Four dealership groups expanded in the fourth quarter with single-store acquisitions.
Here's a look at the deals involving domestic, luxury and import dealerships. Two of the transactions involved a group on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S.
West Herr Automotive Group bought its second dealership in just days and entered the Syracuse market when it purchased East Syracuse Chevrolet in New York this month.
The growing retailer bought the store Dec. 2 from Gino Barbuto.
"This decision was not easy and it's bittersweet for me after being here 35 years," Barbuto said in a statement.
The store, West Herr's fourth Chevrolet dealership and 32nd location, is retaining its name.
The deal came on the heels of West Herr's Nov. 24 purchase of Henderson Ford in Webster, N.Y.
The East Syracuse dealership dates back 82 years and includes a collision center and a Chevrolet medium-duty truck franchise. West Herr said it expects the dealership will sell a combined 3,000 new and used vehicles annually.
"We plan to hopefully grow our footprint by acquiring additional stores in the Syracuse market," West Herr CEO Scott Bieler said in a statement.
The group has purchased four dealerships this year. In late August, West Herr bought a Subaru dealership in Brockport, N.Y., and in April, it purchased Vanderstyne Toyota in Rochester, N.Y.
West Herr ranks No. 22 on Automotive News' most recent top 150 dealership groups list, with retail sales of 29,085 new vehicles in 2020.
Dealership Buy/Sell: This Automotive News feature lists dealership acquisitions as reported by brokers, news media and official announcements. See our list of buy/sells and submit details of your deals here.Fowler Holding Co., of Norman, Okla., purchased a second Colorado dealership in just over two months, buying i25 Kia in Longmont.
The parent company of Fowler Automotive Group bought the store, its first Kia dealership, Dec. 8 from Phil Marzolf, Scott Ehrlich and Ron Volk, said Fowler President Jonathan Fowler.
The dealership, which sits along Interstate 25, was renamed Fowler Kia of Longmont.
In October, Fowler Holding bought Pollard Jeep of Boulder, a standalone Jeep dealership, from Doug Pollard of Pollard Friendly Motor Co.
In June, Ehrlich and other owners sold three Colorado dealerships to McDonald Automotive Group.
The Kia dealership marks the 10th store for the Fowler group and its fourth in Colorado.
Jonathan Fowler told Automotive News in an email that the store was a "great fit for us."
"This store represents our coming out party in the state of Colorado" and the north Denver metro market, he said.
Hugh Morris of Dealer Support Network represented Fowler in the transaction.
Castle Automotive Group bought its first Volkswagen dealership and bolstered its presence in the Chicago suburbs when it acquired Fox Valley Volkswagen Schaumburg on Dec. 7, Andrew Dorgan, the group's director of corporate development, said in an email.
Castle Automotive, of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., bought the dealership from Emir Abinion. The store was renamed Castle Volkswagen of Schaumburg.
"The acquisition of Fox Valley Volkswagen of Schaumburg will further diversify our group's overall portfolio and add to our geographic reach in the Midwest market," Castle Automotive CEO Joe Castle said in a statement. "This new acquisition will increase our group's annual sales revenue by $60 million and, most importantly, provide over 100 new job opportunities within our company and the local Schaumburg community."
Castle Automotive now has nine dealerships across suburban Chicago and northwest Indiana.
In August, the group bought a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store and a Buick dealership in Chesterton, Ind.
Bayway Auto Group, of Houston, bought a Cadillac store from Group 1 Automotive Inc. last month, for its second dealership selling the luxury brand.
Bayway Auto on Nov. 1 purchased Sterling McCall Cadillac in Houston and renamed it Bayway Cadillac Southwest.
Bayway Auto owner Darryl Wischnewsky said he bought the Cadillac store from Group 1 and moved it into a former Jaguar-Land Rover facility that he purchased, located right next to the property.
"It was kind of like a three-party transaction," Wischnewsky told Automotive News.
The stores are located in an area that has little space to build a new dealership, Wischnewsky said.
"You pretty much have to buy somebody's business out and do a tear-down and build, and that wasn't really feasible," he said. "Jaguar had moved to a new facility, even though this [one] was in excellent shape."
Wischnewsky and Bayway Cadillac Southwest General Manager Dimitrios Platsas said the 11-acre, 70,000-square-foot facility will be renovated to make it Cadillac image-compliant. Construction is slated to start in the spring.
Group 1 confirmed the sale, and a spokesman said it opted to sell the Cadillac store to expand its Buick-GMC dealership on the campus.
In addition to the two Cadillac stores, Bayway Auto also has two Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram stores, a Chevrolet dealership, a Lincoln store and a Volvo store, all in the Houston metro area.
Group 1, also of Houston, ranks No. 4 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 140,221 new vehicles in 2020.
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