What Sterling Automotive Group does

Sterling Automotive Group is a privately held multi-brand automotive dealership group headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana, operating 12 retail locations across the Acadiana and Southwest Louisiana region since 1995. The group retails new, used, and certified pre-owned vehicles across 11 OEM brands (Buick, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Hyundai, Genesis, Jeep, Kia, Lincoln, and RAM), supported by integrated finance and insurance services, brand-certified service departments with genuine OEM parts, and a dedicated premium pre-owned sub-brand called Sterling Premium Select operating three locations in Broussard, Lafayette (Kaliste Saloom), and Lafayette (Johnston). Current disclosed inventory stands at 2,355 new vehicles and 3,265 total units across new, used, and CPO.

Name

Sterling Automotive Group

Legal name

Sterling Automotive Group

Website

https://saveatsterling.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Sterling Automotive Group is a privately held multi-brand auto dealership group operating 12 retail locations across Acadiana and Southwest Louisiana, retailing new, used, and certified pre-owned vehicles from 11 OEM brands alongside integrated finance, service, and parts operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lafayette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Vehicle Sales: Sale of new, used, and certified pre-owned vehicles across 11 automotive brands. Revenue generated from the difference between acquisition cost and sale price, plus manufacturer incentives and dealer holdback.
2. Finance and Insurance: Vehicle financing, leasing, and extended warranty products. The finance center arranges loans through national lenders and earns commission on financing arrangements.
3. Service and Parts: Automotive maintenance, repairs, and genuine OEM parts sales. Technicians perform routine maintenance, brake repairs, engine diagnostics, and other repair services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sterling Automotive Group operates 12+ multi-brand retail dealerships across Acadiana, Louisiana, selling new, used, and certified pre-owned vehicles from 11 manufacturers (Buick, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Genesis, GMC, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lincoln, RAM). The group also operates in-house auto financing and leasing through national lenders, manufacturer-certified service and repair departments with OEM parts, and the Sterling Premium Select sub-brand for premium pre-owned vehicles.

Product overview

Sterling Automotive Group operates as a multi-brand automotive dealership platform with 12+ locations across Acadiana, Louisiana. The company offers new, pre-owned, and certified pre-owned vehicles from eleven major brands (Buick, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Genesis, GMC, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lincoln, and RAM), supported by integrated finance center services, state-of-the-art service departments, and a parts department. The portfolio includes the core new/used vehicle sales operations, the Sterling Premium Select sub-brand for premium used vehicles, and complementary services including trade-in valuation tools. All locations share unified digital platforms for inventory browsing, financing applications, and service scheduling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Vehicle Sales
• Pre-Owned Vehicle Sales Sale of inspected used vehicles including cars, trucks, and SUVs that have undergone rigorous quality inspections to meet dealership standards, displayed in used inventory separate from certified pre-owned stock.
• Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Vehicles CPO vehicles meeting strict standards: less than 70,000 miles, less than 6 model years old, a 150-point inspection, and a clean vehicle history report, with manufacturer-backed warranty coverage.
• Auto Finance & Lending In-house financing solutions including auto loans, leasing options, and pre-approvals, with access to national lenders and competitive rates; serves buyers seeking financing, including those with less-than-perfect credit, and earns commission on financing arrangements.
• Service & Repair State-of-the-art service departments staffed by brand-certified technicians offering routine maintenance, brake repairs, engine diagnostics, and major repairs using genuine OEM parts; Saturday service is available at multiple locations.
• Parts Department Genuine OEM parts for vehicle maintenance and repairs, warranty-backed components built with premium materials from the original manufacturer.
• Sterling Premium Select Sub-brand of the Sterling dealership group offering premium pre-owned vehicles with features such as heated seats, leather seats, Bluetooth, GPS navigation, and advanced safety features, operated at the Broussard, Kaliste Saloom, and Johnston Lafayette locations.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Lithia Motors: One of the largest US dealer groups with hundreds of rooftops and a heavy M&A roll-up strategy. Comparable to Sterling in offering multi-brand new vehicle sales, F&I, and service operations, but at much greater scale and with a publicly-traded acquisition engine.
• AutoNation: Largest US automotive retailer with ~300+ dealerships across multiple brands. Comparable to Sterling as a multi-franchise, multi-brand dealer group, though AutoNation operates nationally at far greater scale and has broader digital retailing capabilities.
• Penske Automotive Group: Diversified global automotive retailer with premium-brand concentration. Comparable to Sterling as a multi-brand dealer group, though Penske is materially larger and is weighted toward higher-margin luxury and commercial vehicle franchises.
• Group 1 Automotive: US- and UK-based multi-brand dealership group with ~200 rooftops. Closely comparable to Sterling in operating model (multi-brand franchises, F&I, service, parts) but at significantly larger scale and geographic diversification.

Emerging players

• Carvana: Online-first used-vehicle retailer. Comparable to Sterling on used-vehicle sales but operates a fundamentally different (digital, no-haggle, vending-machine pickup) model that pressures traditional dealers' used-vehicle gross profit per unit.

Direct peers

• Sonic Automotive: US dealer group with ~140 rooftops split between franchised dealerships and the EchoPark used-vehicle banner. Direct peer to Sterling in franchise dealership operations, with a similar multi-brand strategy and a comparable used-vehicle sub-brand extension.
• CarMax: Largest US used-vehicle retailer with ~240 stores plus online sales. Direct peer to Sterling's Sterling Premium Select pre-owned business and a structural competitor for used-vehicle gross profit in any region CarMax enters.
• Asbury Automotive Group: Multi-brand US dealer group with ~150 rooftops focused on Sunbelt geographies. Directly comparable to Sterling in operating franchised new-car dealerships, F&I, and service-and-parts across multiple OEM brands.

Regional players

• Morgan Automotive Group: Louisiana-based multi-brand dealer group with locations across the state. Comparable to Sterling as a regional multi-brand dealer serving overlapping Louisiana customer demand, though operating in a different geographic sub-region.
• Giles Automotive Group: Louisiana-based dealer group operating multiple rooftops in the Acadiana region (Lafayette, New Iberia, Abbeville). The most direct regional competitor to Sterling, competing head-to-head on the same domestic and import franchises in the same geographic territory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sterlingauto

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sterling Automotive Group