Lithia Motors, Hendrick Automotive buy dealerships; Group 1 sells store

Three of the country's largest dealership groups — Lithia Motors Inc., Hendrick Automotive Group and Group 1 Automotive Inc. — were involved in third- and fourth-quarter dealership transactions.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic and import dealerships and stores in Kentucky, North Carolina and Massachusetts.

Three transactions involved a group ranked on Automotive News' top dealership groups list.

Lithia enters Kentucky

Lithia Motors Inc., fresh off of acquisitions in Texas and Colorado, entered Kentucky for the first time with the December purchase of a Stellantis store.

Lithia on Dec. 7 bought Glenn's Freedom Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Lexington, southeast of Louisville. The seller's information was not immediately available.

The dealership's name remains, Lithia said.

Lithia said the acquisition is expected to add $140 million in annual revenue.

Also in December, Lithia re-entered Colorado with the purchase of Ferrari of Denver, which sells additional ultraluxury and exotic brands. In November, Lithia bought a Stellantis store in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lithia, of Medford, Ore., ranks No. 2 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 260,738 new vehicles in 2021. Through the third quarter of 2022, Lithia is tracking ahead of No. 1 AutoNation for new-vehicle sales in 2022.

Hendrick Automotive and partner add Honda store

Hendrick Automotive Group of Charlotte, N.C., expanded its Honda dealership count to 18 when it bought LeJeune Honda Cars in Jacksonville, N.C., in partnership with Susan Stevenson.

Hendrick said the group and Stevenson bought the dealership on Dec. 1 from Stevenson's brother-in-law, Jerry Stevenson. They renamed the store Stevenson-Hendrick Honda Jacksonville, according to a Dec. 2 Hendrick blog post. Jacksonville is east of Charlotte and north of Wilmington.

A Hendrick Automotive spokesman told Automotive News that the acquisition marked the group's first in 2022.

Hendrick said the more than 48,500-square-foot dealership sits on 7.4 acres and includes 28 service bays.

"Susan is a great friend and business partner and this dealership is a perfect fit for our company," Rick Hendrick, chairman of Hendrick Automotive, said in a statement. "Jerry truly cares for his people and has done a tremendous job of establishing a culture of service, which we will continue and build on."

This is the fourth auto dealership that Hendrick and Susan Stevenson have partnered on. Others are Honda and Mazda dealerships in Wilmington and a Toyota dealership in Jacksonville, N.C.

Hendrick ranks No. 6 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 103,949 new vehicles in 2021.

Group 1 sells dealership to Terry Taylor

Group 1 Automotive Inc. in the third quarter sold a Honda store in Massachusetts that it had owned for less than a year and to a familiar name in auto retail: Terry Taylor.

Group 1 on Sept. 21 sold its Ira Honda 128 dealership in Reading, Mass., to Taylor, a Honda spokeswoman confirmed to Automotive News.

Group 1 said in its third-quarter earnings release that it had sold one Massachusetts dealership in September.

The Honda dealership was part of Group 1's November 2021 mega acquisition of 28 franchised stores from Prime Automotive Group.

Taylor renamed the Honda store Rt 128 Honda. Reading is north of Boston.

In February, Group 1 sold Honda and Toyota dealerships in Massachusetts to Automotive Management Services Inc. AMSI, of West Palm Beach, Fla., is owned by Terry Taylor.

Group 1 Automotive of Houston ranks No. 4 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 146,072 new vehicles in 2021.