Auto retail giant Lithia Motors Inc. this week expanded its portfolio of high-end brands, while two other dealers made single-store purchases in December and in earlier transactions.
Here’s a look at the deals involving exotic, import and domestic brands. One transaction involved a group ranked on Automotive News‘ top 150 dealership groups list.
Lithia acquires first Ferrari dealership
Lithia Motors Inc. acquired its first Ferrari dealership on Monday when it bought Algar Ferrari of Philadelphia in Bryn Mawr, Pa., according to Bill Scrivner of Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, a Frisco, Texas, buy-sell firm representing Lithia in the transaction.
The dealership was renamed Ferrari of Philadelphia, Scrivner said.
Lithia bought the dealership from Aleks Vekselberg, who had owned it since 2012, according to the store’s website. The store dates to 1964.
Vekselberg’s father is Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, according to a 2018 Washington Post article referring to the elder Vekselberg as an energy and metals tycoon.
With the acquisition, Lithia has added another exotic brand to its portfolio.
Last year, it acquired Sterling Motorcars in Virginia, which included brands such as McLaren, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce.
Lithia’s April acquisition of Suburban Collection included Suburban Exotic Motorcars of Michigan in Troy, made up of Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren and Rolls-Royce franchises in two dealerships.
The group’s August acquisition of Pfaff Automotive Partners, a Canadian dealership group, included McLaren, Pagani and Automobili Pininfarina, among other brands.
Lithia, of Medford, Ore., ranked No. 3 on Automotive News‘ most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 171,168 new vehicles in 2020. But the Suburban Collection acquisition made Lithia the second-largest group going forward.
