Morgan Automotive buys Chevy and Stellantis dealerships in Fla.

Growing Morgan Automotive Group, one of the largest privately owned U.S. dealership groups, purchased two more stores in its hometown of Tampa, Fla., adding a pair of domestic dealerships to its lineup.

Morgan Automotive on Monday bought Jim Browne Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram Tampa Bay and Jim Browne Chevrolet Tampa from dealer Jim Browne.

The stores will be renamed Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Tampa Bay and Morgan Chevrolet of Tampa Bay. They mark the group's 54th and 55th dealerships, of which 23 are in the Tampa area.

Morgan Automotive CEO Brett Morgan told Automotive News in an email Wednesday that the group wanted to buy the stores because they were in "our backyard in Tampa" and are close to recent dealership acquisitions. Morgan said the purchase also marks the group's first metro Chevy dealership. There is an opportunity for boosting used-vehicle sales at both dealerships, he said.

"We're excited that these stores will have a huge impact on the truck market in Tampa Bay," Morgan said in a statement. "We're also looking forward to what General Motors is doing in the EV space. It's a great time for both brands and we're happy to be a part of it."

In October, Morgan Automotive bought seven luxury and import dealerships in Tampa when it acquired Reeves Import Motorcars, and in August it bought Fuccillo Nissan of Clearwater in Florida from Fuccillo Automotive Group.

Morgan Automotive ranks No. 8 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 60,951 new vehicles last year.