Lithia Motors Inc. CEO Bryan DeBoer on Wednesday said his company could lead a consolidation of some publicly listed auto dealer groups to compete with online-only upstarts catering to younger, more internet-savvy car buyers.
DeBoer said mergers with three public companies would allow Lithia to expand more rapidly and turn its focus to building out its online sales platform.
"If there's going to be consolidation in the industry, it's most likely going to come from us," DeBoer said. He declined to say whether talks were ongoing or name the companies he was interested in, but said they had good coverage of the central and southeastern parts of the United States.
Lithia has said it plans to further expand this year by acquiring smaller, individual dealerships.
"(Consolidation) does seem to make sense and could help focus all of our attention, as well as ensuring a greater pipeline of vehicles, eliminate other people from being able to enter the spa…