Mercedes Benz

Sonic has seven stores under the EchoPark used-vehicle umbrella, with plans to add more. Sonic Automotive Inc.'s strategy for its EchoPark stand-alone used-vehicle brand is evolving. After nearly four years of operation, the adjustments come as Sonic has learned what services EchoPark customers want and as the retailer adopts best practices gleaned through its acquisitions of other used-only dealerships. A key change: Sonic has scaled back the number of stores planned for EchoPark. Instead of the hub-and spoke model, with one big store and several smaller stores serving a market, EchoPark will start with one large store in a market and consider additional locations later, Jeff Dyke, Sonic's executive vice president of operations, told Automotive News . At "our big stores in Denver and Dallas and in San Antonio, we're selling a ton of cars," Dyke said. "If I can sell more cars out of one location than I can out of two, or the same out of one than I can out of...