ZT Motors, the automotive dealership unit of private equity and wealth management firm ZT Corporate, of Houston, has purchased three Ron Carter Autoland dealerships in Texas as ZT looks to expands in the Southeast.
ZT Motors bought the stores from one of the country’s largest dealership groups, Prime Automotive Group. Prime told Automotive News last month that it wanted to sell dealerships that were not in its core Northeast region.
The purchased stores in Alvin, Texas, near Houston, are Ron Carter Chevrolet-Buick-GMC, Ron Carter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Ron Carter Ford. ZT said it will retain the Ron Carter names.
“To say we’re excited to deliver the ZT Motors experience to our hometown of Houston would be an understatement,” Taseer Badar, CEO of ZT Corporate, said in a statement. “Our team has evaluated dealerships in the area for many years and we’re confident that a highly respected and reputable brand like Ron Carter Autoland is the right opportunity to fuel our growth strategy.”
ZT Motors was founded in 2015 when its wealth management parent bought Toyota and Mazda dealerships and a Mercedes-Benz-BMW store in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. ZT last year expanded into Georgia, buying Steve Rayman Chevrolet in the Atlanta area. It now has eight rooftops in three states.
ZT told Automotive News in January that it was seeking to buy as many as 20 dealerships in the Southeast by 2023.
Prime of Westwood, Mass., ranks No. 11 on Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 45,050 new vehicles in 2019.
It now has 40 dealerships. It sold eight stores last month near Pittsburgh and in upstate New York.
Buy-sell firm Haig Partners of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., advised Prime in the transaction.