Orange County’s car culture continues to keep pace with the revved-up national market.
The 38 largest auto dealers in Orange County combined for $4.97 billion in sales of new and used vehicles for the 12-month period that ended June 30, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
The 6.3% increase came as 17 dealerships reported increases in sales and six showed declines for the fiscal year. Figures for the remaining 15 are Business Journal estimates.
Sales of new vehicles throughout the U.S. are on pace to reach 16.8 million by the end of the year, or a nearly 8% increase (see related story, list on OC-based automakers, page 32).
• Fletcher Jones Motorcars in Newport Beach, No. 1 on the list, led the pack with $627.6 million in sales, an 11.1% year-over-year increase. The dealership sold 6,822 new and 2,302 used cars and employs 280 sales and service personnel.
• Ford of Orange, No. 26, posted the biggest sales growth—56.3%. The dealership, owned by Wilson Automotive Group in Orange, recorded $77.9 million in sales by churning out 1,641 new vehicles and 2,449 used ones—a 285.7% increase. It employs 53 service and sales personnel.
Toyota of Orange
• Wilson Group’s Toyota of Orange also had a good year. The dealership’s sales grew 25% to $249.8 million, landing it in the No. 3 spot. It sold the most new cars among the top 38 dealerships—7,385—while its used-car sales added up to 1,678. About 110 service and sales personnel work there.
Cars and light truck sales weren’t the only deals OC auto dealers worked on during the fiscal year.
Wilson Group owner and Chief Executive David Wilson struck a deal in June with Fletcher Jones to buy Fletcher Jones Toyota Scion in Las Vegas for roughly $75 million. Wilson also closed a $30 million deal for Villa Ford Inc. in Orange around the same time.
“We’ve bitten off plenty this year,” Wilson said in an earlier interview. “Someone said, ‘Well you got that out of your mattress.’ I said, ‘Well if I did, my mattress is a lot thinner now, and I’m not sleeping as well.’ ”
The purchases brought his company’s portfolio to seven Toyota dealerships; three each of the Lexus and Honda brands; and one Acura, Ford, Mazda and Volkswagen dealership.
Other dealerships that recently traded hands included:
• Newport Beach-based Conant Auto Retail Group, which bought three dealerships in August from Fladeboe Automotive Group in Irvine on undisclosed terms, getting Honda, Volkswagen and Buick/GMC franchises.
Conant Group, owned by David Conant, has 14 dealerships in California and Florida and $1 billion in 2013 revenue.
Imperio
• Mexico-based Imperio Automotriz also kicked off a shopping spree this past summer, closing on a deal for Nissan of San Juan Capistrano on June 23 from Victory Auto Group. It acquired Kia of San Juan Capistrano in August from the same Canton, Mich.-based group. Imperio then took over two OC dealerships in October from Los Angeles-based Noarus Auto Group on undisclosed terms—Nissan of Garden Grove and Nissan of Irvine.
Noarus still owns Toyota Place in Garden Grove, No. 19 on the list, with an estimated $101.9 million in sales during the period.
• Capo Motors LLC sold Orange Coast Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram of San Juan Capistrano to Courtesy Chevrolet in Phoenix, Ariz., closing on Oct. 6.
The year also marked several “firsts” for local auto dealers—a Bitcoin sale and an Alfa Romeo renaissance.
Lamborghini Newport Beach in Costa Mesa accepted virtual currency Bitcoin as payment for a used Tesla Model S electric vehicle last December. The purchase was initiated by a customer who found the vehicle on the Internet and asked the dealership if he could pay for it in bitcoins, according to the dealership’s general manager, Pietro Frigerio.
Orange Coast Fiat in Costa Mesa started selling the 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C last week. The vehicle is making a comeback in the U.S market after 20 years.
“There is a huge interest,” said Neda Ingram, the dealership’s general sales manager. “We got them in yesterday, and our phones are ringing off the hook. I had several people coming down to take a look.”
