Ryan Kerrigan Reports Buy-Sell Market Surges as Franchise Sales Jump 21% in Q1 2026
Despite ongoing concerns surrounding affordability, interest rates, and uncertainty in the Middle East, the dealership buy-sell activity is moving in the opposite direction. Joining us on today’s episode of CBT News’ Inside Automotive is Ryan Kerrigan, Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors, to discuss record franchise turnover, rising valuations, and what’s driving continued momentum in the 2026 dealership M&A market. According to Kerrigan, the buy-sell market is running at full speed, with franchise sales up 21 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Despite strong transaction volume, Kerrigan points to a persistent tension in the broader market. The U.S. SAAR remains above 16 million units and inventory levels are relatively stable, but the average selling prices now exceed $50,000, pricing out a growing segment of buyers. He also cited a recent Wall Street Journal report estimating that roughly one million consumers who would otherwise buy new this year are simply priced out. Many are choosing instead to hold onto existing vehicles, which Kerrigan notes is driving service retention. Additionally, Kerrigan notes that public dealer groups drove much of the first-quarter volume, deploying roughly $800 million in capital on acquisitions. Click here for the full interview.
A New Era of Super-Hybrid Cars Is Coming
The future is always on its way, even if, in the automotive world lately, not especially punctual. Some predictions had it that the American fleet would be mostly electric by 2035. That aggressive timetable has been delayed by a triple whammy of pricing, misinformation and political whiplash. Years of planning by automakers have been scrapped, with tens of billions of dollars briskly written off by accountants. Yet most automakers still believe electrification is inevitable. The next era is likely to include extended-range electric vehicles, or, inelegantly, EREVs, reports The New York Times. Extended-range electrics are much like plug-in hybrids with important differences. Batteries get the Goldilocks treatment, larger than plug-in packs, smaller than in the all-electrics. The significant battery range means most travel is done with powerful refined electric motors. The engine and generator fire up less and only to produce electricity. There’s no transmission: The wheels are driven exclusively by electric motors. Since batteries account for some 40 percent of the cost of an electric car, smaller packs offer meaningful savings. The engine runs at peak efficiency, helping reliability. Maintenance is reduced, but EREVs still require oil changes and they’re more complex than electric cars. Click here for the full story.
VW Group Shareholders Challenge Turnaround Strategy at Annual Meeting
Under pressure to prove that a three-year overhaul is delivering results, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume defended his strategy to remake the automaker’s business model against criticism from major shareholders who said the group remains burdened by weak profits, excess complexity and unresolved challenges in China. Speaking to investors at the automaker’s annual meeting June 18, Blume said VW Group has largely completed the first phase of its turnaround and is restoring profitability and competitiveness, reports Automotive News. But representatives of some of Germany’s largest fund managers said investors remain unconvinced that restructuring efforts and cost cuts will be enough to restore the group’s historical earnings power.Blume reiterated many of the targets and broad contours of his strategy that he has presented to investors repeatedly over the past weeks and months. He said VW Group aims to lift its operating margin to between 8 percent and 10 percent by 2030, up from an expected 4 percent to 5.5 percent this year, through deeper cost cuts, factory rationalization, simpler vehicle lineups and a more regionalized operating structure. Click here for the full story.
Fed Predicts Rate Increase In 2026. What That Means for Auto Dealers
As 2025 ended, dealers were hopeful an interest rate cut this year — as predicted by the Federal Reserve —would lure more car buyers dealing with affordability issues back into showrooms. But the Fed — under new Chairman Kevin Warsh — reversed course and said to expect a quarter-point increase later in 2026 while holding the benchmark rate steady at 3.5 to 3.75 percent for now. An interest rate increase might seem worrisome for dealers, automakers and consumers confronting the rising cost of vehicles, housing, food and other essentials. But a dealer and an industry analyst told Automotive News a rate cut or even a small Fed rate increase wouldn’t affect sales much. “It’s not going to drive … big [sales] numbers either way,” said Tom Castriota, dealer principal at Castriota Chevrolet in Hudson, Fla. Some customers might be forced out of the market by interest rates, but many buyers will stay, Ivan Drury, Edmunds director of insights, said. There’s “so much deferred demand” in the market, and ultimately many consumers who have “pushed off that trade-in for as long as they can” can’t avoid buying a replacement when the vehicle begins to fail, he said. Click here for the full story.
Jaguar Land Rover Will Add More Hybrids as Carmaker Targets US
Jaguar Land Rover will add more hybrid sport utility vehicles as part of a plan to target the U.S., becoming the latest automaker to temper its electric ambitions. The British company, owned by India’s Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., plans to create hybrid versions of the luxury Range Rover and Defender models without a plug, it said Wednesday ahead of an investor day at its UK headquarters. It will focus even more on the U.S., its largest market, with a particular push there for the Defender, reports Bloomberg.The plan is “to grow our U.S. business to the size of the entire JLR business as it exists today,” Chief Executive Officer P B Balaji said in a statement. The move is part of an effort to reboot Britain’s largest carmaker, which is trying to recover from a year where its profit was almost entirely wiped out. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught caused chaos for the company, which has no U.S. factories, with a drop in luxury demand in China adding to the pressure. A crippling cyberattack starting last September that disrupted production for weeks added to the pain. Click here for the full story.
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