What it is: An index that tracks the stock price and market capitalization of each of the seven major public dealership groups: AutoNation Inc., Asbury Automotive Group Inc., Group 1 Automotive Inc., Lithia Motors Inc., Penske Automotive Group Inc. and Sonic Automotive Inc., plus CarMax Inc., the nation’s largest used-vehicle retailer. The Kerrigan Index is
LAS VEGAS — McLaren Automotive’s retail operations in the U.S. are relatively young, with the first vehicle sales here starting in 2011. With only 25 stores, McLaren’s dealership footprint is the smallest amongst major exotic and ultraluxury brands. Now, as it enters a new vehicle cycle with the launch of the Artura plug-in hybrid, McLaren’s
Van Horn Automotive Group has not acquired any dealerships in 2022, but nonetheless was involved in a transaction in which its majority owner shifted from one person to nearly 400 of its employees. Van Horn Automotive employees previously owned 30 percent of the company as part of an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, which
LAS VEGAS — McLaren Automotive is examining the SUV and crossover segment of the exotic and ultraluxury markets, a top executive at the British brand confirmed, adding no final decision has been made on such a model. Bentley, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin have launched SUVs to great success in recent years while the first
Dealership acquisition and spending by the public dealership groups, which collectively played a significant role in last year’s feverish buy-sell market, dropped sharply in the first half of 2022. Lithia Motors Inc., Group 1 Automotive Inc., Penske Automotive Group Inc. and Sonic Automotive Inc. bought 21 U.S. franchised dealerships in 10 transactions in the first
Matt McGovern went on a dealership acquisition spree to start 2022. With the exception of April, McGovern bought one franchised dealership each month from January through June, bolstering McGovern Automotive Group’s presence in Massachusetts with five more stores. McGovern’s acquisition activity is a microcosm of the buy-sell market for the first half of the year:
When Automotive News in 2007 asked Bruton Smith to describe himself, he replied: “I’m just an average guy who’s been very fortunate.” Yet Smith’s automotive retail career, intertwined with the motorsports industry, was anything but average. Smith was the co-founder of Sonic Automotive Inc., a NASCAR Hall of Famer, racetrack owner and philanthropist who got
Lithia Motors Inc. sold more new vehicles than rival AutoNation Inc. for a third consecutive quarter, putting it in position to end AutoNation’s streak of more than two decades as the industry’s largest retailer. Lithia said Oct. 19 that its new-vehicle sales rose 4.3 percent to 69,743 in the third quarter, including a small but
Swickard Auto Group’s first 2022 acquisition was in a familiar, yet far-flung market: Alaska. Swickard Auto of Las Vegas bought Porsche Anchorage-Audi Anchorage-Kendall Volkswagen of Anchorage from Kendall Automotive Group on July 11, according to Greg Gates, Swickard Auto’s vice president of business transformation. The dealership was renamed Porsche Anchorage-Audi Anchorage-Swickard Volkswagen of Anchorage. Anchorage
Mills Automotive Group, which made a three-store acquisition last year, has remained in expansion mode in 2022, buying another three dealerships since March, including a rare Bentley store. Mills Automotive is led by CEO Damian Mills, now chairman of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers. Mills Automotive, of Charlotte, N.C., bought Jaguar-Land Rover Columbia
