mich., noticeably improved its made use of-to-new ratio in 2021 over and above the 1-to-1 ratio it posted for 2020, business President Aaron Zeigler told Automotive Information. Zeigler rose 9 places to No. 23, retailing 29,604 utilised autos past yr vs. 20,920 in 2020 — a 42 % raise.

Considerably growing made use of-car or truck inventory turned a stage of concentration for the team in May well 2020, throughout the early days of the pandemic, Zeigler stated. The concentrate persisted into 2021 with the chip scarcity and constrained new-motor vehicle provide.

“Practically every thing that we understood about the employed-auto company modified,” Zeigler said. “Historically, used cars and trucks have depreciated. All of a unexpected, they commenced appreciating, so they ended up heading up in benefit as a substitute of down in excess of time.”

In previous several years, Zeigler Automotive cleared out made use of cars and trucks after 60 times in stock, aiming to stay away from losses from their depreciation. But during 2021, as cars rose in value, even immediately after 90 or 120 days in stock, Zeigler relaxed that 60-working day rule.

The team did not escape the complicated activity of locating applied inventory, even so: It purchased cars and trucks at auction, sought trade-ins, ordered automobiles in bulk and worked out deals with some automakers to get vehicles coming off lease.

Getting a dealership in Indiana and 4 in Wisconsin in 2021 gave the team a “tiny bit of a bump in quantity,” Zeigler claimed.

Stage One Automotive Group’s applied-to-new ratio also enhanced as its shops concentrated on offering used cars. The group dependent in Fort Walton Seaside, Fla., entered the checklist at No. 82, retailing 11,307 utilised motor vehicles in 2021, up 54 p.c.

In 2021, the team bought 1.1 utilized cars for each individual new car sold — up from .7 two or three yrs back, CEO Fernando Arellano Geddes explained to Automotive Information.

“In general, the made use of autos allowed us not only to hold the general performance of the volume but also overcome effectiveness versus 2019,” Geddes explained. “It’s a vital, key part.”