Top Auto Dealerships Groups Growing Rapidly

Washington DC March 21, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that the largest auto retailers continue to boost their share of U.S. new-vehicle sales, according to this year's Automotive News list of the top dealership groups. Those groups, both private and public, are selling more vehicles per dealership.

The 2007 list ranks the 125 largest groups by retail unit sales of new vehicles last year. Last year, 18 of the top 100 groups reported average sales per dealership of more than 2,000 new retail vehicles. A decade earlier, 13 groups reached that mark.

Two groups reported selling more than 5,000 new retail cars and trucks per dealership in 2006. They are Penske Automotive Group, of El Monte, Calif. (No. 11 on this year's list), and Dave Smith Auto Group, of Kellogg, Idaho (No. 68).

At least 16 of the 100 largest groups on this year's list averaged $100 million or more in revenue per dealership last year. That's up from seven a decade ago.