Lithia adds 5 Kia stores in Texas

Lithia Motors Inc. said Tuesday that it has acquired five dealerships in Texas that are expected to generate $350 million in annual revenue.

The public auto retailer said it bought Southwest Kia Auto Group, which has five Kia stores in the Austin and Dallas markets.

The dealerships were operated by Bill Dickason, who started his family-owned group with a single store in 2001, according to a blog post.

"These locations expand our in-store and online offerings in the region with a brand that provides a diverse selection of products for all customer desires and affordability levels," Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer said in a statement.

Terms of the deal, which was finalized Monday, weren't disclosed, but the retailer said it paid for the stores using balance sheet funding.

The retailer said it has now acquired dealerships that are expected to generate $7.5 billion in annual revenue since it launched its five-year growth plan in July 2020. Lithia wants to grow its annual revenue to $50 billion and its earnings per share to $50.

The company said it also generated record May revenue of $2.1 billion.

Lithia, of Medford, Ore., ranks No. 3 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 171,168 new vehicles in 2020. But Lithia's April acquisition of Michigan's Suburban Collection makes it the second-largest group going forward.