MEDFORD, Ore. -

Days after Manheim’s chief economist Tom Webb reported public dealership groups “are growing through acquisitions,” Lithia Motors announced it has bought another Toyota Scion Store.

Geweke Toyota Scion in Lodi, Calif., is now part of Lithia’s dealership group, and the store will be named Lodi Toyota Scion.

The company said it will add $40 million in estimated annual revenues.

Bryan DeBoer, president and chief executive officer at Lithia, commented, “We are pleased to enter the Lodi market with our newest location in the San Joaquin Valley, near the Nissan Kia store we purchased in Stockton last month. We've had a number of acquisitions in the central valley in the past 30 days, and we are excited to increase our presence in an ideal Lithia market.

“Additionally, this acquisition marks the tenth Toyota store Lithia operates. We look forward to continuing to expand our strong partnership with them in the future,” he continued.

And this isn’t the first dealership it has added to the ranks this fall.

Lithia Motors revealed two store acquisitions in October alone, announcing its purchase of Stockton Nissan Kia on Oct. 7 and its acquisition of Fresno Lincoln Volvo on Oct. 24. Both dealerships are in California.

“As the improvement in new-vehicle sales growth moderates, acquisitions will become an increasingly important component in our strategic plan,” Lithia president and chief executive officer Bryan DeBoer said when the Stockton Nissan Kia deal was announced in early October.

And earlier this year in June, Lithia announced the purchase of the O’Brien Auto Group of Salem in Salem, Ore., bringing three new stores into the fold.  That followed news from April, when Lithia was granted a new Mini franchise in Anchorage, Alaska.

Commenting on recent acquisition trends among the dealership groups, Webb wrote in a recent post, which can be found here:  “Dealership groups (as well as large private ones) are also growing through acquisitions. The big are indeed getting bigger.”

Webb discussed this trend after reporting this past quarter made it 17 straight that the publicly traded dealership groups increased their same-store used unit sales.

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