In compliance with a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice submitted to the state Employment Security Department, Sonic Automotive has closed all of its Northwest Motorsport store locations and laid off 142 employees this week.
The company operated dealerships in Marysville, Lynnwood, Puyallup, Pasco, and Spokane Valley, Washington.
Northwest Motorsport expressed gratitude for patronage and interest in their dealership via their website: “After careful consideration and evaluation of today’s pre-owned vehicle market, we have decided to close operations at Northwest Motorsport, effective January 23.”
This closure comes one day after Vroom, an online used-vehicle retailer, announced that it would shut down its e-commerce operations to maintain liquidity.
Sonic Automotive first acquired 11 Northwest Motorsport dealerships in Washington, Idaho, and Montana as part of its December 2021 acquisition of RFJ Auto Partners Holdings.
During its second-quarter earnings call last year, Sonic revealed that it was closing some of its EchoPark locations, which included three Northwest Motorsport locations in the Pacific Northwest. As part of its strategy to address the reduced availability of used cars and increased wholesale prices, the company made the decision to reduce the number of EchoPark locations that sell only used cars.
Additionally, Penske Automotive, a rival auto retailer, temporarily closed its stand-alone South Brunswick CarShop used-car business in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, last week. Anthony Pordon, a spokesman for Penske, stated, “The reason for the closure was the lack of profitability.”
