Fast-growing startup to add 225 jobs, expand Carmel headquarters
Kinetic Advantage, which helps finance inventory for independent car dealers, launched last July, but has already grown to 65 employees and is operating in 26 markets.
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Local startup aims to revolutionize car sales
After working for car dealerships for a quarter century, entrepreneur Cole Keesling is ready to flip the script to work for car buyers.
U.S. consumer prices rise 0.2% as cost of used vehicles spike
Prices for used cars and trucks are up 10.3% in the past 12 months. The September increase in used vehicle prices was the largest monthly increase since February 1969.
KAR Global to expand digital auction options with $425M acquisition
KAR Global plans to expand upon the online automotive auction services it provides through TradeRev by acquiring BacklotCars’ longer-term online auctions, which allow dealers to bid on cars over the course of several days.
Used-car dealer Byrider hasn’t suffered much in pandemic
The company says sales are up after an earlier drop-off, and it hasn’t yet seen a spike in delinquencies or defaults among credit-challenged borrowers, who represent its core customers.
Westgate car dealership to be sold to Hoosier dealer group
The Plainfield business is bucking the trend of local dealerships getting scooped up by large national conglomerates.
Car dealers hungry for inventory after factory shutdowns leave lots depleted
Automakers essentially halted production for eight weeks—from mid-March through mid-May—as the pandemic wreaked havoc on supply chains and sparked concern for autoworker safety.
KAR Global shares slide 11% as auction giant cuts costs to weather COVID crisis
Pay reductions helped the auto auction giant partially offset the temporary closing of its physical auctions and other fallout from COVID-19.
Asbury Automotive furloughs 215 employees at local car dealerships
Asbury, which has eight Indianapolis-area dealerships, said it’s furloughing 2,300 employees across its 10-state operating footprint due to a sharp drop-off in sales and service revenue.
KAR rethinks strategy for startup after it loses $125M in two years
Auto auction giant KAR Global’s bet on a phone app that facilitates dealer-to-dealer car sales has cost it a fortune over the past two years—so much so that KAR now is retooling its strategy for the fast-growing division.
CarMax plans second Indy-area superstore, near Greenwood
In order to move forward with the south-side project, the publicly traded used-car behemoth must receive a variance of use for auto retailing on the land.
Buyers move to used vehicles as new autos hit record prices
Consumers bought an estimated 40.4 million used vehicles last year, likely passing the old record of 40.2 million set in 2018, according to figures from the Edmunds.com auto pricing site.
Courtney Cole, one half of Hare Chevrolet’s ‘Sisters of Savings,’ dies after cancer battle
Cole and sister Monica Peck took over the business in 2008 from their parents, just as the Great Recession was gathering steam. They more than doubled their sales after the “Sisters of Savings” radio ad campaign began.
Butler Toyota acquired by Georgia-based dealership giant
Asbury Automotive Group, the nation’s seventh-largest auto retailer, now has made four acquisitions in the Indianapolis area totaling more than a quarter-billion dollars since 2017. Butler is being rebranded as part of the purchase.
Napleton plans Kia dealership for Carmel
The dealership would be built across 96th Street from the now-defunct HHGregg store, where Napleton had previously filed plans with Indianapolis to open a dealership.
Tesla to close stores to reduce costs for $35,000 Model 3
Tesla plans to sell its electric cars only online as it accelerates its cost-cutting efforts. The company will close many of its 378 stores, but leave some open as galleries or "information centers" in high-traffic areas.
National car dealer backs away from massive HHGregg HQ site
Napleton Auto Group says it’s still weighing its options for relocating one of its local Kia dealerships after dropping a contract to buy the former appliance chain headquarters and retail site.
Napleton eyes former HHGregg HQ on 96th Street for Kia dealership, more retail
The Chicago-based auto group that entered the Indianapolis market with a big splash in 2017 has requested a zoning change for the mammoth HHGregg property that would include car sales and repair.
Black Friday breathing life back into no-interest auto loans
The share of U.S. vehicle sales financed with zero-percent loans has been shrinking, but several automakers are rolling out no-interest loans for Black Friday.
Indianapolis-area auto dealers selling to bigger groups
The local car dealerships Hoosiers have long visited when shopping to buy a set of wheels could bear new names in coming years as aging owners look to sell off their businesses.