The rise of companies such as Uber and Lyft and the eventual arrival of autonomous vehicles will likely impact car sales one day, but not this year. A good way to describe U.S. sales this year, with a credit to Mazda, is “zoom zoom.”
The U.S. isn’t the only market where sales are zoom, zoom, however. Western European car sales grew by 9.9 percent in July. Publicly-listed Penske Automotive Group benefits from that growth because of its significant presence in Europe, especially the U.K.
In this issue, Penske’s Tony Pordon talks with me about how the EU’s franchise laws have helped Penske grow there, as has the Group’s close relationship with the manufacturers.
Right of first refusal continues to be a thorn in some dealers’ sides. So in this issue we’re re-visiting a column by Mark Johnson, president of MD Johnson Inc., that offers some tips on mistakes to avoid if you are ROFR’ed.
We also have our Transaction News, natch.
Enjoy!
