From a $75 Loss to $3,171 to $311: The Story of Front Gross

Before the pandemic, new-vehicle front gross averaged a loss. Two years later, it exceeded $3,100 per unit. This is the story of what happened next.

By Gregory Arroyo

Across all new and used vehicle transactions, average front gross per deal reached $609 in April, the strongest reading since June 2025 and a 118% increase from December's low of $279.

The increase does not erase the broader trend. April's result remains 38% below the $988 recorded a year ago and well below the levels dealers experienced during the inventory-shortage years.

That raises a bigger question: How did we get here?

Before the Pandemic

The answer starts with the new-vehicle side of the business, where the industry's biggest front-gross swings occurred.

In 2019, average front gross on a new vehicle was negative $75. Used vehicles, meanwhile, averaged $931 in front gross, while average front gross across all deals was approximately $404.

Pricing transparency and intense competition made it difficult to hold gross on new units. What's surprising is how quickly those numbers changed.

The Shortage Years

The first few months of 2020 looked a lot like 2019. New-vehicle front gross remained negative through April. Then COVID disrupted the market.

By the end of 2020, average new-vehicle front gross had climbed to nearly $500 per deal. What began in late 2020 accelerated into something few dealers had experienced. As semiconductor shortages worsened and days’ supply shrank to historic lows, new-vehicle front gross climbed from $517 in January 2021 to $3,553 by December.

The trend continued into 2022, when average new-vehicle front gross exceeded $3,100 per deal. In April 2022 alone, dealers averaged $3,366 in front gross on new vehicles. For context, that’s more than 10 times the $311 per new vehicle retail in April 2026.

That kind of pricing power was never likely to last. As Joe St. John observed during a recent StoneEagleDATA discussion, dealers didn't suddenly become dramatically better at selling cars in 2021, just as they didn't suddenly become worse as front gross compressed.

The market changed, and for a period, scarcity rewarded dealers in ways most had never experienced.

The Reset

The correction didn’t happen overnight. As production recovered and inventory levels improved, the industry gradually gave back that pricing power. At the same time, dealers faced a different set of challenges.

Vehicle prices remained elevated while interest rates climbed, forcing many consumers to finance larger amounts at higher borrowing costs. Incentive activity returned, floorplan expenses increased, and some segments faced aging inventory.

Average new-vehicle front gross fell from $3,171 in 2022 to $1,869 in 2023. By 2024, it had fallen another 60% to $743. In 2025, the average declined an additional 42% to $431. December marked the lowest point in the current cycle, with average front gross across all deals falling to $279 per deal.

Why April Matters

That’s why April stands out. Not because $609 is a great number, but because, for the first time in 10 months, the trend isn’t moving in one direction.

The broader deal picture also helps explain why front gross matters so much. In April, F&I PVR was essentially flat month over month, rising just 0.2% from March. Total gross per deal increased 2.4%, from $2,538 to $2,600. The movement came largely from the front end, where the average per deal increased 10.5% from March to April.

The year-over-year comparison keeps the story grounded. Compared with April 2025, front gross was down 38%, while total gross per deal was down 10%. F&I PVR increased 5% over the same period, helping soften the impact but not fully offsetting the front-end decline.

That is the profitability story dealers are living through now. The extraordinary front-end margins of 2021 and 2022 are gone. Total deal profitability remains supported by F&I, but the front end has not returned to the role it played during the shortage years.

The question is whether front gross is beginning to stabilize after three years of decline.

April does not answer that on its own. A stronger month can reflect timing, seasonality, inventory mix, or a temporary shift in pricing conditions. But after three years of compression, April gives dealers something worth watching: front gross is still down, but it is no longer moving only down.

That's The Complete Picture. Brought to you by StoneEagle. Your one true source for benchmarks and data that help drive success for your business.

StoneEagleDATA is part of StoneEagle’s broader suite of connected solutions — including StoneEagleMENU, StoneEagleMETRICS F&I, Pencilwrench, and StoneEagleMETRICS Service — helping dealers make smarter decisions across F&I, sales, and service.