The Foss family name in Canadian auto retail dates back to 1962, when a single-point General Motors dealership opened in North Toronto.

Some 60-plus years later, a new entity has emerged that unites the auto retail, fleet management, mobility and real estate businesses bearing that name into one organization.

Foss Group of Companies includes four divisions:

— Roy Foss dealerships, with three stores in the Greater Toronto area
— Foss National Leasing, the nation’s largest independently owned fleet management company
— Foss Ventures, which invests in auto, fleet and mobility technology
— Foss Real Estate, which includes strategic real estate holdings, property management and development

The company explained that the four divisions, while each standing on their own, combine to cover the entire lifecycle of a car from access and funding to ownership and resale.

“Foss National Leasing brings national scale with a large fleet portfolio, leading technology and solutions for Canadian companies and a Canada-wide partner network,” Foss Group of Companies said in a release. “Roy Foss brings more than six decades of automotive retail experience and longstanding automaker relationships in Ontario.

“Foss Ventures extends that expertise into emerging mobility and technology, while Foss Real Estate supports the physical footprint behind the businesses,” they added. “Together, they give Foss a platform to identify, invest in and build opportunities across the changing mobility landscape.”

James Ricci is CEO of the Foss Group of Companies. In the release, he noted: “Foss Group of Companies honors the business my grandfather, Roy Foss, founded in 1962 and my mother, Karen Foss, carried into a new era.

“Automotive retail and fleet management remain core to who we are and where we’re going. What’s new is how we work together — and what that unlocks. This name reflects what we’ve already built.”

In a LinkedIn post, Ricci shared more context on the new era for the third-generation family-run business.

“A quick reintroduction, since this is a new chapter for me too,” Ricci wrote.  “I’m James Ricci, third generation in this family business. At 16, I started a car detailing business that grew to six locations and 13 employees by the time I finished university.

“At 22, with a masters from the London School of Economics, I was selling used cars on my family’s lot. Humbling. Also where I found my purpose: building on what Roy started and what my mother, Karen Foss, carried into a new era. Fifteen-plus years later, I’m still learning from the front lines,” he said.

Ricci later added in the post, “Why bring them together now? The industry isn’t slowing down. It’s changing shape. Access matters as much as ownership. Electrification won’t be one road. And a Canadian, family-owned business with national scale can play a long game that others can’t.

“Our plan: keep growing the core, more rooftops and a bigger national fleet, while investing in the businesses and technology that move people and goods.”