🌱✂️ Unlike my neighbor Dave, data don't lie. Data also doesn't borrow your mower, then bring it back broken and insist "it was already like that." The industry had a March that, at the very least, has folks optimistic about Q2.
📈🔧📉 In March, service lane activity was up 15.9% month-over-month but down 4.3% year-over-year. However, in terms of revenue, the movement is reversed, with a 5.6% jump in revenue from March 2022 but down 0.5% from February to March.
🚗🦘 Despite a projected 6% decline, pre-owned sales jumped 4.2% in March 2023 vs. 2022 and 11% compared to February. Cost per order was up 10% vs. Q1 2022.
🏭👩🏭 Through Q1, most automakers had a 7.5% increase in sales. Averaged-out sales increased about 7.5%, with only Toyota and Stellantis declining. Inventory, of course, has played a significant role in the ups and downs of recent years. Still, as the semiconductor shortage finally eases, inventory is on the mend. GM, for instance, has a 50% inventory rise in Q1 2023, marking a potential return to normal.