Just weeks after buying Van Tuyl Group, the fifth-largest chain of car dealers, billionaire Warren Buffett is already trying to expand his auto retailer, according to the Associated Press.
During a panel at the NADA/J.D. Power Automotive Forum on Tuesday, Buffet said he doesn't worry about overpaying for a dealership, despite the fact that a strong market makes showrooms more expensive.
"I don't buy based on this year's earnings or next year's earnings," said Mr. Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s chairman, during the New York forum, according to The Wall-Street Journal.
Buffett, 84, owns shares of General Motors and 78 auto dealerships in 10 states, but he would like Berkshire Hathaway to purchase more stores in the future.
"It can be a good and very profitable business," said Buffett, according to USA Today. "You'll find out over the next couple of years we're likely to make a few more acquisitions."
During the forum, Buffett said electric vehicle maker Tesla is not a threat to conventional showroom dealerships and that he doesn't even see the "volume there" to be concerned about Tesla.
"When a distribution system becomes that firmly established, there's a reason for it," he said. "I don't see it changing."
Buffett had mix feelings regarding driverless cars though, saying that while it would be a safer way to drive, he can't see even 2 percent of total sales in 2030 being autonomous cars, according to USA Today.
"If it is a safer way of driving, it's good for society and bad for our insurance business," said Mr. Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway owns Geico. "That would be wonderful but we would not be throwing a party at our insurance business."
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