Family-run car dealership group founded over 100 years ago set to be taken over by US giant in just weeks
A CENTURY-old car dealership group could soon be taken over by a major US company, according to reports.
Family-run group Hatfields is rumoured to be on the cusp of being acquired by the American giant Lithia, Car Dealer Magazine has reported.
Sources close to the group told the magazine that staff had been informed of the deal via email.
Insiders have told the outlet that the email tells employees that it will be made official on August 1.
Lithia did not respond to Car Dealer Magazine 's requests for comment.
Hatfields boss Gareth Williams told Car Dealer: "We have no comment to make at this moment in time."
Another senior source told Car Dealer: "I have been told locally by many staff working at Hatfields branches that the business has been bought out by Lithia.
"All staff at Hatfields had an email On Wednesday 4 June at 7:30am.
"The takeover will be complete on August 1."
Hatfields was founded by Ernest Hatfield in 1922, and was named Jaguar's Partner of the Year in 2022.
It operates dealerships that represent Jaguar, Land Rover and others throughout the Midlands and North West.
Hatfields would join others like Evans Halshaw, Stratstone and Jardine Motors under Lithia's wings if the rumours prove to be true.
Chilling moment thieves steal car with wireless device in seconds as new doc reveals how Brit motors end up in Lithuania
The Sun has also approached Lithia for comment.
It comes after three major UK car dealerships are set to close in just days as a US giant makes "drastic cutbacks".
In March, The Sun reported that Group 1 Automotive would shut three Volkswagen Group sites.
The affected sites were Audi Approved Hyde, and Volkswagen Wirral and Cheltenham.
A spokesman for Group 1 Automotive told Car Dealer: "Due to the ongoing challenges presented by the current economic climate, we are unfortunately having to take some difficult decisions, which include the closure of our VW Wirral and Cheltenham stores, and Audi Approved Hyde."
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