penske stores

Penske Automotive Group, Inc., an international automotive retailer, today announced that it has acquired two dealerships, Jon Lancaster Toyota Scion and Lexus of Madison. The acquired dealerships are expected to contribute annualized revenues of approximately $130 million.

Central Region Executive Vice President Whit Ramonat said, “Entering the Madison, Wisconsin, market is an important step in our effort to build scale in the upper Midwest. Coupled with our existing BMW and MINI franchises in Minneapolis, the Toyota and Lexus dealerships in Madison provide an outstanding footprint to leverage our operations and grow our business. We are excited with the opportunity to represent these world-class brands in the Madison market.”

The Toyota dealership is located in east Madison and operates on ten acres with approximately 70,000 square feet of facilities for sales and service, including a Toyota express service center specializing in oil changes and brake repairs. Lexus of Madison is an Elite of Lexus dealership located in west Madison, and operates on nine acres with nearly 45,000 square feet of facilities dedicated to sales and service. Each facility is fully compliant with current OEM corporate identity standards.

Other terms of the transaction were not announced.

About Penske Automotive

Penske Automotive Group, Inc., headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, operates 344 retail automotive franchises, representing 40 different brands and 30 collision repair centers. Penske Automotive, which sells new and previously owned vehicles, finance and insurance products and replacement parts, and offers maintenance and repair services on all brands it represents, has 174 franchises in 18 states and Puerto Rico and 170 franchises located outside the United States, primarily in the United Kingdom. Penske Automotive is a member of the Fortune 500 and Russell 2000 and has approximately 16,000 employees.

(Source: businesswire.com)

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Expanding into a key sales market that is known for a strong interest in leading-edge technology and environmentally smart products, Nissan and Infiniti have appointed a new Nissan dealer and a new Infiniti dealer in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

The new dealerships are located on Van Ness Ave., one of the Bay Area’s most famous and well-traveled automotive retail corridors. Both dealerships are owned and operated by one of the largest automotive retailers in the world – Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG).

“Infiniti and Nissan products and brands directly align with San Francisco’s unique customer profile, making this effort a strategic element of our plan to grow sales volume in the U.S.,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice present of Sales and Marketing for Nissan North America, Inc. “The 100-percent electric Nissan LEAF has already surpassed 11,000 sales in the U.S. alone.  Along with the forthcoming Infiniti LE all-electric luxury sedan, we will make a defining statement in a region known for innovation and technology leadership.  We are excited to be represented in such a dramatic way by a leading retailer like Penske Automotive Group in this pivotal market.”

The opening of the new dealerships will help contribute further to Nissan and Infiniti’s sales and market share gains in the U.S. market. In 2011, the Nissan Division posted its best-ever U.S. sales year – up 17.3 percent over the previous year – and Infiniti continues to gain ground. Nissan North America, Inc reported its March 2012 sales of 136,317 units versus 121,141 units a year earlier, an increase of 12.5 percent, and a record for any month in the company’s history.

“I’m very pleased to offer the Nissan and Infiniti brands in world-class, state-of-the-art dealerships in San Francisco,” said Penske Automotive Group Chairman Roger Penske. “Our new facilities are unrivaled within the city offering an array of automotive services, including sales, service, parts, vehicle preparation and delivery areas all under one roof.”

Nissan of San Francisco and Infiniti of San Francisco are located in the Ellis Brooks Building – which opened for vehicle sales in 1935. The 8-story, 200,000-square-foot complex is unparalleled by any other dealership in the San Francisco marketplace and is one of the largest automobile retailing locations in the United States. The building was completely renovated to provide distinct representation for each brand, and features multiple levels of indoor new and pre-owned vehicle display, service, maintenance and retail parts area, separately branded showrooms, front entrances and signage.

Additional features of the new dealerships include:

• An efficiently engineered, multi-level building layout, thoughtfully conceived to provide customer convenience, including over 400 vehicle display and parking spaces
• Convenient and free “off street” customer parking in the building’s covered mezzanine level, including five vehicle delivery bays.
• 22 service bays, and six vehicle detailing bays.
• Nine electric vehicle charging stations.
• Separate full floors of new and pre-owned vehicles for each brand
• Individual, brand-specific customer lounge areas, a central cafe bar, interior new-car delivery areas, and free wireless Internet access throughout the building
• State-of-the-art graphics highlighting Nissan and Infiniti products
• Open and inviting sales consultant offices and staff that will ultimately be equipped with e-tablets to provide quick and accurate information to customers shopping in each dealership
• Dedicated service drives and service write-up areas for each brand