Stellantis, Mazda and Ford dealerships acquired in 4 states

Four dealership groups, including a growing retailer from Canada, completed second- and third-quarter transactions across four states.

Here's a look at the deals involving domestic and import brand dealerships in Texas, Tennessee, Utah and New Jersey.

Steele Auto expands again in Texas

Growing Canadian retailer Steele Auto Group, fresh off an acquisition of a Hyundai store in Houston last month, has continued its U.S. expansion with the purchase of a Stellantis dealership in Texas.

Steele Auto, of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on Monday bought North Star Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram-Fiat in San Antonio from dealer William Day.

The dealership has been renamed Steele North Star Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram San Antonio, although it still sells Fiats. It marks the first dealership in the San Antonio market for Steele.

"We are pleased to welcome North Star Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram to the group," Steele Auto President Kim Day, who is not related to the seller, said in a statement. "With our recent growth in the U.S. and Texas, the decision to expand into San Antonio was an easy one. With five other dealerships in the Austin–San Antonio corridor, we know this market and we are very happy with the results thus far."

In June, Steele Auto bought Sterling McCall Hyundai South Loop in Houston from public auto retailer Group 1 Automotive Inc.

Steele Auto now has seven U.S. dealerships, all of which are in Texas, including three Stellantis stores.

The group entered the U.S. in 2020, buying a Chevrolet-Buick-GMC dealership. In February, Steele Auto bought two Hyundai dealerships, one south of Austin and one located between Austin and San Antonio.

Landers Auto adds two dealerships near Blue Oval City

Landers Auto Group on June 7 purchased King Cotton Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and King Cotton Ford in Covington, Tenn., according to Kent Ritchey, the group's president.

Landers Auto bought the dealerships from Judith Belisomo, Randal Fishman and Dino Grisanti. The stores were renamed Landers Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram North and Landers Ford North.

Ritchey said Landers Auto decided to purchase the two stores because they were in close proximity to Blue Oval City in Stanton, Tenn. Covington and Stanton are northeast of Memphis.

Blue Oval City is a massive electric vehicle and battery production complex Ford announced in September. The site is expected to create 6,000 jobs in the Stanton area and open in 2025.

"Covington is a major small town in that area, and it's the one that's most poised to grow, and it has the infrastructure to handle that growth," Ritchey said.

The sellers used broker Greg Errion of Greg Errion Consulting, Ritchey said. He said the former owners do not own any other dealerships.

Ritchey said Landers Auto is spending about $1 million on furniture, fixtures and equipment and plans to bring both stores up to Ford and Stellantis' facility standards.

Tim Dahle buys two dealerships from brother

Tim Dahle, of his namesake Tim Dahle Auto Group, in May purchased two Mazda dealerships from his brother and a partner.

The Murray, Utah, auto group on May 9 purchased D. Dahle Mazda of Murray and Southtowne Mazda in Sandy, Utah, from Dahle/Meyer Imports.

Tim Dahle's younger brother, Dennis Dahle, co-owns Dahle/Meyer Imports with business partner Rob Meyer. Dennis Dahle plans to retire, and Meyer has become a partner and co-owner of the two dealerships with Tim Dahle, according to the brothers.

The dealerships were renamed Tim Dahle Mazda Murray and Tim Dahle Mazda Southtowne. Murray and Sandy are both suburbs of Salt Lake City.

The Tim Dahle group now has seven franchised dealerships. The others are: Tim Dahle Nissan Murray, Tim Dahle Nissan Southtowne in South Jordan, Tim Dahle Nissan Bountiful in North Salt Lake City, Tim Dahle Infiniti in Murray and Tim Dahle Ford in East Spanish Fork, all in Utah. It also has a used-vehicle store.

All the stores are within an hour's driving time of one another, Tim Dahle said.

He said that while he has no immediate plans to expand his holdings, he's always looking.

Cline Dahle, father of Tim, Dennis and their sister, Cindy, started Cline's Auto Sales in the late 1960s. Tim Dahle bought his father's Nissan and Infiniti dealerships in 1989. Dennis Dahle bought the Mazda store in Murray from Cline in 1993 before selling it in 1999 and buying it back in 2002. He purchased the Southtowne location in 2014.

Dennis Dahle said he felt ready to retire from the business after 33 years.

"I wanted to keep it in the family," he told Automotive News.

Tim's sons, Steve and Marcus Dahle, along with relative Vic Ream started a sister company, Red Rock Auto Group, in 2016. Red Rock now has five dealerships in Grand Junction, Colo.

Fred Beans adds eighth Ford dealership

Fred Beans Automotive Group, of Doylestown, Pa., added an eighth Ford dealership to its portfolio last month, closing an acquisition effort that began nearly 50 years ago, according to the company's vice president, Beth Beans Gilbert.

Smith Ford in Washington, N.J., acquired on June 15, was renamed Fred Beans Ford of Washington. Washington, N.J., is near the Pennsylvania state line.

Smith Motor Co.. which dates to 1925, was led by Jack Smith since 1965 until his death on March 17, 2022, according to his obituary. He was 84.

Gilbert told Automotive News that her father, Fred Beans, company founder and president, had reached out to Smith in 1975, wanting to buy his Smith Tractor & Equipment Co. Ultimately, Beans couldn't find property in Doylestown then that met all requirements needed for the business. Years passed and the men kept in touch, meeting up for the occasional lunch.

Beans and Smith before his death this year arranged the dealership sale, according to Gilbert, though the tractor company stayed in the Smith family.

Beans said he appreciates the strong team Smith built alongside his family, including two grandsons who will remain in sales at the store.

"We inherited both good people and a solid foundation from the Smith family," Beans said in a statement. "We will retain the same values that are rooted in every family-owned business as the store transitions to the Fred Beans name."

Fred Beans Automotive has more than 20 dealerships selling 18 brands in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where it also has dealerships in Flemington.

The new store is less than a half-hour's drive from the Flemington properties.

"It will be well supported there if customers need more than what just a single dealership can offer," Gilbert said.