Key Auto continues Northeast expansion with Maine acquisition

Key Auto Group of Portsmouth, N.H., on Wednesday acquired its second dealership in a little over a week.

The group bought Newcastle Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Maine from Randy Miller. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the store has been renamed Key Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Newcastle.

Miller, who owned the dealership for 24 years, is staying on as general manager, according to Nancy Phillips Associates, a dealership buy-sell firm in Exeter, N.H., that handled the transaction for both parties.

The acquisition gives Key Auto its second dealership in Maine after Key Ford of York. The group now has 16 dealerships in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Florida, as well as three used-car stores and a heavy-truck dealership.

On April 13, Key Auto bought Newport Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in New Hampshire.

Last year, Key acquired Port City Chrysler-Dodge-Ram in Portsmouth and a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store in Rochester, N.H.