Top 150 Dealership Groups Supplement - S3

Rankings get shuffled after acquisitions
F
C.J. Moore
cj.moore@crain.com
ocusing on acquisitions fueled
Morgan Automotive Group's success
in 2021, a year in which the retailer's
new-vehicle sales grew by nearly 46
percent.
The Florida dealership group for the first
time broke into the top 10 on Automotive
News' annual list of the top 150 dealership
groups based in the U.S. Morgan Automotive
sold 60,951 new vehicles in 2021 and moved
from No. 11 to No. 8.
Morgan Automotive added eight dealerships
in 2021, bringing its total to 53. The group's
vehicle sales at its existing stores increased by 18
percent, CEO Brett Morgan said.
" Roughly 6, 7,000 of those units were
coming from a same-store basis, and the rest
came from new acquisition, " Morgan told
Automotive News.
Morgan's latest acquisition came in October
when it bought seven luxury- and importbrand
stores in Tampa, Fla., its largest market
based on store count. All 53 of Morgan
Automotive's dealerships are in Florida and
that's where company leaders still see the best
opportunity for adding stores.
" We've had a pretty stable presence in
places like Gainesville, Ocala, north Florida,
obviously the Tampa Bay area, where we have
21 stores now, " Morgan said. " I think there's
enough opportunity to keep us busy and
excited here in Florida. "
Consolidation effects
The effects of the surge in acquisition deals
made in 2021 were seen across the list and led
to the biggest changes in the top 10 in years
Longtime No. 2 Penske Automotive Group
fell one spot, as Lithia Motors Inc. continued
its acquisition-fueled charge up the list,
taking the runner-up spot.
And while AutoNation Inc. remained No. 1,
its lead on Lithia is small. AutoNation retailed
262,403 new vehicles last year, up 5.1 percent,
while Lithia retailed 260,738 new vehicles, up
52 percent. Lithia in April last year purchased
the 34-store Suburban Collection, No. 21
based on 2020 sales, and made numerous
vice
president
of
Morgan: Big sales boost
from acquisitions
other acquisitions in 2021.
Group 1 Automotive Inc., which in
November acquired Prime Automotive
Group, No. 18 in the 2020 ranking, remained
at No. 4.
Asbury Automotive Group Inc. took the No.
5 slot, bumping Hendrick Automotive
Group to No. 6. Asbury retailed
109,910 new vehicles in 2021, up 15
percent. Hendrick retailed 103,949
new vehicles in 2021, up 1.2 percent.
Asbury closed 2021 with its $3.2
billion acquisition of Larry H. Miller
Dealerships in December, adding 54
franchised dealerships. That,
plus
other acquisitions, gave Asbury 162
dealerships to end the year compared
with 91 at the end of 2020. Larry H.
Miller ranked No. 8 on last year's list with 2020
retail sales of 61,097 new vehicles.
To round out the top 10, Sonic Automotive
Gates: " A very
frothy market "
including fleet vehicles, or 9.3 percent of the
U.S. light-vehicle market, according to the
Automotive News Research & Data Center,
which compiles the list. Sales from the
companies in the top 10 made up 38 percent
of the top 150's total new-vehicle sales.
The 150 companies on the list
collectively retailed 3,466,636 new
vehicles, an increase of 8.3 percent vs.
2020. Their combined retail and fleet
sales were 3,652,826 new vehicles, or
24.3 percent of the industry's total new
light-vehicle sales of 15,060,287 in 2021.
Major movers
Some large dealership groups that
may have qualified for the top 150
declined to respond to Automotive
Group Inc., which acquired last year's No. 42
RFJ Auto Partners Inc., stayed at No. 7, ahead
of Morgan Automotive. Ken Garff Automotive
Group stayed at No. 9, and David Wilson
Automotive Group stayed at No. 10.
The dealership groups in the top 10
collectively sold 1,403,893 new vehicles,
News' survey. Those retailers 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 Inc. of
West Palm Beach, Fla., which supports the
group of stores owned by Terry Taylor.
Twenty-one dealership groups rose 10 spots
or more. Car Pros Automotive Group jumped
30 spots to No. 55, the largest upward shift on
the list.
Other major gainers were Carter Myers
Automotive Group, up 29 spots to No. 88, and
Swickard Auto Group, up 27 spots to No. 64.
Swickard, of Gladstone, Ore., retailed 14,107
new vehicles in 2021, up 41 percent, as it
added four stores last year, said Greg Gates,
Swickard's
business
transformation.
The new dealerships, same-store gains and
additional returns from Swickard's
acquisitions in 2020 fueled last year's sales
increase, Gates told Automotive News.
While uncertainty made dealership buyers
scarce the first few months after the March
2020 onset of the coronavirus pandemic, it
seems like everybody's a buyer these days,
Gates said.
That competition could affect Swickard's
prospects for adding stores in 2022. The group
is sticking with its Oregon, Washington state
and California markets, he said, but company
leaders are open to expanding if they could
build a platform of two or three or more
stores.
" Obviously, it's a very frothy market right
now, " Gates said.
Eight groups on this year's list fell by 10 or
more spots.
Rosatti/Plaza Auto Group of New York City
tumbled the farthest, dropping 39 spots to No.
97. Curry Automotive of Scarsdale, N.Y., fell 16
spots to No. 106, and Wallace Automotive
Group of Stuart, Fla., fell 15 spots to No. 118.
Wallace Automotive's retail sales dropped
2.9 percent, and CEO Bill Wallace said the
persistent shortage of new vehicles was a
factor.
" We went the entire year with our complete
group never having more than about 12 or 15
days' worth of [new] cars, " Wallace said.
The group offset the declines by aggressively
buying and selling late-model used vehicles,
he said. Wallace Automotive's used-vehicle
sales soared by 30 percent last year.
" We just got very aggressive on that end of
things, and probably paid too much for a lot of
them, but turned around and retailed them
for more than that, " Wallace said. n
Top 150 Dealership Groups Supplement

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