Lithia Motors
 |
|
| Public | |
| Traded as | : LAD |
| Industry | auto retailing |
| Founded | 1946, Ashland, Oregon |
| Headquarters |
Medford, Oregon, United States |
|
Key people
|
Bryan DeBoer, CEO |
| Products | automobiles |
| Revenue |
 $5,390 million (FY 2015) |
|
$231 million (FY 2015) |
|
|
$138 million (FY 2015) |
|
| Total assets |
$2,880 million (FY 2015) |
| Total equity |
$673 million (FY 2015) |
|
Number of employees
|
8,620 |
| Subsidiaries | DCH Auto Group |
| Website | lithia.com |
|
Footnotes / references Financial data. |
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Lithia Motors, Inc. is an American nationwide automotive dealership network headquartered in Medford, Oregon. It is the seventh largest automotive retailer in the United States, and ranked #14 in Fortune’s Most Admired Companies in 2013. Lithia Motors, Inc. ranked #602 on Fortune's top 1000 companies in 2014 list, up from a rank of #653 in 2013. In 2015, Lithia Motors broke into the Fortune 500 list at #482, making it one of only three Oregon-based companies in the Fortune 500. This followed a year that saw the acquisition of the DCH Auto Group, one of the 10 largest dealer groups in the country with 27 dealerships, before being purchased by Lithia Motors.
Lithia Motors began in 1946 when Walt DeBoer opened a single car dealership in Ashland, Oregon. The first year the five person company sold 14 cars. In 1968, Walt's son, Sidney DeBoer, took over the business and incorporated Lithia Motors Inc. Sidney reorganized the business and in 1970 purchased a Dodge dealership in Medford. With this, Lithia’s base of operation moved to Medford and grew to a total of five stores with 19 franchises by 1990.
In December 1996 the company went public, trading on the with an IPO of $11 per share. By 2003, Lithia had revenues of $2.5 billion from its 84 dealerships while employing just over 5,500 people. The company had increased dealerships to 88 by 2005. Lithia was fined $500,000 by the state of Alaska in 2006 for charging car buyers illegal document preparation fees at their Alaska dealerships. That year they also settled with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for workplace discrimination. In early 2007 began plans to build a 60-acre (240,000 m2) auto mall north of downtown Medford and to build a new corporate headquarters in downtown Medford. The Chrysler Jeep Dodge store moved to the auto mall in September 2007 but the project was put on hold for seven years because the recession hit shortly after. In late 2014, Lithia moved their Honda, Nissan, BMW, and Volkswagen stores to the auto mall. The group's Toyota store, which the group had planned to move to the auto mall, instead went through a $1.5 million renovation in 2013 and stayed on their 5-acre site in downtown Medford. In 2010, it was reported that with the backing of two lenders, “the Commons”, a mixed-use building with Lithia Headquarters as the largest tenant, was a “go” and could proceed with construction. According to an article by The Mail Tribune, “Lithia partnered with the Medford Urban Renewal Agency to create The Commons, a revitalization project that includes the headquarters and another $14 million in infrastructure and three park blocks paid for with MURA dollars. Lithia employees moved into their new headquarters in late 2012. In January, 2014 the Commons building was awarded Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Lithia has been the recipient of numerous awards, including Sports Illustrated's All-Star Dealer Award in 1990 and Time's Quality Dealer Award in 1997.
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