Prime Automotive Group, with 56 dealerships in eight states, saw it sales plummet in late March and April as the coronavirus pandemic kept U.S. consumers at home.
Prime's new- and used-vehicle sales and finance and insurance gross profit jumped 21 percent in the first 15 days of March but ended the month down 28 percent, said Prime Automotive CEO Todd Skelton. Parts and service gross profit rose 5.3 percent in the first 15 days of March but ended the month down 20 percent.
Vehicle sales for the Westwood, Mass., retailer were down about 60 percent from normal in April, which "for us in the Northeast is typically a very strong month," Skelton said. May's results are faring better, with sales and service so far up about 20 percent from April levels. Internet leads are up 39 percent over May 2019.
Prime furloughed an undisclosed number of workers and is covering their health care benefits, though some are now being brought back, said Skelton, who started as Prime's CEO Jan. 1 after a string of leadership changes at the company. Prime's majority owner, alternative asset-management firm GPB Capital, is involved in numerous lawsuits and is the target of federal and state investigations described as focused on potential violations of securities law.
A Prime spokeswoman said "several of our dealerships" have received Paycheck Protection Program funding from the federal government. Skelton said Prime so far has recalled 40 percent of furloughed employees. He said Prime intends to "use every dollar [of the loans] to get people back to work."
Early in the pandemic, Prime launched service pickup and delivery as well as vehicle delivery for test drives. It's also offering FaceTime or video presentations of vehicles. In early May, it began free disinfection of vehicles in for service — when the car arrives and again, in front of the customer, when it's ready for pickup.
Prime ranks No. 11 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 45,050 new vehicles in 2019.
