Flow Automotive Cos. further added to its presence in Charlottesville, Va., with the Monday purchase of five auto stores representing eight brands, in one of the largest dealership acquisitions of the year, as tracked by Automotive News.
Flow Automotive bought Mercedes-Benz of Charlottesville, Umansky Toyota of Charlottesville, Umansky Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Charlottesville, Umansky Honda of Charlottesville and Umansky Subaru of Charlottesville from Umansky Automotive Group, according to George Karolis. He’s president of Presidio Group, an investment banking and dealership advisory company in Denver and Atlanta. Presidio Group represented Flow Automotive in the transaction.
The name of the Mercedes-Benz dealership stays the same, while the others were renamed Flow Toyota of Charlottesville, Flow Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Charlottesville, Flow Honda of Charlottesville and Flow Subaru of Charlottesville.
Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis are new brands for Flow Automotive, according to Eric Flow, president of management services for the group.
On its website, Flow Automotive described the deal as its largest acquisition to date.
“They’re brands that fit really well with our portfolio that we have here and give us a higher level of scale from a platform perspective in this community,” Flow told Automotive News.
Charlottesville, in central Virginia, is home to the University of Virginia. Flow Automotive CEO Don Flow is a University of Virginia graduate and played on the football team, according to Triad Business Journal.
“This market is home to me,” Don Flow said in a statement about the acquisition. “Having gone to school at the University of Virginia, this community means so much. With a strong base of operations already here, I’m thrilled to invest even more in Charlottesville and welcome our new team members who are already deeply involved here.”
Flow Automotive also has Audi-Porsche, Volkswagen and Mazda stores in Charlottesville, according to its website.
Flow Automotive, of Winston-Salem, N.C., last made an acquisition when it bought a BMW dealership in Charlottesville from auto retail giant Asbury Automotive Group in September 2021, Eric Flow said.
Umansky Automotive, which bought three dealerships in 2022, has no other Virginia dealerships listed on its website.
“Exiting a dynamic market like Charlottesville is never an easy decision,” Dan Umansky, owner of Umansky Automotive Group, said in a statement. “But what this exit does for Umansky Automotive is allow us to focus on other key markets that better fit into our strategic vision.”
Umansky Automotive, of Memphis, Tenn., purchased the Charlottesville dealerships from Brown Automotive Group in 2017.