Two expanding dealership groups added to their portfolios, while a duo purchased their second store — all in separate third-quarter transactions.
Here’s a look at the deals involving domestic, import and luxury stores and dealerships in California, Alabama and North Carolina. One of the transactions involved an auto retailer ranked on Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups.
Envision Motors adds Ford dealership
Envision Motors of West Covina, Calif., on Aug. 15 acquired Vista Ford-Lincoln of Oxnard, Calif., according to DCG Acquisitions, a Dave Cantin Group, which represented both buyer and seller in the transaction. The seller was Jon Shuken, according to DCG Acquisitions.
The dealership was renamed Envision Ford-Lincoln of Oxnard. Oxnard is west of Los Angeles.
Co-founded in 2018 by Simon Sarriedine and COO Frank Zarabi, Envision Motors owns 10 dealerships spanning multiple brands in California and one Mercedes-Benz dealership in Arizona.
Sarriedine told Automotive News that he plans to buy several dealerships, with some deals under contract.
“California is our market for the time being,” said Sarriedine, CEO of the group, adding that expanding outside of the state is possible, but unlikely in the near future.
Sarriedine, who started his career in California, said he’s been in the automotive retail business for about 35 years. He formerly worked with Keyes Automotive Group in Van Nuys, Calif. Zarabi also is CEO of FAM Brands, among other ventures, and has been in the fashion industry for more than 30 years.
Last year, Envision Motors acquired three California stores, buying a Jaguar-Land Rover dealership in April and Honda and Toyota dealerships in December.
Sarriedine said Envision Motors is excited to work with the Ford brand, which he said is one of the best American vehicle brands.
Envision Motors also sells Audi, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles, according to its website.
Step One adds two Alabama stores
Step One Automotive Group of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., expanded again in Alabama with its Aug. 22 purchase of Walt Massey Nissan and Walt Massey Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Andalusia from Walt Massey Automotive Group, Bill Sauls, dealer principal of Step One, confirmed to Automotive News.
The addition marks Step One’s first Nissan store and brings its dealership count in Alabama to three franchised and two used-vehicle stores.
The stores were renamed Nissan Andalusia and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Andalusia. Andalusia is south of Montgomery, Ala.
“We’re happy to be in Andalusia where we already have some operations,” said Sauls. “This was a perfect match.”
Step One in June bought a Chevrolet dealership and used-vehicle store in Bessemer, Ala.
Walt Massey Automotive in Hattiesburg, Miss., now has seven dealerships — all in Mississippi. Sauls told Automotive News that selling the Alabama stores allows Walt Massey to consolidate its efforts in Mississippi.
Step One Automotive, which now sells 18 brands at multiple dealerships across Florida, Georgia and Alabama, ranks No. 100 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 10,335 new vehicles in 2021.
Miller and Zurales buy second GM dealership
Dan Miller and Mark Zurales on Sept. 14 picked up their second dealership in a budding auto group, purchasing J&M Chevrolet in Zebulon, N.C., from Carlos Wheeler and business partner David Stepp.
J&M Chevrolet is now named MZ Chevrolet, after the last names of its two new owners. Stepp remains general manager and Zurales is dealer principal.
Miller said the decision to purchase J&M Chevrolet came down to one thing: location.
“It’s 20 minutes east of downtown Raleigh, N.C., and development is going that way — to the east,” Miller told Automotive News. “It was important for us to be in what we consider to be the future line of development.”
The deal puts Miller and Zurales up to two stores, with the pair owning a controlling interest in Advantage GMC of Adel in Georgia, which they acquired in July 2021. Miller said they are in the “process of forming” an auto group named MZ Automotive Group.
Meanwhile, Wheeler is now out of the business. J&M Chevrolet had been around since the early 1920s, but Wheeler decided it was time for retirement.
“Our family has been serving the greater Raleigh-Durham area for decades and it has been fun to watch the area grow,” Wheeler said in a statement. “We will miss our customers and serving the community but know that it will continue with Dan and his team.”
Miller said he wants to continue to expand the soon-to-be MZ Automotive Group.
“My future is certainly in acquiring more stores,” Miller said. “I’m certainly going to dedicate a majority of my time to building out the group.”
Haig Partners, a buy-sell firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., represented the seller in the J&M Chevrolet transaction.
