Jack Walsworth

Two auto retailers ranked among Automotive News' top 150 dealership groups completed second-quarter acquisitions, while a regional group and a pair of partners also expanded in deals this year.

Two auto retailers in top 150 dealership groups, including publicly traded Sonic Automotive, completed second-quarter transactions, while a pair of growing regional groups also expanded.

Two auto retailers on the top 150 dealership groups list made first- and second-quarter acquisitions, while a business that is part of a company best known for owning the Minnesota Twins also made a first-quarter purchase.

Umansky Automotive Group entered Texas with the purchase of a luxury dealership from Asbury Automotive Group Inc.

Sutherlin Automotive Group sold three dealerships in Georgia last month and reentered another Southeastern state on Monday.

Auto retail giant Lithia Motors Inc. told analysts last week that it cut about 1,000 positions.

Sales at Sonic Automotive's EchoPark brand rose 34 percent in the first quarter, but the auto retailer saw lower gross profits per new and used retail vehicles, as well as lower sales volume from its franchised dealerships.

After its March purchase of two Juneau, Alaska, stores representing eight brands, Goode Motor Auto Group owns all the new-vehicle dealerships in the Alaska capital, according to CEO Matt Cook.

Lithia Motors made its first divestiture of 2023 with the sale of a Subaru store in Alabama, which was the auto retail giant's entry into the southeastern state. The group also sold two other dealerships last year in third-quarter transactions.

A West Coast auto retailer bought and sold dealerships, a dealer acquired his first Ford store, a group grew to three stores and two brothers expanded their holdings, all in transactions that closed in the second and fourth quarters of 2022 and the first quarter this year.

Two dealership groups expanded in new markets, a dealer added a second Honda store, and a new partnership duo acquired its first store in transactions in the last half of 2022 and second quarter of this year.

Lithia Motors, in an updated forecast, expects its captive finance company, Driveway Finance Corp., to post a loss of $40 million in 2023.

Lithia Motors, which surpassed AutoNation Inc. in new vehicles sold in 2022 to take the No. 1 spot, said new- and used-vehicle sales were up in the first quarter, but average gross profits per retail unit for new and used vehicles fell.

Flow Automotive Cos. expanded its presence in Charlottesville, Va., in one of the largest dealership acquisitions of the year, as tracked by .

Ourisman Cars, a group of dealerships within Ourisman Automotive Group, bolstered its Maryland presence with third-quarter 2022 and first-quarter 2023 acquisitions.