Penske buys Erhard BMW dealership in Mich.; Fox Motors picks up 2 other Erhard dealerships

Penske Automotive Group Inc. has acquired a BMW dealership in its headquarters city of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., marking a return to dealership ownership in Michigan for the auto retailer.

Penske on Monday bought Erhard BMW of Bloomfield, which it said it expects will add $100 million in annual revenue. The dealership was owned by the Dahm family. Terms were not disclosed, but the store was renamed BMW of Bloomfield Hills.

"This dealership has a strong legacy of serving BMW enthusiasts in the metropolitan Detroit market for over 50 years," Penske President Rob Kurnick said in a statement Tuesday. "We are thrilled to expand our presence and relationship with the BMW brand."

Also on Monday, Fox Motors, of Grand Rapids, Mich., entered the metro Detroit market with the purchase of Erhard BMW of Farmington Hills and Jaguar-Land Rover Farmington Hills, also from the Dahm family. Terms of that transaction weren't disclosed. The BMW store was renamed BMW of Farmington Hills, while the Jaguar-Land Rover store retains its name.

It's the first Jaguar-Land Rover dealership for Fox Motors and the second BMW store.

"My family and I have always loved the Jaguar and Land Rover lineup and welcomed the opportunity to bring the iconic luxury brands to Fox Motors," Fox Motors CEO Daniel DeVos said in a statement. "We are continually looking for growth opportunities, so to expand our BMW footprint and enter the metro Detroit community, after adding Ann Arbor in 2017, is a natural move that we are excited about."

Fox Motors in the summer plans to move the Jaguar-Land Rover dealership to a new facility in nearby Novi, Mich., which is under construction. That facility will be double the size and feature 30 service bays, 24 showroom displays and two outdoor pedestrian plazas.

In 1964, Erhard and Gretchen Dahm established the World of Erhard business and opened a BMW dealership. The couple's children later entered the family business.

"On behalf of the Dahm family, we want to tell our community and Erhard team thank you for your many years of commitment," Erhard President Win Dahm said in a statement. "Our parents built a business based on knowing the value of relationships with others. It has been a great ride for our family."

Penske hasn't had a dealership in Michigan since 2013, when it sold its final two stores in suburban Detroit: a Cadillac store in Warren and a Honda dealership in Bloomfield Hills.

Penske, which said this dealership marks its 48th BMW location nationally, said it this year has added franchised automotive and commercial truck dealerships that it expects will generate $1.2 billion in annual revenue. Included in that figure is its June purchase of a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Pineville, N.C.

Penske ranks No. 2 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 178,437 new vehicles in 2020. However, Lithia Motors Inc. — the third-largest group in the country in 2020 — vaulted past Penske to become the second-largest retailer going forward with its April acquisition of Suburban Collection in Michigan.

Fox Motors ranks No. 75 on that same list, retailing 12,517 new-vehicles last year.