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.
