The dealership buy-sell market maintained its record pace through the first half of 2026, with 224 transactions completed and the trailing 12-month total reaching a record 462, according to Erin Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. Speaking on today’s CBT Live segment, Kerrigan said the market is being shaped by larger multi-dealership transactions, aggressive activity from public groups and growing demand for high-quality assets in major markets.
Public dealer groups invested $2.6 billion in acquisitions during the first half of the year, including Group 1 Automotive’s announced purchase of Hennessy Automobile Companies in Atlanta; their trailing 12-month total hit $6 billion. She noted this almost matches the public spending in 2021, their record year when deals totaled about $9 billion. The average Blue Sky expenditure per dealership by public groups reached $119 million in the first half, factoring in the Hennessy deal, which is twice the amount paid per store in recent years.
However, Kerrigan did note the unusual pace as buyers kept leaning in despite rising interest rates and declining industry earnings, with public groups down 15%. She observed a shift from the traditional hold-gross model to a volume model, citing a 30% increase in cross-state vehicle sales since 2021, indicating loosening geographic boundaries and more interest in multiple franchises within the same market.
Additionally, she described a flight to quality in which public groups now favor import and luxury franchises, accounting for more than 50% of their acquisitions this year. Lexus alone made up 18% of public groups’ acquisitions year to date, despite representing less than 1% of franchises nationwide, she said. Kerrigan added that 56% of this year’s acquisitions involved buyers already operating in that market, and more than 90% of public groups’ announced or completed deals fell in markets where they already had a presence, evidence that the industry remains in a regional rather than a national consolidation phase. About 70% of new-vehicle sales now come from just 30% of dealership rooftops, she said, underscoring how retail volume continues to concentrate among larger operators.
Kerrigan Advisors is the leading sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide. Since its founding in 2014, the firm has led the industry with the sale of over 450 franchises generating more than $11 billion in client proceeds, including three of the largest transactions in auto retail history – the sale of Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group, Leith Automotive to Holman, and Hennessy Automotive Companies to Group 1 Automotive (planned and expected to close in Q4 2026). The firm advises the industry’s leading dealership groups, enhancing value through the lifecycle of growing, operating and, when the time is right, selling their businesses. Led by a team of veteran industry experts with backgrounds in investment banking, private equity, accounting, finance and real estate, Kerrigan Advisors is the only firm in auto retail exclusively dedicated to sell-side advisory, providing its clients with the assurance of a conflict-free approach.
Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report®, which includes Kerrigan Advisors’ signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. To download a preview of the report, click here. The firm also releases monthly The Kerrigan Index™ composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market. The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To read the 2025 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, click here. To read the 2026 Kerrigan OEM Survey, click here. Kerrigan Advisors is also the co-author of NADA’s Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership. Additionally, Kerrigan Advisors publishes a podcast, Beyond Blue Sky – A Kerrigan Conversation, where Kerrigan Advisors’ clients and industry leaders share the mindset, strategy and personal stories behind a once-in-a-generation transaction.
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