Two major dealership networks saw strong financials in the second quarter of this year, and used vehicle sales were a big part of their success. Lithia Motors, Inc. just reported used vehicle retail same store sales increased 19%, helping income to increase during the quarter.
Lithia stressed the importance of trade-ins to dealers for its strong second quarter results in used vehicle sales. Lithia Motors focused on acquiring more trade-ins for its stores in an effort to continue its growth.
Sonic Automotive Inc. saw a 32% increase in second-quarter net income on a recovering new car market and record used-vehicle volume. Sonic sold 34,396 new vehicles in the quarter, up from 28,125 a year earlier. Used-vehicle sales rose to 27,528 from 26,799 for the third-largest U.S. auto dealer group.