Inside Bruce Titus' trade-in capture rate, Used EV sales run red hot, Auto loan access holds steady in January

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Yesterday, I had the pleasure of recording a podcast in person (in Florida) with Michael Maroone, CEO of Maroone USA, and all I can say is: wow.

Definitely one for the books. Airing 2/26…

— CDG

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Welcome to The Weekly, a roundup of the top five auto industry headlines of the week.

Earlier this week, we covered how used EV sales are surging even after federal tax credits ended, with Recurrent reporting a 35% year-over-year jump in 2025 and more than half of used EV inventory now priced under $30,000.

Per Recurrent, this is likely because buyers are holding an interest in the value that comes with this segment, despite broader affordability woes, with many used EVs newer and lower-mileage than similarly priced gas cars.

Big picture: With more than a million EV lease returns expected between 2025 and 2027, dealers are looking at a growing pipeline of late-model, tech-heavy inventory that could help ease used supply pressure in the years ahead.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

After seeing used supply stay tight in his market, Bruce Titus Auto Group GM Shane Wood decided to get aggressive about buying cars instead of waiting on trades to show up.

And on Daily Dealer Live this week, Wood shared how this included building a dedicated acquisitions team, paying employees around $500 per successful referral, and training service and BDC to ask every caller if they’re looking to buy or sell.

As he explained: These shifts resulted a jump in trade-in capture from the low 30% range to around 60% in six months, proving that used inventory is really all about building a culture that treats every car as a buying opportunity.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

Also this week, we covered news of Stellantis tightening its buy-sell rules, limiting dealers to acquiring just one CDJR store within a rolling 12-month period, while reinforcing existing caps on how many rooftops an owner can control nationally and within a single market.

For context, the move comes as the brand works to steady the network following supply and pricing missteps, and after larger players like Carvana began accumulating Stellantis stores, sparking debate about consolidation.

What were watching: Some dealers see it as a morale boost and a way to protect smaller operators, but others argue it could slow transactions and limit flexibility in an already battered network.

(Go deeper: 2 min. read)

With no room to add bays in North Jersey, All American Ford’s fixed ops director Jim Sabino went a different route and put 16 mobile service vans on the road, with plans to grow to 20 this year.

To do so, he built a dedicated mobile team with its own coordinator and techs, focusing on fleet work, recalls, and maintenance to keep margins healthy and routing tight.

Sabino’s POV: For stores boxed in by real estate, mobile service is a practical way to add capacity, grow fixed ops revenue, and meet customers where they are without pouring concrete.

(Go deeper: 4 min. read)

Auto credit access held steady in January, with Cox Automotive’s Dealertrack Index at 100.0, but borrowing costs moved higher as the average contract rate rose to 10.9%.

As rates climbed, more buyers leaned on longer terms and subprime financing, with loans over 72 months rising to 28% and subprime share increasing to 15.7%.

In other words: While lenders are still open for business, more deals are being stretched to hit the payment, which makes structure and lender strategy even more important at the dealership level.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

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