Nearly half of dealers plan to buy one or more dealerships in the next 12 months, while only 2 percent expect to sell in that time frame, according to a survey by dealership sell-side firm Kerrigan Advisors.
"As a disproportionate number of dealers plan for growth rather than exit, Kerrigan Advisors expects today's seller's market to persist into 2023," the Kerrigan Dealer Survey finds.
More than 600 dealers responded from July to September for the fourth annual survey, and though results trend positive, there are stark differences in expectations compared with last year's survey. In 2021, for example, 77 percent of dealers said they planned to buy one or more dealerships in the coming year, compared with 48 percent this year.