AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), the largest automotive retailer in the Untied States, today announced that its retail new vehicle unit sales in March 2011 totaled 22,246, an increase of 19% compared to March 2010.
“Based on current information from the manufacturers, we expect production disruptions will significantly impact product availability from Japanese auto manufacturers in the second and third quarters of 2011,” said Mike Jackson, AutoNation’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
For the first quarter of 2011, AutoNation’s retail new vehicle unit sales totaled 54,198, an increase of 23% compared to the first quarter of 2010. AutoNation owns and operates 243 new vehicle franchises in 15 of the United States.
Of AutoNation’s total new unit sales in 2010, 52% were produced by Japanese manufacturers, and approximately two-thirds of those units were assembled in North America.
“However, we believe that the auto retail market and underlying consumer demand will continue to recover throughout 2011. Our planning assumption for 2011 industry new unit sales remains 12.8 million units, and we believe that we will manage through these production shortfalls,” said Jackson.
Jackson concluded, “The situation is still developing, and therefore at this time it is difficult to fully predict the impact of the production disruption on the industry and our business.”
In 2010, about 54% of AutoNation’s revenue and 21% of its gross profit came from its sales of new vehicles. AutoNation retailed $6.7 billion of new vehicles in 201, and sells vehicles from 31 different manufacturer brands.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
