Nissan: Taylor's business model works well for us

NASHVILLE — One of the most mysterious auto dealers in America has a fondness for Nissan — and Nissan is good with that.

Terry Taylor, the media-averse owner of Automotive Management Services Inc. in West Palm Beach, Fla., is the largest single owner of Nissan stores, according to the automaker. Taylor owns the dealerships in various states through partnerships with local executive managers, who own minority stakes.

Taylor sets the expectations for the performance of his group stores, while the local operator is responsible for hitting the targets.

Nissan declines to say how many of its stores Taylor owns. But his business model is working well for Nissan, says Dan Mohnke, senior vice president of sales & marketing and operations at Nissan Division U.S.

And the reason it's working well, Mohnke adds, is the way Taylor does things. "He's a top operator, and he goes into business locations with other top operators," he says.

"The way he has it structured, where his individual local operators are also investors and owners in the store, is a good model that's working extremely well for him — and for us."

The automaker typically begs off discussing its individual franchisees, but Monhke said Nissan is content with Taylor's organization controlling a hefty number of its approximately 1,100 U.S. dealerships.

Could Taylor acquire even more Nissan stores? Mohnke doesn't envision a problem with that.

"We haven't created any policies on ceilings for ownership," Mohnke said. "We take one deal at a time. So if somebody says they want to do something with us, whether it's Terry Taylor or somebody else, we look at it individually and ask whether it's the right deal and the right structure for that location. But we don't have any policy on caps."

One of Taylor's stores is Nissan of Cool Springs in Franklin, Tenn. That dealership is just down the street from the automaker's North American headquarters, where about 1,800 Nissan employees work. The store's website shows Jason Stacy as the "executive manager/owner," and it makes no mention of AMSI or Taylor.

To any customer or outside observer, the business looks and operates as a locally owned auto dealership.

"For us," Mohnke says, "it's all about working well with your dealer network. You want your dealer network to be top-notch. And Terry Taylor's people are top-notch."