Here comes what might be some welcome help for independent dealerships with service departments, or franchised stores that have a vehicle come through their service drive that’s outside of their direct factory purview. LKQ’s diagnostic services business — now branded Elitek Vehicle Services — is expanding its services beyond on-site mobile diagnostics and repair to […] [Read More]

Lithia & Driveway has extended its footprint to Mississippi through the purchase of Toyota of Jackson, the dealer group said Tuesday. Lithia expects the dealership to bring in annualized revenues of $95 million. Since announcing a five-year plan in 2020, Lithia is now at $7.6 billion in total expected annualized revenues acquired. “We are excited […] [Read More]

After falling more than 6% last year, look for the used-vehicle market to climb to 41 million sales this year.    That’s according to a forecast shared by Edmunds, which also detailed how pre-owned sales have fared over the last six years.    In 2019, used-car sales approached [Read More]

Turns out the vehicles on dealership lots nowadays aren’t the only things at stores soaring in value. Fueled in part by record-level dealership profits, Haig Partners said demand for stores is soaring as the average blue-sky value per rooftop has reached the highest values the boutique investment banking and buy-sell advisory firm has recorded. Haig […] [Read More]

Lithia Motors & Driveway continues to add to its store count, announcing the purchase of Southwest Kia Auto Group on Tuesday. The Texas group has five stores throughout the Dallas and Austin markets. Lithia expects the addition will bring in annualized revenues of $350 million. Since announcing a five-year plan in 2020, Lithia is now […] [Read More]

May was another strong month for used-car sales, as the industry continues to rebound. In fact, Cox Automotive indicated in a recent Data Point report that the SAAR was 41.0 million last month, up from 39.9 million a year ago and steady with April figures.    But how have overall used-car sales fared so far […] [Read More]

Like the glory days of UCLA men’s basketball — where the Bruins’ string of consecutive NCAA championships was snapped by N.C. State in the 1974 semifinals, only for UCLA to win it all again the following year — sometimes a streak might end and then pick right back up where it left off.   That […] [Read More]

Ross Automotive Group has sold its Ross Nissan of El Monte to Martin Management Group. The deal was announced in a news release Thursday by Performance Brokerage Services, which represented Ross Automotive Group in the sale.   The group includes three stores in Southern California: Ross Ford of Montebello, Covina Hills Chevrolet and Chevrolet of […] [Read More]

In addition to announcing a new advocacy campaign in lieu of its annual Washington Fly-In, the American International Automobile Dealers Association said Tuesday it has added Citrin — a provider of porter, car wash and mobility services to dealers — as an Affinity Partner. With the company as an AIADA Affinity Partners, members can receive, […] [Read More]

NOTE: Updated with more details about Akron Auto Auction's purchase of Value Auto Auction. Whether it’s among dealer groups, auctions, tech providers or beyond, June has accelerated the auto industry’s momentum in the buy-sell/M&A space. Lithia Motors & Driveway, for instance, continued its aggressive expansion Tuesday, announcing it has purchased two luxury dealerships in Van […] [Read More]