Penske Automotive Group, through its Sytner Group business unit in the United Kingdom, in July completed rebranding its used vehicle-only CarShop locations in the U.K. Those stores now use the Sytner Select name.
One store was converted in April, and the rest followed in June and July, the company said.
Randall Seymore, COO of international operations, said during Penske Automotive's July 31 second-quarter earnings call that the change was made in part to cut costs.
"We rebranded and transitioned the operations of CarShop to Sytner Select to more closely align the used-car operation with franchised dealerships and to reduce our cost base," Seymore said. "We successfully transitioned nine locations and sold the remaining three locations to a third party. Going forward, we will operate nine Sytner Select locations in the U.K. market."
Seymore said Penske's new business model offers benefits such as Sytner's "high-quality" brand recognition, eliminates a CarShop headquarters office and provides easier vehicle sourcing from franchised dealerships.
"We're already seeing a pretty significant increase in our gross profit per unit because of the sourcing of those vehicles," he said.
Penkse's franchised dealerships in the U.K. do not sell off-brand used vehicles, but Sytner Select sells all brands, spokesperson Tony Pordon said in a statement.
"CarShop focused on older, less expensive vehicles that were most likely acquired from a fleet company or at auction, [and] Sytner Select will acquire these vehicles from the franchised dealership for potential sale," Pordon said.
U.K. used-car retailer Big Motoring World said on its website that it bought three CarShop stores, though Penske would not comment on the purchaser.
The CarShop rebranding and store sales follow Penske's second-quarter closure of a CarShop location in Doncaster, England.
