Comment by 15155

The dealership customarily earns 2-3%+ in quarterly holdback payments from the manufacturer. They sell you a $100k car at invoice, later that quarter they're getting a $3000 payment - this is pure profit, the deal was long-since done and they didn't take a loss at time of sale.

Dealerships are also earning miscellaneous per-car bonuses which are also profit, which go up based on overall volume: if they sell 50 cars, they get $200/car, if they sell 100 units this might jump to $500/car - just a random example.

If a car is in high-demand or really uncommon (in reality, not sales-speak, and a customer has no other options), they can afford to not sell a car at invoice - but this is an exceptional circumstance.