Auto retail giant Lithia Motors Inc. this week expanded its portfolio of high-end brands, while two other dealers made single-store purchases in December and in earlier transactions.
Here’s a look at the deals involving exotic, import and domestic brands. One transaction involved a group ranked on Automotive News‘ top 150 dealership groups list.
Lithia acquires first Ferrari dealership
Lithia Motors Inc. acquired its first Ferrari dealership on Monday when it bought Algar Ferrari of Philadelphia in Bryn Mawr, Pa., according to Bill Scrivner of Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, a Frisco, Texas, buy-sell firm representing Lithia in the transaction.
The dealership was renamed Ferrari of Philadelphia, Scrivner said.
Lithia bought the dealership from Aleks Vekselberg, who had owned it since 2012, according to the store’s website. The store dates to 1964.
Vekselberg’s father is Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, according to a 2018 Washington Post article referring to the elder Vekselberg as an energy and metals tycoon.
With the acquisition, Lithia has added another exotic brand to its portfolio.
Last year, it acquired Sterling Motorcars in Virginia, which included brands such as McLaren, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce.
Lithia’s April acquisition of Suburban Collection included Suburban Exotic Motorcars of Michigan in Troy, made up of Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren and Rolls-Royce franchises in two dealerships.
The group’s August acquisition of Pfaff Automotive Partners, a Canadian dealership group, included McLaren, Pagani and Automobili Pininfarina, among other brands.
Lithia, of Medford, Ore., ranked No. 3 on Automotive News‘ most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 171,168 new vehicles in 2020. But the Suburban Collection acquisition made Lithia the second-largest group going forward.
The owners of two General Motors brand dealerships have added a Honda store with the purchase last week of Don Wessel Honda in Springfield, Mo.
The Pinegar family, who own a Chevrolet dealership in Republic, Mo., and a Chevrolet-Buick-GMC store in Branson, Mo., on Dec. 1 bought the Honda store from second-generation dealer Jon Wessel. His family had owned it for nearly 50 years.
The store was renamed Pinegar Honda, and Tad Pinegar will be dealer principal.
The Pinegar family, in business for 42 years, said they have been seeking to expand into Springfield for more than two decades and were looking for a great brand with a great reputation.
“Don Wessel Honda has always been our first choice because they are synonymous with an outstanding reputation and excellent brand,” the Pinegar family said in a statement. “Our family recognizes the reputation that Don Wessel has built and we plan to continue that tradition.”
Dealer Ali Talebi has purchased his second franchised dealership with Spruce Pine Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in North Carolina.
Talebi bought the dealership Oct. 18 from Robert Vance Houston. The store name was unchanged.
The second franchised store came quickly for Talebi, longtime CEO of luxury used-vehicle dealership Hi-Line Autohaus in Charlotte, N.C.
On July 19, he bought his first franchised dealership, Marion Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram, also in North Carolina, from Randy Willis. That store name also remains the same.
Talebi, who said he’s been in the auto industry for 26 years, said he learned about the Chevrolet store opportunity when he bought the Marion store. It’s about 20 miles from the Spruce Pine dealership.
“I’ve been wanting to get into franchised [dealerships] for the previous year and a half,” he said, adding he talked to “manufacturers, reps, you name it.”
He said he even cold-called dealerships, which was how he found the Marion store and that Willis was ready to sell.
Ralph Vines, CEO of Advanced Dealership Management Solutions in Peoria, Ariz., brokered the Spruce Pine transaction.