Warren Buffett gets into auto dealers in big way

Warren Buffett is getting into the auto business.

The billionaire investor announced on CNBC on Thursday that he's buying Van Tuyl Group, the nation's largest privately held car dealership chain.

Buffett said on " Squawk Box " it took awhile but Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) is now "planes, trains and automobiles." Berkshire owns BNSF Railway and private plane company NetJets.

He expects to use this agreement as a vehicle to buy other dealerships. "We will hear, I predict, from hundreds of dealerships in the next year."

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The new company will be renamed Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, but will still be run by Larry Van Tuyl, who will become chairman. Van Tuyl's Jeff Rachor will assume the role of CEO.

There's a huge opportunity for consolidation in auto dealerships, Van Tuyl told CNBC, while sitting next to Buffett.

The Van Tuyl family founded the group six decades ago, and it's now No. 5 overall in U.S. auto dealerships with about $9 billion in revenue and 78 independently operated locations in 10 states.