There’s a traditional tug-of-war between stores within a dealer group when it comes to inventory.
It goes something like this: We took in the car. It’s ours. Not yours. Or, at least not yours until we give it a full 45 days to retail it.
The problem a growing number of dealer groups discover is that this operational mindset, not to mention the way store-level managers may jigger the ACV when they move a vehicle at 45 days, can effectively produce a loss on top of a loss for the dealer group, if not the stores involved in the transfer.
That’s why a growing number of dealers take advantage of store-specific inventory intelligence vAuto provides to help them move vehicles to rooftops faster when they recognize the opportunity for a specific vehicle is better at a store other than the one that appraised and acquired the vehicle.
Data from vAuto by Cox Automotive reveals how dealer groups increasingly understand the two most-prominent, positive outcomes that occur when they identify an opportunity to move a vehicle earlier in its lifecycle and make the transfer.
The table below shows vehicle transfer data from dealer groups using vAuto. From January through October 2026, dealer groups transferred more than 130,000 vehicles within the vAuto system—a doubling of vehicle transfers compared to a year earlier. The rise owes to the enhanced transfer capabilities and intelligence vAuto added to its solutions and recognition that good things happen when cars move more quickly to the right stores.
Vehicle Transfers at a Glance: Then vs. Now
vAuto transfer data, January 1 – October 29, 2026, compared with a year earlier
| Metric | Then (a year earlier) | Now (Jan 1 – Oct 29, 2026) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicles transferred | About half of today’s volume | 130,000+ | Roughly 2x |
| Origin days in inventory | 45 days | 42 days | 3 days faster |
| Destination days in inventory | 50 days | 37 days | 13 days faster |
| Total days in inventory | 88 days | 80 days | 8 days faster |
| Wholesale profit (avg. per unit, origin store) | $1,443 | $1,526 | Up $83 |
| Front gross (avg. per unit, destination store) | $404 | $692 | Up $288 |
Positive Outcome 1: Vehicles leave the original store faster, and they sell faster at destination stores. The dynamics reflect the increased focus group-level leadership has placed on improving financial performance. On average, vehicles transfer three days faster than they did a year ago (42 days today), and sell 14 days faster at receiving stores (37 days to sell versus 50).
Positive Outcome 2: Vehicle transfers produce more gross when they move and sell. The data shows originating stores saw better wholesale profit (up $83 to an average $1,526/unit) and destination stores booked higher front end grosses (up $288 to an average $692/unit).
To be sure, the outcomes require discipline on both ends: Someone has to identify the opportunity to move a vehicle at more frequent intervals than 45 days; and, destination stores must be market-smart about how they price a vehicle to achieve its optimal front-end gross potential.
It’s through these money- and time-wise decisions that the total time a transferred vehicle spends in inventory has dropped eight days this year compared to last year—from 88 days a year ago to 80 days today.
All together, the vehicle transfer data suggest that when dealer groups and individual stores get serious about optimizing each vehicle’s contribution to the group’s financial success, good things can happen for both.