Tricolor’s 10K vehicles could be sold by March

Bankrupt subprime retailer Tricolor’s 10,000 remaining vehicles may be sold by March 2026 if trustee Anne Burns’ motion is approved.

Tricolor backup servicer Vervent and vehicle management company Holman will sell all remaining vehicles, if the motion is approved by Judge Michelle Larson. This includes vehicles that may belong to Tricolor’s creditors, through third-party auctioneers, according to court documents.

The proposal came ahead of former Tricolor Chief Executive Daniel Chu’s motion seeking to shore up $15 million in legal defense funds, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division court documents. The funds are from insurance payments made by Tricolor before it went bankrupt, according to the documents.

Across the subprime auto industry, credit health is declining. Early-stage delinquencies across nonprime securitized auto loans rose 88 basis points year over year and the rate of nonprime securitized loans more than 60 days past due rose 65 basis points YoY in October, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency’s auto loan asset-backed securitization index.

Meanwhile, new-vehicle sales were down in five of the 12 regions covered by Federal Reserve banks, according to the most recent edition of the Fed’s Beige Book. New-vehicle sales were weighed down by declining consumer demand and EV sales.

Automakers offered low APR options and cash-back incentives for Black Friday to stay competitive on rates while balancing affordability concerns. Dealers also expect a short-term dip in wholesale used-vehicle inventory through December as fleet management companies hold onto cars longer.

In this episode of “Weekly Wrap,” Auto Finance News Editor Amanda Harris, Senior Associate Editor Truth Headlam and Associate Editor Aidan Bush discuss trends across the subprime auto market, vehicle incentives and Tricolor’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy for the week ended Nov. 28.