Swickard Auto Group adds Mercedes, Lexus, Acura, JLR and Honda dealerships

The growing Swickard Auto Group, fresh off its August entrance into Southern California, strengthened its presence in that region with its Monday purchase of five dealerships and it is slated to buy three more from the same seller early next year.

Swickard Auto, of Las Vegas, bought Acura of Thousand Oaks, Honda of Thousand Oaks, Jaguar-Land Rover Thousand Oaks, Mercedes-Benz of Thousand Oaks and Lexus of Thousand Oaks from AndersonAutos, a subsidiary of Anderson Holdings in Los Angeles, according to George Karolis, president of Presidio Group, an investment banking and dealership advisory company in Denver and Atlanta. Presidio Group represented Anderson Holdings in the transaction.

AndersonAutos' three remaining dealerships, made up of Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick-GMC stores, are set to be sold to Swickard Auto in the first quarter of 2023, Karolis said. Those three dealerships are also in Thousand Oaks, which is west of Los Angeles.

The JLR, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus dealership names remain, while the other dealerships were renamed Swickard Acura of Thousand Oaks and Swickard Honda of Thousand Oaks, according to Greg Gates, Swickard's vice president of business transformation. The Mercedes-Benz dealership, which includes a Sprinter franchise, also has a dedicated AMG showroom.

The acquisition is Swickard's first since it bought a 90 percent stake in John Elway's Crown Toyota in Ontario, Calif., in August, Gates said.

It marks the first Acura dealership for Swickard, Gates said, while the group now has two dealerships each of Honda, Lexus and Jaguar, three Land Rover stores and five Mercedes-Benz dealerships.

"They're brands that we really like and we value the partnership with," Gates told Automotive News. "We're always looking for opportunities. With the opportunity to grow in Southern California, we felt like it was a great match."

Swickard Auto, which also expanded its footprint with an Alaskan acquisition in July, also has dealerships in Northern California, Washington, Oregon and Texas.

Swickard also has been awarded an open point for a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Austin, Texas. That store, Mercedes-Benz of South Austin, is set to open in the fourth quarter of next year, Gates said.

Swickard Auto ranks No. 64 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 14,107 new vehicles in 2021.