8:13 am, June 18, 2025
Bosses at Hatfields are remaining tight-lipped amid rumours that the family-run dealer group is set to be taken over by Lithia.
Car Dealer understands that talks are at an advanced stage over a deal which would see the US giant acquire control of the JLR specialist.
Sources close to the group have told us that staff were informed of the takeover in an email on June 4.
Car Dealer has been unable to independently verify the email but insiders say it told employees that the deal would be made official on August 1.
Lithia has not responded to multiple approaches from Car Dealer, while Hatfields boss Gareth Williams said: ‘We have no comment to make at this moment in time’.
Several other senior figures from Hatfields also failed to respond when approached but one source close to the firm did tell 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 4th June at 7:30am.
‘The takeover will be complete on August 1.’
If the rumours are true, Hatfields will join the likes of Evans Halshaw, Stratstone and Jardine Motors in the Lithia stable.
Founded by Ernest Hatfield in 1922, the group now operates dealerships representing Jaguar, Land Rover, Jaecoo and Omoda across the Midlands and the North West.
The firm has won a string of awards over the years and was named Jaguar’s ‘Partner of the Year’ back in 2022.
Since buying Pendragon’s UK dealerships last year, Lithia has carried out multiple cuts, the most recent wave coming in February.
The firm closed its Renault and Dacia site in Doncaster, its Vauxhall sites in Portsmouth and Wolverhampton as well as ‘direct pod’ locations in St Albans, Hanworth and Orpington.
