AutoNation

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AutoNation, Inc.
Type Public (NYSE: AN)
Founded 1996 (as Republic)
April 6, 1999 (as AutoNation)
Headquarters Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Industry Car dealership
Revenue $Approx 18 Billion[1]
AutoNation headquarters in Fort Lauderdale

AutoNation is a chain of auto dealerships founded by entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga,[2] also founder of Blockbuster and Waste Management.[3] The company, founded in 1996, is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale in the Miami metropolitan area. The current Chairman and CEO is Mike Jackson, former CEO of Mercedes Benz North America

Contents

Company operations

AutoNation, Inc. is the largest automotive retailer in the United States.[4] AutoNation has 272 dealerships nationwide, and employs approximately 25,000 employees. AutoNation sells 37 different manufacturer brands nationwide. AutoNation outsells every other automotive retailer in the U.S. and is ranked #138 on the 2008 Fortune 500.[1] The company has a significant internet presence, offering its entire inventory for online searching.[5]

Total company revenue is as follows:

  • 59% New Vehicles ($11.5 billion in 2005)
  • 23% Used Vehicles ($4.4 billion in 2005)
  • 14% Parts and Service ($2.2 billion in 2005)
  • 3% Financing and Insurance ($615 million in 2005)

AutoNation brands

Instead of supporting a national mark, AutoNation has developed a unique brand name for its dealerships in each market.

These include the following:

E-Vehicles Program

E-Vehicles Program, in partnership with Edmunds.com, identifies fuel-efficient vehicles, with 8.40 L/100km (28 miles per gallon) or deliver 10% better fuel efficiency than the average for their vehicle class.

History

From its founding in 1996 until 1999, AutoNation operated a series of used car megastores under the AutoNation USA brand, designed in the image of rival CarMax. See History attached[1]

The company was formerly known as Republic Industries, Inc.,[2] and changed its name to AutoNation in 1999. The company's first Chief Executive Officer was Steve Berrard, who resigned from the company in July 1999.[7]

In October 24, 2005, the AutoNation building in downtown Fort Lauderdale suffered significant damage due to Hurricane Wilma.[8]

In 2006 Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation announced[9] that his company would be reducing orders from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler in 2007. Jackson made the statement that the company will instead focus on selling BMW, Mercedes and Lexus vehicles due to anticipation of further market share loss by US automakers resulting in high dealer inventories. [[[Bio]][2]]]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Fortune 500: AutoNation, CNN Money/Fortune, accessed May 21, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Bradsher, Keith, "Republic's Huizenga Wants to Dominate the Market", The New York Times, pp. D1, March 6, 1997.
  3. ^ Gallagher, Richard S. (2002). The Soul of an Organization: Understanding the Values that Drive Successful Corporate Cultures. Kaplan Business, pp. 113. ISBN 0-7931-5780-3. 
  4. ^ White, Joseph B., "One Billion Cars", The Wall Street Journal, pp. R1, April 17, 2006.
  5. ^ Tucci, Christopher L.; and Afuah, Allan (2001). Internet Business Models and Strategies: Text and Cases. McGraw-Hill, pp. 270. ISBN 0-07-239724-1. 
  6. ^ "AutoNation benches Elway's name," Denver Post, December 1, 2006,
  7. ^ "Autonation Chief Executive Agrees to Step Down", The New York Times, July 1, 1999.
  8. ^ Hoag, Christina, and Danner, Patrick, "Creatively coping with chaos: South Florida's hurricane-worn companies are making do to keep going despite a lack of offices", The Miami Herald, October 27, 2005.
  9. ^ Chakvorti, Jui, AutoNation slowed '07 model orders: CEO, Reuters, September 12th, 2006.

Further reading

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutoNation"

This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.