Colonial Auto Group in Danbury, Conn., on June 1 added three dealerships in Plainfield, Conn., buying Central Hyundai, Central Volkswagen and Central Mazda from David Cartwright of Central Auto Group.
Cartwright also owned a Ford dealership, which was paired with Mazda. Cartwright accepted a buyout from Ford before the sale, so the Ford franchise was not part of the transaction, said Peter DiPersia, senior vice president of the Northeast for National Business Brokers, a buy-sell firm in Irvine, Calif. DiPersia said he worked with both parties in the transaction. Cartwright declined to comment.
Colonial Auto brothers and co-owners are David and Darren Beylouni, president and vice president, respectively. David Beylouni is dealer principal.
With the three dealerships in Plainfield, the group now has eight stores: three in Danbury, in western Connecticut; three in Plainfield, in the eastern part of the state; and one each in New York state and New Hampshire, David Beylouni said.
The buyers use the Colonial brand name on their dealerships in Danbury, but they said they decided to keep the Central name on the Plainfield dealerships, since it’s a recognized brand in the local market.
The Plainfield dealerships, which retain their names, fit into the group’s portfolio of brands — Volkswagen and Hyundai are new to the group — but Mazda is familiar, he said. The group also includes three Subaru dealerships.
We are very interested in doing business with Hyundai,” David Beylouni said in a phone interview. “We’ve seen the success some of our competitors have had with it. And we already have Mazda in Danbury and we like that brand very much. Volkswagen has a very interesting portfolio, especially EVs.”
In the same interview, Darren Beylouni said the brothers had known the selling dealer for years.
One of the reasons we chose this group was it was a very well-run family organization,” Darren Beylouni said. “And that’s what we consider ourselves. We are a family organization.”
