CarLotz (NASDAQ: LOTZ), a Richmond auto resale company that went public last year via a SPAC merger, has a new CEO effective this week — and he arrives at a tenuous time for the used car industry.
Lev Peker, formerly the CEO of Los Angeles automotive parts seller CarParts.com, stepped into his new role with CarLotz on Monday. He succeeds Michael Bor, the company’s founding CEO, who left his post March 16. Bor is staying with the company as a consultant for next year, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
The Richmond company sells used cars on consignment — as opposed to a commission model — and splits the profits with owners. It started as a small Richmond startup, but now sells cars at more than 20 hub locations across the country, including four in Virginia.
Peker's tenure with the company begins as the used-car market faces rising demand but low inventory; price indices for used cars jumped 40% last year, according to George Hoffer, emeritus professor of transportation and economics at Virginia Commonwealth University, and new car sales remain mired in delays created by supply-chain and labor issues stemming from the pandemic.
“I believe CarLotz has great potential to increase market share as we emerge from Covid-19 and supply chain-related challenges that have hampered sourcing and operations throughout the sector,” Peker said in a statement when his appointment was announced in March.
Rising gas prices, if they remain elevated, could move the market back into the buyer’s favor.
Peker was also previously chief marketing officer of electronics retailer Adorama and held positions at Sears Holdings Corp. and CarParts.com.
CarLotz posted nearly $40 million in losses across 2021 compared to just $6.6 million loses in 2020. It’s set to announce its first quarter earnings next month. Its market cap has fallen from $1.2 billion at around the time it debuted on the Nasdaq in January 2021 to about $109 million on Thursday. Its share price has dipped from $11.49 on its market debut to 95 cents on Thursday.
The company has also recently made some other changes to its C-suite: Ozan Kaya, previously the CFO and COO of e-commerce platform ShopRunner, begins next week in the new role of CarLotz president, where he will oversee hub operations, revenue and inventory management. Eugene Kovshilovsky also officially joined CarLotz this week as its chief technology officer. He previously worked with Peker at CarParts.com as the senior vice president of software engineering.
They join as John Foley, the company’s COO, and Dan Valerian, its CTO, have left the company.
