Fears about industry disruption and how it will affect automotive retail aren't spooking some big retailers from investing more of their profits in the traditional dealership model.
The resulting acquisitions helped several dealership groups boost new-vehicle sales last year and climb Automotive News' annual list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S.
For dealer Brett Morgan, there's room for the disrupters to carve out a place in the market without usurping his business.
"We use the term 'disrupter' too loosely," said Morgan, CEO of Morgan Auto Group, of Tampa, Fla. Some recent entrants to auto retail — Carvana, for instance — "are not immune to the trials and tribulations of selling used cars" that traditional dealers face, such as margin compression and rising inventory prices.