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Fletcher Nabs Top Spot Again, Battle for No. 2

Fletcher Jones Motorcars once again is sitting pretty.

The Newport Beach dealer nabbed the No. 1 spot with a 12% increase in sales to $637 million in 2006, according to this week’s Business Journal list.

Fletcher Jones sold 6,861 new autos, nearly double that of its closest rival, No. 2 Mercedes-Benz of La-guna Niguel.

Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel sold 3,506 new autos. It had sales of $312 million, a 6% increase.

The Mercedes-Benz brand has become more powerful in Orange County. Mercedes-Benz dealers have seen sales on the upswing, while BMW dealers’ momentum has slowed.






Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel and Crevier BMW in Santa Ana continued to battle for the No. 2 spot. Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel bumped No. 3 Crevier, which reported a 4% decline in sales to $291 million.

A year earlier, Crevier pushed Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel down a spot to No. 3.

OC’s seeing more Lexus sales with the addition of a dealership, Newport Lexus, which opened in July and debuted at No. 24 with $95 million in partial-year sales.

The new $65 million Newport Lexus seems to have helped boost business at Fletcher Jones. The two dealerships are within a mile of one another and are after the same customer,those looking to be pampered with ambiance and perks.

Wilson Automotive Group, based in Orange, owns Newport Lexus as well as No. 8 Tustin Lexus, which had a 4% increase in sales to $190 million. The group, headed by David Wilson, also owns a few of the Toyota dealers on the list.

Tustin Lexus is one of the original Lexus dealers, opening in 1989. No. 10 Lexus of Westminster is one of the founding dealers as well. Lexus of Westminster, which opened a $20 million showroom on Beach Boulevard last month, had an estimated $165 million in sales.

The list ranks OC’s 25 largest auto dealers by 2006 sales, including new and used auto sales and service revenue.

In all, the 25 dealers on the list boosted sales 8% to $4.6 billion. Dealers sold 85,201 new autos, an increase of 9%, and saw used auto sales dip 1% to 31,648. Employment was up 110% to 2,797 workers. Dealers hired 7% more salespeople for a total of 1,010, and 11% more service workers for 1,787.

In 2005, OC auto dealers boosted sales 4% to $4.2 billion.

Most of the dealers on the list reported sales figures. Those that the Business Journal estimated were: Lexus of Westminster, Lexus of Mission Viejo, Toyota of Garden Grove, Miller Toyota of Anaheim and Norm Reeves Honda Huntington Beach.

Luxury auto dealers again dominated the list, while Toyota had the most dealers.

The biggest percentage gainer was No. 12 Newport Auto Center of Newport Beach. The seller of Porsche, Bentley and other luxury autos increased its sales 13% to $149 million. It sold 1,170 new autos, up 8% from the previous year, and 305 used cars, a 17% increase.

Unlike last year’s list, when Fletcher Jones was the only Mercedes dealer with gains, this year saw others as well.

No. 4 House of Imports boosted sales 8% to $280 million, and Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel reported a 6% increase in sales.

No. 7 Mercedes-Benz of Anaheim (formerly Caliber Motors) saw a 12% increase in sales to $224 million. Mercedes-Benz of Anaheim, one of Mercedes-Benz’s fastest growing dealers, recently opened its 6-acre dealership along the Riverside (91) Freeway, which could draw buyers from Corona and elsewhere in western River-side County.

Mercedes Benz of Anaheim’s sales picked up toward the end of the year, according to Tom Cregg, marketing director for the dealership.

Mercedes-Benz of Anaheim has been getting the word out about its new dealership via charity events and word of mouth and radio advertising on stations such as 95.9 FM The Fish, a religious station.

The dealer hasn’t thrown a lot of money into marketing the new showroom, Cregg said.

Fletcher Jones made improvements to its dealership last year. The dealer repaved the parking lot and added services, such as an airport shuttle hub on Bristol and Birch streets. Fletcher Jones also expanded its service facilities on Armstrong Avenue in Irvine.

The two other BMW dealers fared well with sales, despite Crevier getting bumped from the No. 2 spot. No. 5 Irvine BMW held its position, boosting sales 8% to $262 million. The company began a new sales program last year, which helped it sell an additional 138 new autos for a total of 3,439, said general manager Sam Chaalan.

No. 13 Shelly BMW in Buena Park boosted sales 11% to $148 million. Shelly BMW, along with Crevier BMW, is expanding its dealership.

Decliners on the list included dealers that sold GMC and Ford, two automakers that have been struggling the past few years. No. 20 Connell Chevrolet in Costa Mesa was down 8% to $106 million.

No. 22 Orange-based Villa Ford Inc. saw a 7% decline to $104 million in sales and No. 25 Allen Cadillac GMC Hyundai in Laguna Niguel reported a 2% dip to $93 million in sales.

Toyota dealers nabbed eight spots on the list. Six reported an increase in sales: No. 6 Toyota of Orange with a 3% rise to $230 million in sales; No. 9 Power Toyota of Irvine, which had a 6% increase to $168 million; No. 14 South Coast Toyota in Costa Mesa was up 10% to $138 million; No. 15 Toyota of Huntington Beach, up 7% to $137 million; and No. 16 Elmore Toyota Scion in Westminster, which was up 1% to $133 million. n

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