Prime jumps into top 15 in annual ranking James B. Treece some very large ones, chose
[email protected] not to participate. For example, estwood, Mass.-based Prime Automotive Group Terry Taylor’s extensive group bounded into the top 15 on Automotive News’ of dealerships, for which his annual Top 150 Dealership Groups list, which Automotive Management Ser- ranks dealership groups based in the U.S. by vices Inc., of West Palm Beach, Wnew-vehicle retail sales. at was one of several revisions in the Fla., provides support, didn’t rankings due to ownership changes amid an active buy-sell respond to the survey. Neither market in 2017. did Berkshire Hathaway Auto- Prime surged 53 rungs, to No. 13, as its new-vehicle retail sales motive. more than tripled to 46,163 from 13,853 a year earlier. e group’s Several large groups on last store count also increased more than that of any other group on year’s list disappeared from the list, to 57 from 28, largely because of a this year’s list because they change in the company’s structure. have been acquired. In October, Abrams Capital, a private-eq- Lithia, for instance, bought uity rm that had rst invested in Prime Shammas Automotive Group, Motor Group 11 years earlier, cashed out. It of Los Angeles, which was No. sold a majority stake in the group to GPB 55 last year, as well as Day Au- Capital, a New York asset-management tomotive Group, of Monro- company, which already had majority eville, Penn., which was No.