Ford, Bentley and Stellantis dealerships sold in 4 states

Four dealerships, including an exclusive Bentley dealership, changed hands in single-store transactions in the fourth quarter of 2021 and first quarter of 2022.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic and ultraluxury brand dealerships in South Carolina, Florida, Indiana and Virginia.

Hudson Automotive buys South Carolina dealership

Growing Hudson Automotive Group made its first acquisition of 2022, CEO David Hudson confirmed, when it bought a South Carolina dealership near its headquarters.

Hudson Automotive on Feb. 28 bought Summerville Ford from Mark Mitchell, managing partner of the Mitchell Family Office in Birmingham, Mich., near Detroit, and JR Reihl, who was the dealership's operating partner.

"We made the decision to sell the Summerville Ford store to allow us to completely focus on the family's core business opportunities in healthcare," Mitchell said in a statement.

In January, the Mitchell Family Office and Reihl sold Toyota of Bristol in Tennessee. Summerville Ford was the family office's last dealership, buy-sell firm Haig Partners of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., confirmed. John Davis, managing director of Haig Partners, represented the sellers in the transaction.

"This addition aligns well with our mission of providing great service and brands to customers and communities throughout the Southeast," Hudson said in a statement.

Summerville is northwest of Charleston, where Hudson Automotive is based. The dealership's name remains the same.

Hudson now has six Ford dealerships, according to its website.

The Summerville Ford acquisition marks the group's first purchase since December, when it bought Dave Edwards Toyota in Spartanburg, S.C.

Key Auto buys Florida dealership

Key Auto Group bolstered its Florida presence with the purchase of a Stellantis store.

Key Auto, of Portsmouth, N.H., bought Bob Pforte Motors, a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealership in Marianna, Fla., on March 16 from Bob Pforte, according to Performance Brokerage Services, the Irvine, Calif., buy-sell firm that handled the transaction.

The store was renamed Key Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Marianna, Performance Brokerage Services said. Marianna is in the Florida Panhandle and is northwest of Tallahassee.

Pforte had been a dealer since 1965, the firm said.

Key Auto, owned by Anthony DiLorenzo, bought a Chevrolet-Buick dealership in Perry, Fla., in December.

"We knew we wanted to expand in Florida," Todd Jackson, regional vice president of Key Auto, said in a statement.

Key Auto also has an Acura dealership in Gainesville, Fla., plus stores in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, according to its website.

In addition to its December acquisition, Key Auto in 2021 bought a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store in Maine and a Chevrolet-Buick-GMC dealership in New Hampshire, while it sold a Nissan dealership in New Hampshire.

Indiana Bentley dealership sold

The owners of a rare, boutique Bentley dealership in Indiana sold their British ultraluxury brand store in the fourth quarter.

Brothers Greg Albers and Mark Albers sold Bentley Zionsville to Yousef Barham on Oct. 1, according to Greg Albers. Zionsville is northwest of Indianapolis.

On Jan. 1, there were just 48 Bentley franchises in the U.S., according to Automotive News' annual dealership census.

Barham is the owner of Coast To Coast Imports, a high-end used-vehicle dealership that specializes in exotic and ultraluxury vehicles with two locations in suburban Indianapolis, according to its website.

The Bentley franchise moved to Indianapolis, and the store was renamed Bentley Indianapolis.

"We were able to sell ... just the right to be the Bentley dealer basically, some parts and some equipment," Greg Albers told Automotive News. "And in return, in our agreement, we were able to continue to service the older cars, older than 10 years old, [and] sell parts for them."

He noted that the buyers had expressed interest in the Bentley franchise and "already had a facility that would meet the needs of Bentley as far as the size and everything."

The two brothers now operate Albers Motorcars as an independent shop with a focus on parts and service for older Rolls-Royce and Bentley models, Greg Albers said.

The business was started in 1963 by their father, Hermann Albers, as a service and parts location for Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles. It later sold new vehicles of both ultraluxury brands until 2003, when it became Bentley-only for new-vehicle sales.

McMurray buys first franchised dealership

Jim Snead, dealer principal of Jim Snead Ford, on Jan. 26 sold his father's former dealership in Waynesboro, Va., to first-time franchised dealership owner Matt McMurray.

The business, which includes an adjacent Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center building, is now called Campus Ford.

McMurray owns and operates Campus Automotive Inc., a used-vehicle sales and service dealership, and a Maaco body shop, both in Blacksburg, Va.

Jim Snead opted to exit the business for health reasons, said Hal Feder, managing partner of Murphy Business & Financial Corp. in Williamsburg, Va., who represented Snead in the sale. Frank O'Donnell of Biltmore Consultants in Hendersonville, N.C., represented McMurray.

All 34 employees were retained, Snead said.

Snead found McMurray's service experience and business mindset attractive, he told Automotive News.

"I was trying to find somebody that would match up with my philosophy, where there would be a minimal amount of disruption to the other employees," Snead said. "Most of my employees have been with me for 30 years. I felt like I owed it to them to select someone who would least disrupt their lives."

Though consolidation remains rigorous in auto retail, Feder said the aging demographics of dealers is driving many of the transactions he has worked on lately.

"I used to help them grow, and now I help them exit," Feder said.