Asbury Automotive Group should have its lowest inventory of Japanese cars next month, but said it expects a boost in car sales toward the end of the year as manufacturers offer incentives to bring shoppers back.
"It will be a great time to be in the automotive retail business," said Asbury president and CEO Craig Monaghan. "It could get to the point where the fourth quarter becomes a phenomenal time for consumers to go out and buy a new car."
The Duluth company, which is one of the country's largest automotive chains, said it expects to have the lowest number of Hondas and Acuras in August or early September, but that Toyotas and Nissans have already bottomed out. The low inventory is the result of a production slowdown following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March.
Asbury has increased the ratio of used cars it is selling, to 81 for every 100 new cars, and its sales increased 9 percent in the second quarter, to $1.1 billion. Asbury's profits increased nearly 11 percent, to $14.2 million in the second quarter, from $12.8 million the year before. The company's stock price rose nearly 6.5 percent, to $21.40 a share, after it reported its results.
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