Kerrigan Advisors’ year-end Blue Sky Report finds U.S. auto dealers sold 697 franchises in an all-time record of 438 transactions last year, a 10% increase from 2023.

Analysts noted 28 of those franchises were included in the sales of North Carolina’s Leith Automotive to the Mount Laurel, N.J.-based Homan Auto, the biggest of several large-scale transactions recorded in 2024.

“The strength of the buy/sell market was a product of growing industry confidence in future auto retail revenue and profitability,” the Kerrigan report states, in part. “With interest rates ebbing, inflation moderating and improvements in vehicle affordability, new vehicle sales rose considerably throughout 2024, buoying buyers’ confidence.”

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