Honolulu, Maui car dealerships acquired by public company

Lithia Motors Inc. based in Oregon, has acquired Honolulu Buick GMC Cadillac and Honolulu Volkswagen in Honolulu, as well as Island Honda of Maui.

Lithia trades as LAD on the New York Stock Exchange, and the Honolulu dealerships will add an estimated $75 million in annual revenues, according to a company statement.

Bryan DeBoer, president and chief executive officer, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser the publicly traded Lithia will maintain the isle dealerships’ longstanding brands and employee rosters.

“We will stay part of the local community and not modify” the signage or branding, he said.

However, a call to the Honolulu Buick GMC Cadillac dealership Thursday was answered using the “Lithia” brand name.

“Five or 10 years ago it was not so much that way,” he said, but now, “we hire the local people to gel with our customers and better try to provide uninterrupted service,” he said.

The publicly traded Lithia had been looking “for years” to establish a presence in Hawaii, DeBoer said.