DETROIT – General Motors announced Tuesday it’s completely revamping its approach to used vehicle sales at dealerships across the country as it works to stay competitive with rapidly growing online car retailers such as Carvana.
The automotive giant revealed plans to eliminate its existing certified pre-owned program that has long supported dealer used car sales with company-backed warranties. In its place, GM is requiring dealerships to join its CarBravo online platform, which the company introduced in 2023 as a nationwide digital marketplace.
Beginning this June, dealers selling Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC vehicles must participate in the CarBravo program to offer used GM cars with factory warranties, the automaker announced. However, Cadillac dealerships will maintain access to GM’s traditional certified pre-owned system.
According to GM officials, this strategic shift will significantly boost the volume of pre-owned vehicles moving through dealer networks by incorporating non-GM brands and much older inventory. The new framework could provide warranty coverage for vehicles as old as 15 years, a dramatic expansion from current certified programs that typically only cover GM models up to five years old.
The transformation comes as the automotive industry faces mounting affordability challenges, with vehicle prices climbing more rapidly than general inflation throughout the current decade. This pricing pressure has driven explosive growth in the used car market, where approximately 40 million pre-owned vehicles change hands annually compared to roughly 16 million new car sales in recent years.
Used vehicle operations play a crucial role for manufacturers like GM by attracting customers to showrooms and facilitating trade-ins that lead to new car purchases.
“We know these customers that buy certified used vehicles, the propensity for them to come back and buy a new vehicle just increases,” explained John Fitzpatrick, who leads the CarBravo program.
Industry analyst Jeremy Robb from Cox Automotive points to companies like Carvana as catalysts for increased competition throughout the sector. Carvana’s direct-to-consumer model eliminates traditional dealership visits by selling vehicles online and delivering them to buyers’ homes.
Since launching a decade ago in 2013, Carvana moved 596,641 vehicles last year. By comparison, GM’s CarBravo platform has facilitated sales of approximately 216,000 cars since beginning operations in 2023.
Despite having fewer than 25% of GM’s 3,500 U.S. dealerships participating in CarBravo, the company reports the online platform is generating sales at a quicker pace than its broader certified pre-owned programs.
Andy Guelcher, who operates Mohawk Chevrolet in upstate New York, credits the digital selling platform with boosting his used car business by 52% over two years. “I’m talking to people that I’ve never spoken to before,” Guelcher noted.
