David Rosenberg and partners buy Nissan, VW dealerships in Massachusetts

New England dealer David Rosenberg, along with partners, has purchased two more dealerships in Massachusetts, expanding his DSR Motor Group network to eight stores.

On May 16, Rosenberg and partners Dennis Wilson Jr. and Scott Silverman bought Dan O'Brien Nissan in Chelmsford, Mass., northwest of Boston. The seller was dealer Dan O'Brien of Dan O'Brien Auto Group. O'Brien was part of Automotive News' 40 Under 40 class in 2018.

That dealership was renamed Nissan of Merrimack Valley. Wilson is a co-owner and operator of the Nissan store.

Rosenberg told Automotive News that for many years he wasn't a fan of the Nissan and Infiniti brands.

"With the recent management change of Nissan, I got very excited to acquire a Nissan store," he said. "I'm really happy with the way they've refocused, the way they think about the American market, in particular less of a push on volume [and] more focused on factory-dealer relations."

The store marks his first Nissan dealership under his DSR Motor Group, which he launched after he was ousted as CEO at Prime Automotive Group in September 2019.

Rosenberg said he will look for more Nissan dealerships to acquire.

A month after his Nissan dealership acquisition, Rosenberg, Silverman and Dan Doucette on June 16 bought Mattie Imports Inc., an Audi-Volkswagen dealership in Fall River, Mass., from brother and sister John Mattie Jr. and Valerie Mattie-Reis. The dealership had been in business for more than 40 years.

Fall River is in southern Massachusetts, near the Rhode Island border.

That dealership was renamed Audi-Volkswagen Fall River. Doucette is the operating partner for that store and someone Rosenberg has worked with for decades.

"He's like my older brother," Rosenberg said, adding that Doucette used to run a Mercedes-Benz store for him.

Rosenberg said he doesn't have any other dealership acquisitions under contract, but he continues to look for opportunities.

In November 2021, Rosenberg and partner Bob Ramos bought Rockingham Toyota and Rockingham Honda in Salem, N.H. Rosenberg also has dealerships in Maine and Vermont.

Nancy Phillips Associates, a buy-sell firm in Exeter, N.H., represented the buyers in the Nissan dealership transaction, while the firm represented the sellers in the Audi-Volkswagen store transaction.