Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misstated Mike Jackson's role at AutoNation after he steps down as CEO of the company this year.
While Roger Penske at 81 has no plans to retire, Penske Automotive Group does have a succession plan that includes naming a Penske family member to help steer the nation's second-largest U.S. dealership group, should it need to.
Penske, chairman and CEO of Penske Automotive, outlined Penske Automotive's succession planning Wednesday during Automotive News World Congress that would include naming either Roger Penske Jr. or Greg Penske, two of Penske's sons, as Penske Automotive's non-executive chairman, should anything happen to him.
"We have good succession," Penske said. "I think because my two sons, Roger Jr., my oldest son, and Greg, were in the business, I've taken each one of those, and one of them is on the board of the public company, Penske Auto Group and the other is on the board of our truck leasing business. And I switch them every three years."
Greg Penske serves on the Penske Truck Leasing Advisory Committee, while Roger Penske Jr. is on the Penske Automotive board.
Who would serve as CEO of the company would be determined by the board of directors, a Penske Automotive spokesman said .
A motorsports legend, Penske, and AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson, 69, have a competition of sorts to stay on as CEO of their respective companies as long as the other does. In 2013, shortly before Jackson turned 65, he told Automotive News that he wanted to run AutoNation for as long as friend and competitor Roger Penske ran rival Penske Automotive Group.
But Jackson is stepping down as CEO of AutoNation this year, though he will serve as executive chairman.
"I race every weekend and I had a race with him to see who could stay the longest," Penske told Automotive News this week. "Being the nonexecutive chairman, I got to say that he's still in the race. (He) might be a lap behind."
Penske Automotive, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., ranks No. 2 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 248,800 new vehicles in 2017. It retailed 252,900 used vehicles for the same period, ranking it No. 2 on Automotive News' list of the top 100 dealership groups in used-vehicle sales.
