Though auto dealership revenue and ticket volume fell month-over-month in April, revenue is up year-over-year as owners keep their vehicles longer to save money in the still-inflated purchase market, Cox Automotive says.
Revenue from service business was up 5.3% over a year earlier after hitting a record high in March, based on Cox’s analysis of Xtime data.
“Car owners are keeping their vehicles longer and investing by servicing and repairing their vehicles, without the worry of large monthly loan payments,” said Skyler Chadwick, director of Product Consulting at Xtime.
The statistics track average U.S. franchised dealership service department business, indexed to January 2019.
Volume dropped month-over-month in April, Cox’s Repair Order Volume Index falling 9% to 82.0. It was down 6.6% year-over-year.
The Repair Order Revenue Index, meanwhile, was down just 0.5% from March and up 5.3% year-over-year. Average revenue per repair fell by $3 from the record high in March.
“Higher service costs pushed total service revenue per dealership to a record high for any April in the past five years,” Chadwick said. “Most consumers understand that maintaining their car is still much cheaper than buying a new one, especially when considering the typical monthly payment for a new vehicle is over $750.”
