Online retailers continue to make gains in used-vehicle sales, and with the coronavirus pandemic keeping many shoppers home this spring, they hope to further their foothold in 2020.
In our 2019 ranking of the top 100 used-vehicle retailers, upstart Carvana jumped to No. 4, after making its debut at No. 8 in 2018. Carvana's used-retail units jumped 89 percent in 2019 to 177,549. The Tempe, Ariz., company accomplished this feat with an asset-light approach that included vending machines and vehicle reconditioning centers but otherwise relied mostly on its Web presence.
It trailed only CarMax, Penske Automotive Group and AutoNation, which were 1, 2 and 3, respectively, in 2018 as well.
CarMax posted record sales in its latest fiscal year but, like others, has seen a stark change in business just over three months into 2020.
Many retailers were headed into the busy spring selling season with used-vehicle sales poised to be above 2019 levels. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus caused a pandemic that arrived in earnest in the U.S. market in mid-March.