TOGETHER WITH
Monday again, Fam!
We’ve got news, data, and some actionable context below, but I wanted to invite you again to join us for The Truth About Car Dealers Season 2 Episode 3 on Wednesday.
Check out the LinkedIn event page here to RSVP.
This time we’re visiting Rohrman Automotive Group, so you already know it’ll be good.
Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here!
Reading time: 3 min
THE NEWS
Used cars are loosening up… but the “cheap car” is still the unicorn
Used inventory is finally improving, and tax season could pour a little fuel on demand in March. But the vehicles showing up aren’t the ones most budget shoppers want, and the biggest online competitor in the room is openly planning to scale hard.
Inventory’s up, affordability’s still tight
Under $20K is getting rarer
CNBC pulled the math: used prices are down year over year, but the average used vehicle (up to 8 years old) was $30,202 in 2025, up 27.6% from 2020. The bigger issue for a lot of stores is mix, not just price.
The share of used vehicles under $20K fell to 30% in 2025, down from 53% in 2019.
Again, it’s about payments.
Even when the shopper is motivated, the payment is doing damage: Edmunds has average used APR around 10.5% with an average amount financed near $29,364. And a small but rising slice of buyers are taking on $1,000+ used payments.
Tax refunds could spike demand, or…
March is the test
Bigger refunds (early IRS data showed average refunds up 10.9% as of Feb. 6) could push buyers back into the market, especially people priced out of new. March is already a historically strong month for sales, so the question is whether refunds become down payments… or debt paydown.
Cox’s Charlie Chesbrough summarized: some buyers may be surprised by a larger return, but household budgets are stretched and confidence is low.
Translation for the desk: get sharper on appraisal discipline and faster on recon turn, because payment pressure isn’t going away.
Dealer count is steady, but the shape is changing
Consolidation by a different route
Automotive News’ dealer census says the U.S. opened 2026 with about 18,300 franchise stores, basically flat year over year, but with 442 fewer franchises and more single-brand rooftops (13,351, up 1.2%). So, there are fewer signs on the same poles, showing OEM networks are still trimming and reshuffling.
Carvana is building.
The 3-million-car plan is very real
Carvana is doubling down on a target of 3 million retail units a year by 2030–2035, with ADESA as the engine: more staffing, more production-line integrations, new lines, and eventually greenfield inspection centers. Automotive News reported they expect 6–8 new ADESA integrations in 2026, costing $30–$35M per site, adding roughly 40,000 units of annual capacity per location.
Yahoo FInance
Wall Street loved the growth, but dinged the story: reconditioning costs rose, profit-per-unit slipped, and management wouldn’t give clean Q1 guidance.
From Friday’s State of the Union
“Pay attention. There’s something to learn.”
Paul and Kyle spoke about Carvana on Friday’s show, the dealer takeaway was posture:
“For anybody, whether you’re a large operator or a midsize or a small operator, there is something to learn… don’t count yourself out and be like, ‘there’s nothing to learn, I’m not them.’ There’s something to learn. Pay attention.”
That’s the line for this week: own your used-car craft, because the market is giving you more supply, tougher affordability, and a competitor scaling like an industrial company.
Most dealerships buy more leads. Few fix the conversation.
HeyGreenlight enriches up to 85% of your leads in under 60 seconds with income band, credit band, buying timeline, garage data, and verified contact details. That insight feeds Wingman, delivering real-time scripts, objection handling, and next-best actions while your rep is still on the call. No guessing. No generic follow-up. Just context-driven conversations that build trust and book appointments.
You stop wasting ad spend.
Your team stops winging it.
Better context. Better appointments. Better outcomes.
MORE NEWS
4 More Retail Auto Headlines
giphy
Volkswagen’s Chattanooga workers ratified their first UAW contract with 96% approval, locking in 20% wage hikes and richer benefits. The South just got a lot less “right to work” predictable, and labor costs across non-Detroit plants are officially part of the competitive math.
Lucid is cutting 12% of its workforce while promising it’s still full speed toward profitability, Gravity ramp, and a $50K midsize EV. Translation: trim the overhead, keep the factory humming, and hope the next earnings call tells a cleaner story.
Nio pulled off 175,976 battery swaps in a single day during Lunar New Year travel, roughly two swaps per second across its network. While the West debates charging speeds, China is stress-testing EV infrastructure at holiday scale.
Lamborghini scrapped plans for a fully electric supercar, saying buyers “miss the noise,” and will double down on plug-in hybrids instead. Even at $400K+, emotion still outsells electrons, and hybrids are the safe bridge for now.
AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE
Dealer Conferences and Industry Events
Wed, Feb 25, 12:00 PM CST: The Truth About Car Dealers: Rohrman Automotive Group | S2:E3. RSVP for the livestream here!
Tue, March 31: NY Auto Forum. We’ll be there taking in the vibes, making content, and moderating a session.
May 12-15: ASOTU CON 2026, Hanover, MD
Get ready for the Year of the Human
Today in History: February 23
1886 – Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of aluminium from the electrolysis of aluminium oxide, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister, Julia Brainerd Hall.
1963 – The Chrysler 426 Hemi debuts on the track
1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
Thanks for reading, Friend!
Let us know how you’re enjoying the emails with a reply, or just use the poll below to let us know what you’re craving in the next email.
