This dealership news roundup includes both more M&A activities as well as philanthropic endeavors.
Beginning with the charity work, Larry H. Miller Dealerships announced last week an expansion of its existing holiday coat drive to include all 12 Arizona dealerships across Metro Phoenix and Tucson through a partnership with Valley of the Sun United Way in Phoenix and United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona.
According to a news release, the dealer group was prompted by Annie E. Casey Foundation 2022 KidsCount data that indicated 20% of Arizona’s children live in poverty
During the past two years, Larry H. Miller Dealerships has hosted a winter coat drive at its three Avondale dealerships, collecting more than 840 winter coats for children within the Avondale Elementary School District.
Through Dec. 12, the group has expanded the drive to help even more children through a holiday “Share the Warmth” coat drive campaign, reaching K-6 students in Title 1 schools near the Metro Phoenix and Tucson dealership locations.
This campaign is part of Larry H. Miller Dealerships “Driven for Good” initiative, a giving program aimed at uplifting the communities in which the dealerships do business.
“All children deserve the comfort that comes from a winter coat,” said Robert Smith, customer relations manager at Larry H. Miller Hyundai Peoria. “While we don’t get snowfall in Phoenix and Tucson, our nights and mornings are quite cold, and nowadays, many families are having to make tough choices between basic needs like paying for groceries over a coat or a utility bill. We hope this month-long campaign serves to warm the hearts of children in our community.”
This holiday season, Larry H. Miller Dealerships is encouraging its employees and the public to help fill a vehicle at each of its 12 dealerships across Metro Phoenix and Tucson with new and gently used (must be clean) winter coats, lightweight jackets, and hoodies for K-6 students across Arizona to stay warm during the winter months.
“We’re honored to partner with Larry H. Miller Dealerships on the ‘Share the Warmth’ coat drive campaign,” said Melissa Boydston, senior vice president of community development and engagement at Valley of the Sun United Way. “Our organization is always looking for solutions to ensure that every child, family and individual in our community is healthy, has a safe place to live and has the opportunity to succeed in school, in work and in life. This partnership and shared mission among multiple organizations provides a real impact for children and their families this winter.”
Valley of the Sun United Way works with a network of 53 school districts across the Valley and United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona partners with 10 school districts.
United Way will identify Title 1 schools in each of the cities where the dealerships are located so that the donations are distributed directly to children in need in those communities.
The “Share the Warmth” coat drive campaign will end on Dec. 15, when a caravan of Larry H. Miller Dealerships vehicles filled with winter coats, lightweight jackets and hoodies will deliver the donations to one of the Title 1 school locations in Phoenix and Tucson.
“Our community thrives when we LIVE UNITED. Our ability to impact one in four members in our Tucson community relies on uniting people, ideas, and resources,” said Tony Penn, president and CEO of United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. “This collaboration with Larry H. Miller Dealerships and our sister United Way in Phoenix shows the power of working together in service to our community.”
M&A activity involves California store
According to a news release from Performance Brokerage Services, dealership M&A continued earlier this month with the sale of Yucca Valley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in California from Don McCredie to Jason Wilkins.
Performance Brokerage Services highlighted that Wilkins, along with his new partner, are in the beginning stages of building their new Southern California dealer group.
Wilkins acquired Victorville Mitsubishi in 2020, also with the help of Performance Brokerage Services. He will bring on a GM that has worked with his family for many years to run operations for Yucca Valley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, which will remain at its current location at 57909 Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley, Calif.
However, the store has been renamed Joshua Tree Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.
The Wilkins family formerly owned Victorville Nissan and Victorville Chevrolet Cadillac.
Jason Stopnitzky, the exclusive agent for this transaction and the co-founder of Performance Brokerage Services said, “It was a pleasure assisting the McCredie family during this transaction, and I am thankful for the opportunity to have served in their best interest with the sale of their dealership. Congratulations to Mr. McCredie on his very well-deserved retirement.
“We were able to find a great fit with Jason Wilkins as the buyer. I have known the Wilkins family for 20 years and have had the privilege of helping them with four buy-sell transactions. I look forward to the bright future ahead for Jason Wilkins and his partner and wish them the best of luck on their newest acquisition,” Stopnitzky went on to say.
Lithia & Driveway has named a regional president of operations, appointing Adam Chamberlain to the role.
Chamberlain, who joins the company after serving as president of Aston Martin NA, will lead Lithia’s consumer optionality strategy, support network development and overseeing the retailer’s operations teams in the East.
He will work with Lithia’s three other regional presidents to execute the retailer’s strategy in North American and report to chief operating officer Chris Holzshu.
Prior to Aston Marin, Chamberlain had been vice president of sales and products for Mercedes-Benz USA for more than five years.
“Adam has over 25 years in the automotive world and brings a deep understanding of national and international markets,” Lithia president and CEO Bryan DeBoer said in a news release.
“Adam’s proactive and collaborative leadership combined with an acute love for store operations, will fit well alongside our regional presidents. His passion and understanding of our industry and the full customer vehicle lifecycle will be a key driver of our organization's omni-channel global growth and in reaching our 2025 Plan,” DeBoer said.
Chamberlain added: “As LAD continues to grow its omni-channel model for consumers, I am very excited to bring my passion for leadership and strong customer orientation to a dealership group that values innovation, high performance and consumer optionality as key growth drivers.”
Two major developments connected with Automotive Ventures’ Steve Greenfield surfaced on Tuesday and Wednesday, less than a week ahead of NAVIcon and Used Car Week in San Diego.
First, Greenfield and three other industry entrepreneurs launched a tool that can track more than 140 of the top dealer groups in the United States.
Then, the CEO and founder of the automotive technology and mobility venture capital firm announced the addition of Chip Perry to its operating partner team in a move Automotive Ventures described as further demonstrating its focus on attracting top talent to identify the best companies, drive outsized growth and realize superior returns for investors.
During the past 20 years, Perry has led some of the most iconic automotive technology companies including AutoTrader.com, where he was the first employee in 1997 and served as founding CEO for 16 years. At AutoTrader.com, Perry helped create the digital auto classifieds and software ecosystem, organically grew the company from zero to $1 billion in revenue, 2,000 employees and 20,000 dealer clients, and acquired several prominent companies including Kelley Blue Book and vAuto.
Perry later served as CEO of TrueCar and CEO of A2Z Sync.
Earlier in his career, as a vice president of the Los Angeles Times, he led the team that launched one of the first online newspapers in 1993.
He is currently on the board of CarTrade Tech, a publicly listed company in Mumbai, India, and A2Z Sync, and he previously served on the board of AutoTrader.co.uk.
“We are thrilled to welcome one of the industry’s most accomplished and successful veterans to Automotive Ventures as we continue to strengthen the capabilities of our growing team,” Greenfield said in a news release. “Chip’s deep expertise across automotive strategy, digital innovation, and scaled entrepreneurship will be invaluable as we continue to deliver differentiated outcomes for both our portfolio companies and our limited partners.”
Perry said, “After spending 25 years as an operator in the digital auto space, I’m excited to have this opportunity to help Steve grow his venture firm, which has made several promising investments and is seeing excellent deal flow.
“Along with Steve and his team, I look forward to leveraging my experience to identify and accelerate the growth of early stage autotech and mobility companies,” he went on to say.
Meanwhile, Greenfield, who along with Brian Reed, Andrew Gordon and Pete Batten have an operation called Automotive Market Data, launched Dealer Group Activity Mapping, which is designed to track more than 140 of the top dealer groups in the United States, including the current new vehicle stores within their groups and their franchise dealer websites.
“Marketing and client support teams serving the automotive industry don’t have good systems to keep up with the volume of changes in today’s active dealership buy/sell market,” said Batten, a partner at Automotive Market Data. “While there’s industry awareness around the growing trend of dealership group consolidation, we see that some groups are actively selling stores almost as fast as they’re acquiring new ones. The churn and level of changes undermine industry vendors’ CRM and outreach activities, and lead to waste and embarrassment when calling on stores where ownership changes are missed.”
Batten explained that tracking dealer group activity is extremely challenging and not something that sales teams are paid to manage every day. The company’s Dealer Group Activity Mapping report is designed to help sales professionals run more effective campaigns, keep their CRMs updated and save time and confusion in the process.
Late last year, Automotive Market Data launched with the introduced of its first-ever Digital Retailing Market Share Database, which can inform dealers, investors and vendors in real-time about the automotive digital retailing landscape.
Specifically, Automotive Market Data evaluates more than 35 digital retailers, each day, across approximately 18,000 U.S. automobile dealer websites to identify the top digital retailers among car dealers, predominant digital retailers by brand and leading technology providers in the automotive space, as well as unique digital retailing trends and emerging technologies.
The AMD team also provides the industry with dealership contact information, vehicle-specific data, new and used vehicle market pricing, cost of ownership information and vehicle history reports. When needed, they provide customized, per-request analyses depending on a business’ goals and objectives.
For more information about Dealer Group Activity Mapping or the Digital Retailing Market Share Database, visit www.automotivemarketdata.com or send an email to info@automotivemarketdata.com.
Lithia & Driveway was set to hold a grand opening Wednesday for the first physical store within the Driveway side of the business, a move that gives the traditionally digital program a brick-and-mortar presence, too.
Driveway Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Portland, located in Oregon, is designed to give shoppers “a new way to purchase a vehicle and have some fun in the process,” Lithia said in a news release.
The showroom of the store is recently remodeled and lets shoppers browse independently, with experts on standby.
The process is based on a hassle-free, one-price model.
“Our Driveway Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store is the physical embodiment of our omni-channel solution,” Lithia president and CEO Bryan DeBoer said in a news release.
“This new store model provides consumer optionality with a transparent and empowering experience-whether it's online, in person, or a combination of both,” DeBoer said.
For more on Lithia's operations, see our recap of the group's quarterly results.
Spartan Auto Group has sold its Spartan Toyota, Wolverine Toyota and Lexus of Ann Arbor to Germain Automotive Partnership and has sold its Lexus of Lansing store to Serra Automotive.
The transactions were announced by Kerrigan Advisors, which represented Spartan Auto Group and the Criscuolo family.
“It was our honor to work with the Criscuolo family on this generational transaction,” Kerrigan Advisors managing director Ryan Kerrigan, said in a news release. “The Criscuolos have been prominent representatives for Toyota and Lexus in Michigan since the 1980s and were visionary partners for these OEMs in the Upper Midwest.
“Rosario Criscuolo will forever be remembered as a pioneer in automotive retail in the state of Michigan. These transactions further confirm the depth of interest amongst growing dealer groups for adding Toyota and Lexus dealerships to their portfolios.”
Co-owner Derek Criscuolo said: “Our father taught us to focus on relationships. His credo was ‘relationships, not salesmanship.’ That’s what made doing business at our dealerships such a special and memorable experience.
“We are grateful to have experienced such a positive working relationship with Kerrigan Advisors, whose comprehensive, focused and sensitive approach throughout the process ensured that all our family’s goals and objectives were met.”
Co-owner Deanna Criscuolo added: “Our father created a small town feeling in all of our stores, and that was true even in dealerships that served larger cities like Lansing. That family feeling of comfort and belonging is his legacy, and we’re grateful that with Kerrigan Advisors’ support through every phase of the transaction process — from sale preparation and marketing to negotiations and closing — that legacy will be successfully passed on to Germain and Serra, both highly regarded Midwest dealership groups.”
Georgica Auto Holdings, which operates 23 auto retail franchises throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, announced a $70 million capital investment Wednesday from Franchise Equity Partners, which will now be a minority shareholder in the dealer group.
Georgica’s dealerships represent brands from Volkswagen Group, Porsche Cars North America, General Motors, BMW Group, Jaguar Land Rover, Stellantis, Toyota USA, American Honda, and Subaru of America.
They combine to sell more than 20,000 vehicles each year, pulling in revenues of more than $1 billion, the group said.
Franchise Equity Partners is an independently operated portfolio company of certain funds and accounts managed by HPS Investment Partners. It has been in operation for a year.
“Bringing Franchise Equity Partners in as a minority shareholder positions us to rapidly and thoughtfully grow our business, whilst retaining my Land Rover store in Manhattan and much of the real estate, outside of this partnership,” Gerogica CEO Jon Sobel said in a news release.
“I’ve known FEP's co-founders, Scott Romanoff and Mike Esposito, for more than 25 years and their unique model gives us the best of all worlds — access to passive, permanent capital and deep automotive and financial expertise while letting us retain our flexibility and autonomy as an independent business.”
FEP Auto Holdings Don Reese, who is a board member at DriveTime and its former CEO and president, said in the release: “It's a thrill to join forces with Georgica Auto Holdings as we celebrate our first year in business. We believe that Jon Sobel is an ideal partner as we expand our investments in the northeast, and we look forward to helping Georgica Auto Holdings unlock its full growth potential.”
Mark LaNeve, a former Volvo, General Motors and Ford executive, is chairman of FEP Auto Holdings.
“This is an exciting time of significant change for the automotive retail industry as the dealer model continues to evolve and consumer demand for electric vehicles accelerates,” LaNeve said in a news release. “We believe scale will be critical and see tremendous opportunity with this investment in Georgica Auto Holdings as well as future investments to help dealers achieve growth and scale their footprint and operations.”
Jim Ellis Automotive found a way to help local law enforcement charge up its fleet.
In collaboration with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office in Atlanta, Jim Ellis Chevrolet helped launch the county’s first electric vehicle take-home program for up to 100 jailers.
Historically, the dealer group said jailers have not received a take-home vehicle. Jim Ellis Chevrolet’s access to a large inventory of electric vehicles, coupled with competitive pricing, enabled the county to find an innovative way to recharge their employee retention and recruiting efforts.
“For us to have this partnership illustrates how Jim Ellis Chevrolet is part of the community,” Jim Ellis Chevrolet general manager Ralph Sorrentino said in a news release. “DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office is a leader in law enforcement in the state introducing many new programs. We are proud to work alongside another leader within the community.”
In addition to offering the numerous brands and models of EVs in the Atlanta area, Jim Ellis Automotive Group highlighted that it also continues to make substantial investments in EV sales and service training, state-of-the-art EV tools and the latest generation of EV diagnostic systems.
Plans are also in development to create an exclusive network of charging stations for Jim Ellis customers.
“The future is electric and it’s here now,” Jim Ellis Automotive Group president and CEO Jimmy Ellis said in the news release. “When our customers are ready to take the next step to an electric future, we’ll be ready to serve them.”
At a time when many crops are harvested, the Jim Ellis Automotive Group now is planting seeds for success in the luxury vehicle space.
On Friday, the dealer group announced the groundbreaking for the first phase of a three-part plan for Mercedes-Benz of Atlanta South, which is currently located in South Fulton, Ga.
An all-new Mercedes-Benz brand center dealership will be across the street from the current dealership on Royal South Parkway on 7.7 acres of undeveloped land facing Interstate 85 South at the Flat Shoals Road exit located in Union City.
Jim Ellis highlighted the new store will be an 89,109-square-foot facility designed to the latest Mercedes-Benz architectural identity and will include a host of amenities that premium automotive customers can anticipate, including:
—A 14-vehicle showroom that includes a state-of-the-art complete digital Mercedes-Benz brand emersion experience
—A service area that includes 39 vehicle service bays, including technician classroom instructional area
—Exterior jewel box vehicle display tower that stands 110-feet tall on Interstate 85
—Mercedes-Benz Heritage Hall Museum
—Mercedes-Benz Café and two-level customer lounge
—Covered open-air three-lane customer service reception drive
—Multi-function event space and outdoor rooftop terrace
—Two indoor vehicle delivery bays
—Three detail bays and one drive-thru automatic car wash
—Onsite training facilities, including a university-style training facility and a dedicated training bay in the service area
—High-speed electric vehicle charging for Mercedes-Benz customers, part of the Jim Ellis Automotive EV charging network in the Atlanta area
Jim Ellis said the intended completion time for the Mercedes-Benz of Atlanta South Brand Center will be second quarter of 2024.
To add service convenience for Mercedes-Benz of Atlanta South clients, a certified Mercedes-Benz Service Center is planned for development in Newnan and is expected to be open soon after the opening of the brand center.
Following the completion of the Brand Center in Union City and the Service Center in Newnan, the group said phase two will be implemented where the facility that currently houses the Mercedes-Benz of Atlanta South dealership will be renovated and transformed into a stand-alone Mercedes-Benz Commercial Van Center.
The group went on to highlight the third phase to be executed after the completion of phase two will include the development of a Mercedes-Benz Commercial Van Center in the McDonough area to serve the booming logistics market from the Hartsfield Jackson Airport to Interstate 75 and Macon.
“We are proud to bring this new state-of-the-art facility and Mercedes-Benz of Atlanta South Brand Emersion Center, Certified Service Center, and the first standalone Mercedes-Benz Commercial Van Center to better serve the premium automotive and commercial van customers in the south Atlanta area,” Jim Ellis Automotive Group president and CEO Jimmy Ellis said in a news release.
“The new and updated facilities will help our team best deliver the Jim Ellis Promise automotive experience that for 51 years our automotive clients have come to know and expect in the Atlanta area. It will be wonderful to have space and dealership amenities to adequately enhance the premium automotive experience we strive to deliver.”
The Jim Ellis Automotive Group acquired Mercedes-Benz of Atlanta South last March.
The group said Mercedes-Benz of Atlanta South will continue to operate with normal business hours at their current location throughout the construction period of the new facility.
Sutherlin Automotive Group has purchased Earl Duff Subaru in Kingston, Tenn., from Tim Duff, according to a news release from Performance Brokerage Services, which advised on the sale.
The store will remain at its current location and is now known as Sutherlin Subaru.
In the release, Duff said: “George Chaconas of Performance Brokerage Services reached out to me from a referral he received from a fellow 20-group member and long-time friend who had also recently sold their dealerships. We recently relocated our Subaru dealership to a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility and had been seeing successful growth.
“The dealership was a very attractive opportunity for the new buyers in a desirable and growing market. I did not have a succession plan and had no interest in buying another dealership,” Duff said.
“I had other ventures to pursue, and the timing was perfect. George brought me a very attractive offer from a highly qualified auto group, Sutherlin Automotive, that already had locations in the Southeast, in Georgia and Florida. Even with some of the last-minute issues at closing, overall, it was a seamless transaction,” he said. “George was able to help mediate myself, along with my attorneys and the buyers, in liquidating my family’s biggest asset after decades of ownership. I would like to thank George and his team for making this a reality and would highly recommend him to help navigate your family’s legacy.”
Charitable efforts at Sheehy
Next up, Sheehy Auto Stores recently completed its Sheehy Has Heart sales event, which ended up raising $340,000 for the American Heart Association.
Thirty-two Sheehy stores throughout Washington, D.C.; Richmond, Va.; Hagerstown, Md.; and Baltimore helped raise funds for the cause. Additionally, they participated in the Sheehy Has Heart Dealership Competition to encourage heart-healthy activities. Those included weekly walks, healthy potluck meals, yoga classes, 5K runs and more.
“We are proud to once again partner with the American Heart Association as we support their mission in promoting heart-healthy living,” Sheehy Auto Stores president Vince Sheehy said in a news release. “Thanks to the support from our partners and the entire community, we have surpassed our fundraising goal, making this 25th annual campaign our most successful yet.”
The group said it has raised more than $2 million to date for the American Heart Association and more than $40 million for additional causes.
“It is through the generosity of our longstanding supporters, like Sheehy Auto Stores, that the American Heart Association can continue to lead breakthroughs in science and technology, improve health care and advocate policies that drive healthier lifestyles,” said Soula Antoniou, executive director for the American Heart Association, Greater Washington Region, in a news release.
“The Sheehy team is truly full of heart! I am so thankful for their extraordinary commitment to the health and well-being of their staff and community. Together we are saving and improving lives.”
Reputation has released the 2022 Automotive Reputation Report, which analyzes customer feedback on more than 20,000 automotive brands and dealerships across the U.S. and Canada as well as thousands more in Europe.
Included in the report are customer sentiment and online reputation rankings of private and public dealer groups in the U.S., as well as individual dealerships here, in addition to several other rankings in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Among the private dealer groups, Hendrick Automotive Group was No. 1, with a Reputation Score of 861, followed by West Herr Automotive Group (802).
In fact, Hendrick’s score was highest among all groups, public or private, the fourth straight year it has earned this distinction.
In the report, Hendrick Automotive Group president Greg Gach said: “It’s an incredible honor to be recognized as the top-rated public or private dealership for online reputation for a fourth consecutive year.
“We are also proud of every Hendrick Automotive Group dealership who earned a place in the top 150,” Gach said. “Our teammates do an amazing job of providing world-class service, which compels our customers to tell others about their positive experiences with our company. A heartfelt thank you to our teammates for this fantastic achievement.”
Topping the public dealer group list with the highest Reputation Score was AutoNation, with a score of 773. Next was Penske Automotive Group (761).
“We’re thrilled to be the number one-ranked dealer group for Reputation Score. This is a testament to the great work of our 22,000 associates coast-to-coast,” AutoNation executive vice president and chief customer experience officer Marc Cannon said in a news release.
“Reputation score has been a critical benchmark in helping us understand the importance of our online review presence, customer feedback, and satisfaction at AutoNation.”
Among individual dealerships in the U.S., Lovering Volvo Cars Concord in New Hampshire had the highest score (960) followed by Hendrick Lexus Charleston in South Carolina (955).
On a brand level, Subaru top the list for U.S. non-luxury brands, while Lexus took top honors in the luxury category.
