Some believed that Carvana, an online used car retailer, would never make it to 2025. Instead, the company has just announced that it has finalized a deal to acquire a franchised Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram (CDJR) dealership in Arizona. Though, perhaps not the wisest choice considering how sales of Stellantis‘ American brands are going.
Carvana purchases a Stellantis dealership in Arizona
“We’re always experimenting and this is a small test in a single market. We’re excited to join the Stellantis network and our goal in this test will be to learn how to provide great customer experiences at a franchised dealership: we don’t expect it to have a noticeable impact on our results in the near future,” a Carvana spokesperson told Automotive News.
Carvana stated that they will name the dealership Casa Grande CDJR, also adding that the store, which currently has 41 employees, will retain all staff without the need for layoffs. The details of the deal and the purchase price have not been disclosed.
2024 has been a very complicated year for Stellantis, which is why Carvana may have secured a good deal with the purchase of the store and the arrival of Stellantis‘ new CEO, who will be announced by mid-2025. The automotive group has repeatedly stated that it will focus its attention on recovering the North American market, which is why Carvana’s investment might have been made with a long-term perspective.
Until now, Carvana has focused on selling used cars online, but the move to acquire a physical dealership could open new horizons. CarMax tried a similar strategy in the past, before giving up and stating that it wanted to focus solely on used vehicles. Who knows if the same fate will befall Carvana.