Kerrigan Advisors Represents Gossett Motor Cars on the Sale of Four Kia and Hyundai Dealerships in Memphis, Tennessee to Lithia Motors

Transaction represents Kerrigan Advisors’ 32^nd franchise sold in the South in the last four months, leading the industry

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kerrigan Advisors is pleased to represent Gossett Motor Cars, the largest privately owned dealership group in Memphis, in the sale of four Kia and Hyundai dealerships to Lithia Motors (NYSE: LAD). The transaction, which included Gossett Kia, Gossett Hyundai, Gossett Kia South and Gossett Hyundai South, marks Kerrigan Advisors’ 474th franchise sold since the firm’s founding in 2014, and its 156th franchise sold in the South, leading the industry in that region. Notably, this transaction follows several recent transactions by the firm, including Hennessy Automobile Companies and Toyota of Newnan in Atlanta, Georgia, Tommie Vaughn Ford in Houston, Texas, Honda in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Paramount Automotive’s Foreign Cars Italia platform in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina and Fields Mazda and Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Asheville, North Carolina, totaling 32 franchises sold in the last four months.

Founded in 1985 by Al Gossett, Gossett Motor Cars has served the Memphis community for more than 40 years. Today, Al, President and CEO, leads the company alongside his brother David and his son Brian, with a portfolio that includes Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram, Fiat, Mitsubishi, Genesis and Infiniti dealerships across the Memphis market. This transaction includes two of the three Kia points and two of the four Hyundai points in the Memphis MSA, creating a significant market presence. The four dealerships sold to Lithia sit on two of Memphis’ top auto rows, Covington Pike and Mt. Moriah Road, which rank among some of the region’s highest-volume auto retail markets.

The buyer, Lithia Motors, is a Medford, Oregon-based automotive retailer ranked #123 on the 2026 Fortune 500 list, with $37.6 billion in revenue reported in 2025. This acquisition more than doubles Lithia’s presence in Memphis and is also the second time Kerrigan Advisors has represented a Memphis dealership group in a sale to Lithia, following the sale of Sunrise Auto Group’s Chevrolet and Buick GMC dealerships in 2024.

“Serving Memphis has been a privilege for our family, and I am proud of the Gossett team, whose hard work and dedication made these dealerships what they are today,” said Al Gossett, President, CEO and Founder of Gossett Motor Cars. “This was a strategic decision for our group. It allows our team to focus our efforts on our remaining eight dealerships, and Lithia’s recent expansion in Memphis made them the right partner for our Kia and Hyundai stores. We are confident our employees and customers are in great hands with Lithia, and we are grateful to the Kerrigan Advisors team for guiding us through this sale process. Their professionalism, discretion and commitment to our best interests made a complex decision feel seamless, and I would recommend them to any dealer considering a sale.”

“It was an honor to represent Memphis’ largest privately owned dealership group in this sale,” said Chris Gempton, Senior Vice President of Kerrigan Advisors. “It is rare to find multiple points for both brands in one market, especially in the South. We thank the Gossett family for the trust they placed in our firm and congratulate Lithia on this acquisition.”

Tennessee ranked #3 in CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business in 2025. It was also the seventh fastest-growing state in the US from 2021 to 2024, with population growth of 3.8%, 27% above the US rate. Memphis, the state’s second-largest metro with 1.34 million residents and a cost of living 14% below the US average, grew its GDP 73% since 2010 to nearly $103 billion. The metro drew more than $41 billion in recent corporate investment, including more than $1.5 billion from FedEx at Memphis International Airport and xAI’s Colossus data center campus. Memphis is also a national logistics hub with the #1 busiest cargo airport in the Western Hemisphere, the #3 busiest trucking corridor and the #5 largest inland port in the US.

Kia and Hyundai are two of the fastest-growing brands in auto retail. Since 2008, sales per franchise increased 147% for Kia and 104% for Hyundai, compared with 9% for Toyota and a 1% decline for Honda. Kia America is on pace for its fourth consecutive annual sales record in 2026 after posting its best-ever September, with sales up 18%, and the best quarter in company history in the third quarter, up 8%. Hyundai set all-time records for September 2026 and the third quarter, with third quarter sales up 3% year-over-year, following the company’s fifth consecutive record year for light vehicle sales in 2025, achieving a record 5.5% market share. In addition to sales growth, both brands’ dealer confidence, a key driver of buyer demand today, also outperforms the industry: as reported in the 2025 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, 87% and 74% of dealers expect Kia and Hyundai franchise value to remain flat or rise in 2026, exceeding the US average of 69%.

“Kia and Hyundai are among the strongest non-luxury franchises in today’s active buy/sell market, and this transaction reflects the buyer demand we are seeing for both brands,” said Erin Kerrigan, Founder and Managing Director of Kerrigan Advisors. “Rising demand for Kia dealerships led us to raise Kia’s valuation multiple in both the first and second quarters of 2026 in The Blue Sky Report®. Business-friendly and growth markets increasingly drive blue sky value premiums, which bodes well for markets like Tennessee. Congratulations to Al Gossett and Lithia on a successful transaction.”

Stephen Dietrich, Sarah Seedig and Kyla Baker of Holland & Knight and Edward M. Bearman of The Law Office of Edward M. Bearman served as legal counsel to Gossett.

About Kerrigan Advisors

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 460 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. 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.