One of the nation’s oldest dealerships has a new owner.

Eich Motor Company, which includes Eich Mazda and Eich Volkswagen in Saint Cloud, Minn., has been acquired by David Luther and Luther Automotive Group from Linda Eich-Desjardins.

Performance Brokerage Services, which represented the seller in the transaction, said Eich Motor Company is acknowledged as the seventh oldest dealership in the U.S.

The business has been owned by the Eich family since 1898, when it was established by A.A. Eich as a dealership selling Studebaker wagons and buggies, and McCormack farm equipment. When Studebaker introduced its horseless carriages in the early 1900s, Eich added them to his inventory.

The dealership added its Volkswagen franchise in 1960 and joined with Mazda in 1977. In 2012, Eich-Desjardins, the company’s fourth generation president, sold a minority stake in the business to its employees through an employee stock ownership plan.

Luther Automotive Group, founded by Rudy Luther in 1952, operates more than 50 locations in seven Midwestern states. Performance Brokerage Services said Eich Mazda and Eich Volkswagen will retain their previous names.

Hello Auto says goodbye to Valencia as Ghreiwati, Jerry Seiner move in

Valencia, Calif., is a happening place — at least in the car dealership M&A market, with one dealership group moving out and two others moving in.

Hello Auto Group has exited the community in Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, selling its three locations there. Two of those — Hello Kia and Hello Mazda of Valencia — were snapped up by Sam Ghreiwati, owner of Newport Beach-based Ghreiwati Holdings, marking its entry into Valencia.

Those stores have been renamed Kia of Valencia and Mazda of Valencia.

The other dealership, Hello Subaru of Valencia, was acquired by Chris Hemmersmeier, president and CEO of Jerry Seiner Dealerships, and has been rebranded as Jerry Seiner Subaru.

The deals were announced by Dave Cantin Group, which represented the buyer in all three transactions.

Ghreiwati’s acquisitions boost the company’s holdings to seven dealerships, all in Southern California. It also operates six multi-service locations combining gas stations, car washes, convenience stores and quick-service restaurants, including Subway and Fatburger.

Jerry Seiner Dealerships, based in Salt Lake City, now operates 11 stores in Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California. The company was founded in 1975 when Jerry Seiner, the son of Henry Ford’s personal electrician, purchased a Chevrolet dealership, oddly enough, in Cadillac, Mich. Hemmersmeier, Seiner’s son-in-law, now leads the operation.

Hello Auto Group continues to own Mazda dealerships in San Diego and Temecula, Calif., and a Subaru store in Temecula.