Steve Landers is a businessman and philanthropist from Benton (Saline County) who founded
Arkansas’s largest chain of automotive dealerships. In 2004, Landers Auto Sales, Inc., had the
highest reported revenue among car dealers in the state according to business analysts Dun &
Bradstreet.
In 1998, Roger Penske purchased the United Auto Group and offered to make Steve Landers
president of the south-central U.S. region. Landers accepted and began reporting directly to
Penske, being in charge of operations and acquisitions in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma,
Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Louisiana in addition to every UAG Chrysler
dealership in the United States and Puerto Rico. In August 2003, he stepped down as president of
the division and later purchased a Toyota dealership from Penske.
In 2005, Landers Auto Group partnered with Thomas F. McLarty, formerly of North Point Auto
Group in Little Rock. Under the new Landers-McLarty banner, Landers authorized the purchase
of another twenty dealerships. One of them was a Ford dealership located in northwestern
Arkansas that also sold motor homes. After Hurricane Katrina struck that year, Landers sold
motor homes to displaced families.
Landers was CEO of the Steve Landers Auto Group, which includes all dealerships under the
Landers name in Arkansas. Landers Auto Group included three separate dealerships selling six
different brands of automobiles. The company was named the number-one Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep
dealer by the Chrysler Corporation for the United States in 1993, 1995, and 1996. He also has a
partial interest in McClarty Automotive. In addition to his automotive dealerships, he is involved
in the horse-racing community. In 2016, he was appointed to the Arkansas Racing Commission.
Steve Landers has bought and sold over 70 auto dealerships throughout the state of Arkansas,
during the course of his career.
