Publicly traded groups on 2023 list
There’s a new No. 1. Lithia Motors, once the smallest and lowest-ranked of the publicly owned dealership groups &ndash blew by longtime leader AutoNation in new-vehicle retail sales in 2022. AutoNation had held the top spot since 1997. Lithia, which continued buying dealerships in 2022 at a far faster pace than its rival, retailed 271,596 new vehicles last year, up 4.2 percent. By contrast, AutoNation retailed 229,971 new vehicles in 2022, down 12 percent. Lithia’s numbers included a modest number of sales in Canada and at motorcycle and recreational vehicle dealerships, but it would have surpassed AutoNation by a wide margin even without those.
| 2022 rank | 2021 rank | Dealership group | Total new retail units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Lithia Motors Inc. | 271,596 |
| 2 | 1 | AutoNation Inc. | 229,971 |
| 3 | 3 | Penske Automotive Group Inc. | 185,831 |
| 4 | 4 | Group 1 Automotive Inc. | 154,714 |
| 5 | 5 | Asbury Automotive Group Inc. | 151,179 |
| 6 | 7 | Sonic Automotive Inc. | 101,168 |
Source: Automotive News Research & Data Center
There’s a new No. 1. Lithia Motors, once the smallest and lowest-ranked of the publicly owned dealership groups — blew by longtime leader AutoNation in new-vehicle retail sales in 2022. AutoNation had held the top spot since 1997. Lithia, which continued buying dealerships in 2022 at a far faster pace than its rival, retailed 271,596 new vehicles last year, up 4.2 percent. By contrast, AutoNation retailed 229,971 new vehicles in 2022, down 12 percent. Lithia’s numbers included a modest number of sales in Canada and at motorcycle and recreational vehicle dealerships, but it would have surpassed AutoNation by a wide margin even without those.
