The Intersection 5-15-22 | Automotive News

In March 2021, Automotive Information, sensing a motivation from our viewers, made a decision to make a improve and bulk up our coverage of new-vehicle dealership mergers and acquisitions, identified colloquially as buy-sells.

For Automotive News, that intended much more editorial means devoted to the hard work. Specifically myself, as a reporter, and my colleague Melissa Stress, as a hybrid reporter-editor.

For our audience, it intended much more protection of obtain-sell transactions. Tons more.

To be absolutely sure, Automotive Information experienced coated purchase-sells in the earlier, commonly when one particular of the publicly traded dealership teams or a effectively-regarded non-public group or dealer determined to get a retailer.

But this was distinctive.

We begun crafting person tales on transactions as they happened. It failed to subject the place in the state a deal took area or how a lot of rooftops ended up concerned.

We collected knowledge on promotions (extra on that in a moment) submitted by sellers, get-sell brokers and some others, and we hunted down details on other transactions discovered in business regulatory filings, community information reviews and social media posts.

Barely a month following deciding to concentration additional on obtain-sells, 1 of the largest dealership acquisitions in history occurred. Lithia Motors purchased the Suburban Selection, one of the most significant non-public dealership teams in the region.

It was a harbinger for the yr.

By May perhaps, it was apparent that the speed of transactions was speeding up. To handle it, we started compiling roundup tales with facts on many discounts, which retained coming.

The megadeals also kept sprouting. September was a whirlwind with Team 1 Automotive, Sonic Automotive and Asbury Automotive Team every single asserting designs of their very own to get some of the largest personal dealership groups in the U.S.

As the bargains rolled in, our info continued to improve.

Which qualified prospects us to this week’s issue.

You can come across various facts-abundant tales that you won’t discover anywhere else. From the selection of transactions to how several franchises have been concerned, you will find no shortage of invest in-provide details.

Want to know how quite a few dealerships ended up sold in your condition last year? We acquired you. Curious to see how several Subaru franchises traded fingers in 2021? We’ve acquired that, as well. (35, by the way.)

In all, Automotive Information can now far more carefully tell the story of last year’s surging buy-sell current market, a phenomenon that proceeds this calendar year.

We have the knowledge for that, much too.

— Jack Walsworth