A Canadian dealership group entered the U.S. by way of California in February, then expanded there this month in separate first-quarter transactions.
Trip Automotive Group on Feb. 2 bought Simi Valley Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Marin Mazda in San Rafael on March 1, VJ Sehdev, government vice chairman of Trip Automotive, confirmed to Automotive Information.
Sehdev stated his group, which has two Kia dealerships in Canada, needed to develop extra.
“We discovered the chance within the States,” he stated.
Trip Automotive’s enterprise into the U.S. follows a number of different Canadian dealership teams increasing south of the border. Canada’s Alpha Auto Group, for instance, added to its U.S. portfolio with the Nov. 22 buy of a Mercedes-Benz retailer in California.
Jason Stopnitzky, co-founder of buy-sell agency Efficiency Brokerage Companies in Irvine, Calif., facilitated each transactions for the rising auto retailer, which began in 2019 in Ottawa, Canada.
Stopnitzky stated he thinks Trip Automotive will continue to grow, crediting their customer-centric strategy and trade data. He stated the closings he labored with them on went easily.
“In each conditions, the sellers walked away saying, ‘The deal went precisely as I predicted and suspected, and these guys did precisely what they stated they might do,'” Stopnitzky stated.
In Canada, the group owns Orleans Kia and Kia 417 in Gloucester, each in Ontario.
Robert Bayer and Mac McKinley bought the Stellantis dealership in Simi Valley, the one retailer the pair owned collectively, Stopnitzky stated.
He stated McKinley doesn’t personal some other shops, however Bayer owns Covina Valley Kia in Covina, Calif.
The Simi Valley dealership, which is a part of the larger Los Angeles space, will preserve its identify, Sehdev stated. Marin Mazda is a part of the larger San Francisco space. That dealership identify stays, too, Sehdev stated.
Michael Glasser bought the Mazda retailer, the one one he owned, and plans to get pleasure from a part of semi-retirement, Stopnitzky stated.
As for Trip’s Automotive’s future, Sehdev stated they’re concentrating on integrating their newest acquisitions for now however finally will discover extra development alternatives in Canada and the U.S.
“We’ve not confirmed ourselves right here but,” Sehdev stated of the U.S. “In the interim, our full focus is simply to show ourselves inside this market and within the States. We’ll be protecting our Canadian shops and trying to develop, when the time is correct, on either side.”