Morrie's Auto expands into Illinois, indiGO adds Porsche stores

A top 150 dealership group bought its first two stores in Illinois in August, while a luxury auto retailer acquired a Porsche store in Colorado and opened a new point with the premium brand, both in the second quarter.

Here's a look at two transactions involving import and luxury dealerships.

Morrie's Auto Group on Aug. 28 bought Mike Miller Hyundai and Mike Miller Kia, both part of the Mike Miller Auto Park campus in Peoria, Ill., from Mike Miller.

The group did not acquire Genesis and Mitsubishi dealerships at the auto park. Those stores are now closed.

Morrie's Auto of Minnetonka, Minn., entered Illinois with the acquisition. It also has dealerships in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Morrie's Auto will retain the Mike Miller store names and staff, and Mike Miller will continue to work at both dealerships.

"Mike himself is such a strong part of the Peoria community and built his stores around honesty and integrity and treating his customers well, which also aligns with Morrie's overall value," said Brant Schmitz, vice president of marketing for Morrie's Auto.

This isn't the first acquisition of the year for Morrie's Auto. The group in January acquired Chilson Motors, which gave Morrie's three additional dealerships in the Eau Claire, Wis., market: Morrie's Eau Claire Subaru Chippewa Falls, Morrie's Chippewa Falls Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Morrie's Cadott Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram.

Schmitz said Morrie's Auto has no other acquisitions planned, but looks for "well-established dealership groups in the Midwest that have strong management and strong brands."

Morrie's Auto ranks No. 76 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 14,319 new vehicles in 2023.

Luxury dealership specialist indiGO Auto Group in Houston, now has eight Porsche stores in the U.S., after acquiring one in Colorado, and debuting a new open point in Arkansas.

The group on April 30 acquired Ed Carroll Porsche in Fort Collins, in northern Colorado. It was renamed Porsche Fort Collins and is indiGO's first dealership in Colorado.

The selling dealer was John Carroll. He continues to operate Volkswagen and Audi stores on the same campus in Fort Collins as Porsche Fort Collins. The new owner plans to relocate the Porsche store elsewhere in Fort Collins.

Carroll is a son of the founding dealer, the late Ed Carroll, who started Ed Carroll Motor Co. in 1967.

The Colorado store was Porsche store No. 7 for indiGO. No. 8 is Porsche Little Rock, an open point that is Porsche's only dealership in Arkansas, according to Porsche Cars North America. That store opened June 17.

It's one of the largest Porsche dealerships in the U.S.

Porsche Cars North America spokesperson Jennifer Pifer Bixler told Automotive News by email that Penske Automotive Group Inc. holds the greatest number of U.S. Porsche franchises, at nine, although it actually has 10 locations, as one is a satellite location.

There are 201 U.S. Porsche dealerships, the company said. That's up from 198 franchises as of Jan. 1 that Automotive News counted in its annual Dealer Census.

The indiGO group has dealerships in five states. Besides Porsche, its brand mix includes Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Jaguar, McLaren, BMW, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Rimac and Ferrari.

IndiGO Auto is wholly owned by Pon Holdings, a mobility and transportation conglomerate in the Netherlands, which distributes and retails most Volkswagen Group brands in that country.