Automotive Information has to date tracked 5 Kia dealerships buying and selling arms in 2023. Tim Lamb Group, a buy-sell agency in Columbus, Ohio, stated it represented Coughlin Automotive Group within the buy of two Kia dealerships in Ohio on Jan. 5, whereas Randy Marion Automotive Group purchased a Kia retailer in Salisbury, N.C., in March.
Not less than 27 Kia dealerships, or about 3.5 % of the model’s 775 shops, modified arms nationwide final yr, Automotive Information estimated, whereas it tracked 24 Kia dealerships that modified arms in 2021.
Mike Sims, president of buy-sell agency Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, in Frisco, Texas, stated that not way back, if a Kia dealership was a part of a bunch, a purchaser may need reluctantly agreed to tackle the model.
“However now I do not know anyone that may not prefer to have” a Kia dealership, Sims stated.
Ken Ganley, CEO of Ken Ganley Automotive Group, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, purchased his first Kia dealership, a retailer in Medina, Ohio, in 2020. Final yr, his group purchased 4 extra Kia dealerships throughout Ohio and West Virginia.
Whereas the group has gone via different intervals of acquisitions, Ganley stated shopping for this many dealerships of the identical model is exclusive for his firm.
“I really like the model,” he stated. “I really like what they’ve accomplished with the automobiles, with the advertising and marketing. I believe the chief administration is unbelievable. I believe our regional administration, in each the central area and the southern area, are excellent. They have the precise folks, they have the precise vehicles, they have the precise message. It is all becoming collectively.”
On the latest Nationwide Vehicle Sellers Affiliation’s Seller Perspective Survey, Kia rose one spot to No. 6. The survey serves as an NADA report card on sellers’ relationships with the automakers they characterize.
Ganley stated his group is within the means of updating the signage of its Kia dealerships to mirror the model’s new brand, and the entrance of every retailer is getting a brand new black-and-white exterior.
Ken Ganley Automotive ranks No. 15 on Automotive Information’ checklist of the highest 150 dealership teams based mostly within the U.S., retailing 36,079 new automobiles in 2021.
Morgan Automotive Group, of Tampa, Fla., purchased two Kia dealerships in Florida from LMP Automotive Holdings in December and one other Kia retailer, additionally in Florida, from Fuccillo Automotive Group final Could.
The group now has seven Kia dealerships in its portfolio.