U.S. dealership group Lithia Motors expands in Canada

Lithia Motors Inc. added to its portfolio in Canada with the Feb. 3, 2023, purchase of Acura of North Toronto in Thornhill, Ont., from Dilawri Group of Cos., Lithia confirmed.

The store was renamed Acura of Thornhill.

It marked Lithia's first Canadian dealership purchase since it bought Sisley Honda, also in Thornhill, in May 2022, the company confirmed.

Lithia said it now has 15 dealerships across Canada. The growing group entered Canada in August 2021 when it bought Pfaff Automotive Partners.

Lithia, of Medford, Ore., according to sibling publication Automotive News in Detroit, ranks No. 2 on the most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the United States, retailing 260,738 new vehicles in 2021. Through the third quarter of last year, Lithia was tracking ahead of rival U.S. AutoNation Inc. for new-vehicle sales. AutoNation has long held the No. 1 spot in the annual ranking.

In separate transaction in the fourth quarter of 2022, Lithia sold a domestic-branded dealership in the Detroit area to a local buyer.

Lithia on Dec. 12 sold Suburban Buick-GMC of Ferndale, north of Detroit, to Les Stanford Auto Group, according to Paul Stanford, president of the Les Stanford group.

The store was renamed Les Stanford Buick-GMC.

Les Stanford Auto also has a Chevrolet dealership and Cadillac store in nearby Dearborn, Mich., which the group counts as one business, Paul Stanford noted.

The sale marked Lithia's first dealership divestiture since it sold Suburban Chevrolet in Clinton, Mich., on Nov. 14, the auto retailer confirmed.

Suburban Buick-GMC of Ferndale and Suburban Chevrolet are the only two dealerships Lithia has sold of the 34 it acquired when it bought Michigan's Suburban Collection in April 2021, the company confirmed.