Penske nabs Hyundai-Genesis location near Indianapolis; Lithia adds Ontario store

Publicly traded retailers Penske Automotive Group Inc. and Lithia Motors Inc. each announced single-store acquisition deals on Tuesday.

Penske said it has acquired a Hyundai-Genesis dealership in Noblesville, Ind., near Indianapolis, its first of those brands in that region, from dealer Terry Lee. Financial terms of the deal, which closed Monday, were not disclosed.

The dealership, which was built in 2015 and houses a Hyundai showroom on one side and a Genesis showroom on the other, had been called Terry Lee Hyundai-Genesis of Noblesville. Penske did not disclose a name change.

“It is bittersweet to leave an industry I have worked in my entire life, but I know Penske Automotive will continue to serve the community and customers with the same high standards I and my team strove for,” Lee said in a statement.

The acquisition brings Penske to a total of four Hyundai outlets and two Genesis outlets, Anthony Pordon, Penske Automotive’s executive vice president for investor relations and corporate development, said in an email to Automotive News.
Penske expects the dealership to generate annualized revenue of $80 million. The amount of annualized revenue added to the company through acquisitions and new store openings in 2022 now stands at $745 million, the company said.

“We are pleased to add the Hyundai and Genesis brands to our existing Honda and Chevrolet footprint in the Indianapolis metropolitan market and welcome their employees to our team,” Penske CEO Roger Penske said in a statement. “We look to enhance the strong legacy of these dealerships while building additional scale in this important market for Penske Automotive Group.”

Presidio Group, an investment banking and advisory firm with offices in Denver and Atlanta, advised Lee on the acquisition.

Penske, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., ranks No. 3 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 195,384 new vehicles in 2021.

Lithia acquires Honda store in Canada

Lithia Motors Inc. said Tuesday that it purchased Sisley Honda in Thornhill, Ontario, near Toronto, adding to its Canadian holdings. Lithia said it made the acquisition via its Pfaff Automotive Partners unit. Pfaff is the Toronto-based dealership group that Lithia acquired last year.

Lithia did not say when the transaction was finalized nor did it disclose a name change for the dealership.

Sisley Honda was founded in 1946 and is one of the highest-volume Honda stores in Canada, Lithia said in a statement announcing the deal.

Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer said in the statement that the addition of Sisley Honda enables the retailer to expand its Driveway digital retailing platform and helps Lithia strengthen its position in one of Canada’s top markets.

It’s Lithia’s most recent acquisition in Canada since purchasing motorcycle dealership Pfaff Harley-Davidson of Toronto late last year.

Lithia said the acquisition of Sisley Honda bring its total expected annualized revenue acquired so far in 2022 to more than $1.2 billion.

Lithia, of Medford, Ore., ranks No. 2 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 260,738 new vehicles in 2021.