FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.,
Sept. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), America's largest automotive retailer,
today announced a policy to not sell, lease or wholesale any new or
used vehicle that has an open safety recall. This will apply
to every one of AutoNation's 293 vehicle franchises across
the United States and stands as a
confirmation of the company's commitment to delivering a peerless
customer experience.
"There's no way to expect that customers would or should know of
every safety recall on every vehicle they might purchase, so we
will ensure that our vehicles have all recalls completed,"
said Mike Jackson, Chairman, CEO and
President of AutoNation. "We make it our responsibility as a
retailer to identify those vehicles and remove them from the market
until their safety issues have been addressed."
A blanket commitment not to sell vehicles subject to a safety
recall is not without cost, as adequate parts are not always
immediately available, and AutoNation must hold the vehicles in
inventory until they are repaired. The company insists that their
customers' protection is worth the investment in the process.
They believe that the decision to do so is ultimately the
right one, and economic considerations must take a back seat to
safety concerns.
For this reason, the program addresses AutoNation's entire
inventory, going well beyond the vehicles on the sales floor.
For example, AutoNation will not wholesale any vehicle that has an
open safety recall. The company has taken an explicit
position that it will not have any role whatsoever in these
vehicles being on the road, and it will not use convenient methods
such as wholesaling to rid itself of problematic inventory.
Even more notable from a customer's point of view is that the
company accepts vehicles as trade-ins even if they have open safety
recalls – and they value them according to standard guidelines,
even with the understanding that there may be additional time and
investment in the processing of these vehicles as part of the
reconditioning process.
Under the policy, all vehicles with open safety recalls are
identified, physically pulled from inventory and "Not For Sale"
hang tags and key tags will be placed on them. There are defined
internal procedures for the processing and disposition of these
vehicles that each associate will be expected to follow.
About AutoNation, Inc.
AutoNation is
transforming the automotive retail industry through bold
leadership. We deliver a peerless automotive retail experience
through our customer-focused sales and service processes. Owning
and operating 293 new vehicle franchises, which sell 35 new vehicle
brands across 15 states, AutoNation is America's largest automotive
retailer, with state-of-the-art operations and the ability to
leverage economies of scale that benefit the customer. As an
indication of our leadership position in our industry, AutoNation
is a component of the S&P 500 Index.
Please visit investors.autonation.com, www.autonation.com,
www.autonationdrive.com, www.twitter.com/autonation,
www.twitter.com/CEOMikeJackson, www.facebook.com/autonation, and
www.facebook.com/CEOMikeJackson, where AutoNation discloses
additional information about the Company, its business, and its
results of operations.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may
be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Words such as
"anticipates," "expects," "intends," "goals," "plans," "believes,"
"continues," "may," "will," and variations of such words and
similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. Statements regarding our expectations for our open
vehicle safety recall policy, as well as statements that describe
our objectives, goals, or plans, are forward-looking statements.
Our forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations
concerning future results and events, and they involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult
to predict and may cause our actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance and achievements expressed or implied by these
statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include,
among others, our ability to identify all open vehicle safety
recalls and other factors described in our news releases and
filings made under the securities laws, including, among others,
our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q
and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Forward-looking statements
contained in this news release speak only as of the date of this
news release, and we undertake no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances.
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SOURCE AutoNation, Inc.