Sonic Automotive
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: SAH |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founder(s) | Bruton Smith |
| Headquarters | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States |
| Key people |
Bruton Smith Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer |
| Website | www.sonicautomotive.com |
Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: SAH) is a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. The company's founder and CEO is Bruton Smith, who is also the founder and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE: TRK).
Sonic Automotive operates in 15 states with 107 dealerships representing 29 different brands of automobiles. These dealerships provide numerous services, including sales of new and used cars; sales of replacement parts; vehicle maintenance, warranty, paint, and collision repair services; and arrangement of extended warranty contracts, financing, and insurance for the company's customers. Sonic's annual revenue is roughly $8 billion.
According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), total annual dealership sales in the U.S. reached $512 billion in 2010, making automotive retailing the largest retail trade sector in the nation. Of this $512 billion, NADA estimates that $270.8 billion represented sales of 11.5 million new vehicles by franchised U.S. auto dealers and $169.5 billion represented sales of 18 million used vehicles by these dealers.
[edit] Charity
In 2011 Sonic initiated the Bruton Cameron Smith Community Involvement Award, given to the Region that accumulates the most points based on community service, money raised and money donated. In the first year, Sonic Associates donated over 113,817 community service hours and raised over $1,681,544 in support of the local communities served by Sonic Dealerships.
