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The Clairmont Automotive Report

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

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F&I

Penske F&I per unit slips

Retail F&I revenue fell 2.7% to $197.6M, and F&I per unit (excluding agency) was $1,731, down from $1,795. Same-store F&I per unit was $1,734, down from $1,817, per Penske Automotive Group. Link

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The other stories from Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

Stellantis posts Q3 loss, holds outlook

Q3 net revenue rose 1% to $42.1B (€37.6B), but the company lost $0.56B (€0.5B) and its adjusted operating margin was 0.7%, with industrial free cash flow at −$4.48B (−€4.0B).

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Mercedes final Q3 numbers

Group EBIT came in at $1.98B (€1.77B), up from $0.84B (€0.75B) a year ago, on revenue of $34.4B (€30.7B), down from $35.9B (€32.1B).

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GM preps Lansing SUV plant for hybrids

Lansing Delta Township, home of the Enclave, Traverse and Acadia, will be readied for future hybrid production, and a DOE grant is being restructured to support it.

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Toyota previews next hybrid engines

A new 1.5-liter four-cylinder family, in naturally aspirated and turbo versions, targets fuel-economy gains of more than 15% and is built for a single platform shared by BEV, PHEV and hybrid models, per Toyota Motor Europe.

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October sales pace seen near 16.1M

Cox projects a 16.1M SAAR (16.0M in September, 15.7M a year ago) and about 1.38M units, up 7.2% year over year with 28 selling days, per Cox Automotive.

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Mazda folds CX-70 into CX-90

The two-row CX-70 is gone for 2027. The CX-90 now offers two rows on its Turbo Premium Sport and Turbo S Premium Sport trims, and the base CX-90 starts at $41,345 with destination, per Edmunds.

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Lithia grows in Memphis

Lithia bought Gossett Motor Cars' four Kia and Hyundai stores in Memphis in a deal that closed Oct. 19, more than doubling its local footprint, per Kerrigan Advisors, which advised the seller.

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Group 1 closes Hennessy deal

Group 1 completed its purchase of 10 Hennessy dealerships, bringing it to 15 Atlanta stores, and booked about $360M in proceeds from store sales, per Group 1 Automotive.

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Ford reports tonight

Ford releases Q3 results after today's close, with a call at 5 p.m. ET, per Ford.

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Penske skips call ahead of buyout

Q3 revenue rose 5% to $8.4B and EPS was $3.36, including $0.07 of deal costs. There was no earnings call because of the pending $212-a-share take-private by Penske Corp.

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Group 1 F&I revenue down 10%

F&I revenue was $215.8M, down 10.4%, and F&I gross profit per retail unit fell 3.6% to $1,987.

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Mercedes captive returns hold up

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services posted a 13.8% adjusted return on equity in Q3, per Mercedes-Benz Group.

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Auto ABS seen cooling into year-end

S&P projects about $152B in 2026 auto ABS issuance with a slower Q4. Issuance through September was $125.1B, up 1.4%, per Auto Finance News.

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Longer terms carry affordability

In Q3 the average loan term was 69.5 months and rates eased to 6.87%. Subprime originations rose 10.7% to $59B, and subprime 60+ day delinquency was 6.13%, per Catalyst IQ's Q3 report.

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CPO turn rates soften

Certified units took about 46 days to sell in Q3 at an average marketed price of about $40,600, and the CPO turn rate fell for a second straight quarter, per Catalyst IQ.

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Earnings ahead

Sonic and Credit Acceptance report tomorrow, Oct. 29, and AutoNation reports Oct. 30 before the open with a 9 a.m.

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