Top 150 Dealership Groups - 3

Acquisitions propel Lithia to list's top spot
Buying spree outpaces
AutoNation, which falls
for first time since 1997
C.J. Moore
cj.moore@crain.com
T
he most notable change on Automotive
News' annual list of the top 150
dealership groups based in the U.S. is at
the very top.
Lithia Motors, once the smallest publicly
traded dealership group before embarking on
a multiyear dealership buying spree, passed
longtime No. 1 AutoNation in new vehicles
sold in 2022.
The toppling of AutoNation, which had held
the top spot since 1997, was expected as Lithia
continued buying dealerships at a rate far
outpacing its rival. That pushed Lithia's
new-vehicle sales last year up 4.2 percent to
271,596.
Acquisitions drove several other retailers to
higher spots on the list.
One of the biggest climbers, Empire Automotive
Group of Huntington Station, N.Y., rose
31 spots to No. 67 after key acquisitions in its
home state lifted its new-vehicle sales 21 percent
to 12,829. Empire added four stores last
year and entered the Brooklyn borough of
New York City by buying an Audi store and its
first Nissan store in October.
" We have a philosophy of strategic growth, "
Empire CEO Michael Brown told Automotive
News. " We've made some really good acquisitions
we're happy about so far. "
And more expansion is on the horizon for
the 18-store group with a possible five-store
acquisition outside of New York that could
happen this summer, Brown said. " One of my
biggest goals is to continue to provide opportunity, "
he said.
Empire is one of 29 retailers that rose 10 or
more spots on the list.
The top 150 groups collectively retailed
3,233,234 new vehicles, down 6.7 percent from
2021 as overall industry sales tumbled 8 percent
last year, according to the Automotive
News Research & Data Center, which compiles
the list. Combined retail and fleet sales
for the groups on the list were
3,440,740 new vehicles, or 24.8 percent
of the industry's total new
light-vehicle sales of 13,865,891 in
2022.
Swaps at the top
AutoNation fell to No. 2 with retail
sales of 229,971 new vehicles last year,
down 12 percent, while Penske Automotive
Group remained at No. 3. with
retail sales of 185,831 new vehicles, down 4.9
percent.
Group 1 Automotive and Asbury AutomoBrown:
" Provide
opportunity "
2022, down 13 percent.
Sales numbers for Lithia, Penske
and Group 1 included some vehicles
retailed at their dealerships outside
the U.S. Lithia, for instance, recorded
sales last year from stores in Canada,
but that Canadian volume didn't play
a role in Lithia passing AutoNation for
the top spot.
Morgan Automotive Group and Ken
Garff Automotive Group stayed at No.
8 and No. 9. Morgan Auto cracked the top 10 for
the first time on the list published a year ago.
Staluppi Auto Group came in at No. 10,
tive Group stayed at Nos. 4 and 5. Group 1 retailed
154,714 vehicles in 2022, down 5.9 percent.
Asbury, in its first year after its 2021 acquisition
of megaretailer Larry H. Miller Dealerships,
retailed 151,179 new vehicles, up 38
percent.
Sonic Automotive and Hendrick Automotive
Group swapped places. Sonic took the No. 6
spot, while Hendrick moved to No. 7. Sonic retailed
101,168 new vehicles in 2022, up 1.2 percent
from 2021.
Hendrick retailed 89,974 new vehicles in
bumping David Wilson Automotive Group
down to No. 11.
The dealership groups in the top 10 collectively
sold 1,408,912 new vehicles, including
fleet vehicles, or 10.2 percent of the U.S.
light-vehicle market. The top 10 were responsible
for 41.7 percent of the top 150's total
new-vehicle sales.
List movers
Some large dealership groups that may have
qualified for the top 150 declined to respond
Ken Ganley, CEO of Ken Ganley
Automotive Group, said, " We're
very aggressive. We're looking to
grow all the time. "
to Automotive News' survey. They included
Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, which perennially
placed among the top 10 under its
former owner, Van Tuyl Group.
Another retailing giant that did not participate
is Automotive Management Services of
West Palm Beach, Fla., which supports the
group of stores owned by Terry Taylor.
Braman Dealerships, No. 21 a year ago, declined
to participate in this year's survey.
West-Herr Automotive Group and Zeigler Auto
Group, Nos. 17 and 44 a year ago, did not respond.
Other
groups beyond Empire Automotive
rising 10 spots or more include Shottenkirk
Automotive Group of Prosper, Texas, up 43
spots to No. 56; Brandon Steven Motors of
Wichita, Kan., up 34 spots to No. 89; and
Ciocca Dealerships of Allentown, Pa., up 32
spots to No. 51.
Ten groups on the 2022 list fell by 10 or more
spots.
Curry Automotive Group of Scarsdale, N.Y.,
tumbled the farthest, dropping 27 spots to No.
133. John Elway Dealerships of Phoenix
dropped 21 spots to No. 123, and Garber Management
Group of Saginaw, Mich., fell 18 spots
to No. 77.
Thirteen dealership groups are new to this
year's list.
Acquisitions still in focus
Ken Ganley Automotive Group of Broadview
Heights, Ohio, south of Cleveland, rose one
spot to No. 14 with retail sales of 36,409 new
vehicles in 2022, up 0.91 percent.
The group bought four dealerships in 2022
and two in 2021. It continues to seek more
stores, said Ken Ganley, the group's CEO.
" With COVID, when you had volume dropping
like it did nationwide, the only real way to
keep your total volume number at the same
[level] or to grow, would have been through
acquisitions, " Ganley said. " We're very aggressive.
We're looking to grow all the time. All of
the acquisitions made a lot of sense but also
added a lot of volume. " a
Jack Walsworth and Julie Walker
contributed to this report.
Top 150 Dealership Groups

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