Toyota and Chrysler might seem strange marriage partners, but it makes perfect sense to Chris Doherty. Doherty, owner of Lakeland Toyota, recently finalized his purchase of Lakeland Chrysler Dodge. The Chrysler deal gives Doherty, who owns one Hyundai and two Honda dealerships in North Carolina, his second franchise in Lakeland.
“Obviously, it’s local and I don’t have to go jump on a plane to go manage it,” said Doherty, 42. “There’s not a lot of cross-shopping between Chrysler and Toyota people. You’d have more of that between Toyota and Honda.”
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Doherty has plans to expand Lakeland Chrysler Dodge, and expects to increase the dealership’s sales pace from the current 70 new and used cars per month to as many as 150.
But Lakeland Chrysler was already doing well, Doherty said, noting that its sales percentage increases for 2006 thus far have been similar to those at Lakeland Toyota, where new car sales are up about 15 percent and used sales are up about 17 percent from 2005.
Lakeland Toyota sells about 410 new and used vehicles per month, Doherty said.
The Toyota facility at 1200 W. Memorial Blvd. was built in the early 1970s, several years before Lakeland Chrysler Dodge, at 2335 U. S. 98 N., was acquired by the Bryan family in 1979, when it was Bunker Hill Dodge.
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Jim Bryan, the former general manager, and brother Steve Bryan left the dealership after they sold it to Lakeland Toyota, Doherty said. The Bryan brothers have previously declined comment on the deal.
Lakeland Chrysler Dodge, which sits on roughly three acres, was well-managed, Doherty said, and had a booming part sales business on the Internet that brought in $50,000 to $60,000 per month.
Chrysler Dodge has about 55 employees, and Doherty has given the general manager’s job to Ernie Alvarez, who served as Lakeland Toyota’s general sales manager for more than seven years.
Doherty also said that Lakeland Toyota, which covers about 10 acres of a 17-acre site, is paving an additional three acres to make room for growth. Doherty spent years buying up shares of Lakeland Toyota before he finally acquired the dealership in 2003 from Ihla Phillips Sloman.
Earlier this month DaimlerChrysler reported a 13 percent decline in its U.S. auto sales for June versus the same period last year, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Toyota enjoyed a 14 percent gain, selling more cars in June than Ford and Chrysler combined.
Still, Doherty’s purchase of Lakeland Chrysler Dodge is a smart move, said Michael Holley, who owns a Chevrolet dealership and Kia dealership in Lakeland.
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“It’s a completely different customer base, Chrysler Dodge as compared to Toyota. He’s not going to have his own customer shopping against him,” Holley said. “My Kia store and my Chevrolet store are not necessarily competitors.”
Doherty also has an advantage with his familiarity of the local market, which should serve him well in expanding Lakeland Chrysler Dodge, Holley said.
But Philip Joseph, president of independent used car dealership Joseph Motors in Lakeland, said the acquisition is another troubling sign of an increasingly competitive market in Lakeland.
“That is more of the going trend right now because only the strong survive in this business. The auto retail business is pretty tough right now with gas prices being high,” Joseph said. “Lakeland Chrysler did a good business but a lot of the old-timers are selling their dealerships to the most aggressive people in the area. That’s what I’m observing from this particular merger.”
Kyle Kennedy can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7584.
Age: 42. Occupation: Car dealership owner. Number of dealerships: Five. Locations: Two in Lakeland, three in North Carolina. Quote: “Obviously, it’s local and I don’t have to go jump on a plane to go manage it. There’s not a lot of cross-shopping between Chrysler and Toyota people. You’d have more of that between Toyota and Honda.”
CHRIS DOHERTY
Source: https://t-tees.com
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