Who is the largest car dealer in the United States?
AutoNation is the largest car retailer in the United States by revenue and the number of dealerships. The rest of this article explains how “largest” is defined in U.S. car retailing and who the leading players are today, including AutoNation, CarMax, Lithia Motors, and Group 1 Automotive.
How “largest” is defined in car retailing
In the U.S. market, the term largest can be measured in several ways, with revenue and dealership footprint being the two most common. This section outlines the metrics used to compare major car retailers:
- Total revenue generated from new- and used-vehicle sales, services, parts, and financing.
- Number of dealership locations or franchises in operation.
- Geographic reach, including states and regions served.
These metrics together help distinguish who leads in overall scale, who dominates in used-car channels, and who has the broadest network across the country. In practice, AutoNation leads by revenue and store count, while CarMax dominates the used-car segment, and other groups like Lithia Motors and Group 1 Automotive rank among the largest multi-brand retailers.
AutoNation — the leading new-car retailer
AutoNation operates a nationwide network of dealerships that sell multiple brands and provide related services such as maintenance, parts, and financing. It is widely recognized as the largest car retailer in the United States in terms of overall sales volume and store count. The company has a broad geographic footprint across many major markets, giving it a significant scale advantage in both new-vehicle sales and integrated service offerings.
CarMax — the leading used-car retailer
CarMax specializes in used-vehicle retail and has built the nation’s largest used-car store footprint, complemented by a robust online platform. While AutoNation leads the overall market, CarMax is the clear leader in the used-car segment, with hundreds of stores nationwide and a prominent online-to-offline shopping experience.
Other major players
Beyond AutoNation and CarMax, several large groups operate hundreds of dealerships across the United States and internationally. Lithia Motors, Group 1 Automotive, and others rank among the top retailers by scale, with extensive multi-brand networks and sizable annual revenue. Their combined footprints reflect a highly consolidated industry where scale translates into bargaining power, marketing reach, and cross-brand service capabilities.
Summary
In today’s U.S. car retail landscape, AutoNation stands as the largest car retailer by revenue and store count, making it the leading benchmark for overall scale. CarMax holds the distinction as the largest used-car retailer, while Lithia Motors, Group 1 Automotive, and other large groups round out the top tier with extensive multi-brand networks. Taken together, these players illustrate a highly concentrated market where scale drives efficiency, customer reach, and growth opportunities.
Who are the Big Three car dealers?
General Motors, the Ford Motor Company and Chrysler are often referred to as the Big Three, although Chrysler has been surpassed as the third-largest U.S. automaker by Toyota of America.
Who is the number one car salesman in America?
In the Guinness Book of World Records, you'll discover that a car salesman named Joe Girard is one of the most successful salespeople ever. Wait, a car salesman?
Which dealer sells the most cars?
What is the largest automobile dealer in the United States? Chevrolet is the largest automobile dealer the United States in 2025.
Who is the biggest car dealership in America?
Lithia Motors is the largest dealership group in America based on the number of units sold, followed by AutoNation and Penske Automotive Group. If measuring by the number of locations, Chevrolet has the most individual dealerships across the United States.
- By revenue and units sold: Lithia Motors is the largest group, having sold 729,799 units, followed by AutoNation and Penske Automotive Group.
- By number of locations: Chevrolet has the most dealership locations with 2,878, making it the most widespread dealership network in the country.
- Other major dealership groups: Other large dealership groups include Group 1 Automotive, Sonic Automotive, and Asbury Automotive Group.
- A single dealership: The largest single dealership in the world is Longo Toyota in El Monte, California, which is part of the Penske Motor Group.
