Who’s buying and who’s selling car dealerships
Automotive dealership transactions dropped in 2023, but there was still enough activity to rank it as one of the busiest in history. Read our analysis and dive into the data.
Top buyers
These auto retailers were the industry’s biggest dealership acquirers in 2023. Here are the top 5 buyers, ranked by the total number of U.S. new-vehicle dealerships they acquired in 2023.
2023 |
No. of dealerships | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Asbury Automotive Group |
|
20 |
| 2. Lithia Motors |
|
16 |
| 3. Anderson Automotive Group |
|
12 |
| 4. #1 Cochran Automotive |
|
9 |
| 4. Ed Morse Automotive Group |
|
9 |
Source: Automotive News Research & Data Center
Top sellers
These auto retailers, including 1 who sold to top buyer Asbury Automotive Group, sold the highest number of dealerships in 2023. Here are the top 7 sellers, as ranked by the total number of U.S. new-vehicle dealerships they sold in 2023.
2023 |
No. of dealerships | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jim Koons Automotive Cos. |
|
20 |
| 2. Dennis Ellmer of Priority Automotive Group |
|
14 |
| 3. Group 1 Automotive |
|
11 |
| 4. Lithia Motors |
|
8 |
| 5. Bill van den Hurk |
|
7 |
| 5. MCE Automotive Inc. |
|
7 |
| 5. MileOne Autogroup |
|
7 |
Source: Automotive News Research & Data Center
Hot summer, cooler fall
The number of dealership transactions heated up in the summer before cooling down the last two months of the year.
Source: Automotive News Research & Data Center
Quarterly results
Here is the quarterly breakdown of 2023’s dealership buy-sells compared with 2022’s and 2021’s.
Source: Automotive News Research & Data Center
Transaction tally
Automotive News tracked the industry’s number of dealership buy-sell transactions in 2023. Here are highlights and how the figures compare with 2022 and 2021.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transactions | 381 | 403 | 382 |
| Dealerships sold | 562 | 596 | 707 |
| Franchises involved | 935 | 1,017 | 1,130 |
| Average number of dealerships per transaction | 1.48 | 1.48 | 1.85 |
| Median number of dealerships per transaction | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| States involved | 48 | 49 | 48 |
Source: Automotive News Research & Data Center
Busy Q1
Since 2021, the number of dealerships trading hands in 1st-quarter buy-sell transactions tracked by Automotive News has increased.
■ Q1 transactions ■ Dealerships trading hands
■ Q1 transactions ■ Dealerships trading hands
| 2024 |
|
78* |
|
|
159* | |
| 2023 |
|
93 |
|
|
131 | |
| 2022 |
|
82 |
|
|
114 | |
| 2021 |
|
69 |
|
|
106 |
* Tracking is ongoing; figures may rise.
Source: Automotive News Research & Data Center
Popular brands
These brands had the highest share of their total U.S. franchises changing hands as part of dealership transactions in 2023. They were higher than the industry average of 3.1%. Here are the top 13 brands as ranked by that share figure.
| Total franchises | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. Infiniti |
|
5.5% |
| 2. Kia |
|
4.7% |
| 3. Buick |
|
4.1% |
| 4. Mini |
|
3.8% |
| 4. Hyundai |
|
3.8% |
| 6. Genesis |
|
3.7% |
| 7. Mazda |
|
3.5% |
| 8. Volkswagen |
|
3.4% |
| 8. Nissan |
|
3.4% |
| 8. Mercedes-Benz |
|
3.4% |
| 8. Dodge |
|
3.4% |
| 8. Ram |
|
3.4% |
| 8. GMC |
|
3.4% |
Source: Automotive News Research & Data Center
Public auto retailers’ activity in 2023
The 6 publicly traded auto retailers bought more stores in 2023 than they did in 2022, but still far from 2021’s volume. Here are the number of U.S. new-vehicle dealerships the publics purchased in 2023, the number of such stores each sold last year, and how their buying and selling compares with 2022 and 2021.
| Acquisition transactions | 2023 |
|
12 |
| 2022 |
|
19 | |
| 2021 |
|
42 | |
| Number of dealerships acquired | 2023 |
|
51 |
| 2022 |
|
39 | |
| 2021 |
|
222 | |
| Divestiture transactions | 2023 |
|
21 |
| 2022 |
|
28 | |
| 2021 |
|
16 | |
| Number of dealerships sold | 2023 |
|
25 |
| 2022 |
|
38 | |
| 2021 |
|
17 |
Source: Automotive News Research & Data Center
