Kaplan Auto Adds New Hampshire Dealership
Kaplan Auto Group added its fourth store in New Hampshire on Sept. 15 with the acquisition of Dan O’Brien Subaru in Clermont.
The shop, sold by Dan O’Brien Auto Group, has been renamed Claremont Subaru. Claremont is just east of the border between Vermont and New Hampshire.
The sale allowed Dan O’Brien Auto to focus on other dealerships in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, according to Nancy Phillips Associates, the Exeter, New Hampshire-based sales firm that represented the seller in the transaction.
Sherry Kaplan-Allen, Group President, is the second generation head of the company, which was founded by her father, Jake, in the 1950s. Kaplan-Allen took over after her father’s death in 1991 and bought it in 1993, Kaplan-Allen said Automotive news.
In 2001, Kaplan Auto moved its headquarters from Providence to Warwick, Rhode Island. The company expanded to its second state, Massachusetts, in 2006, then acquired its first New Hampshire store, Milford Subaru, in 2015. Last December, it added a Toyota store in Rochester, New Hampshire
Kaplan-Allen said she visits her stores regularly. “I make my rounds,” she said Automotive news. “I live in the middle [of the store locations]so I go up to the highway and go either left or right.
“And every time I walk into one of these stores, I say, ‘I wish I could come here every day.’ “
Eddie Allen, Kaplan-Allen’s son, will celebrate 10 years with the business in January, she said. He is from 2022 Automotive news 40 Awarded to 40 years.
Kaplan Auto now operates six dealerships selling five brands—Jaguar, Land Rover, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Subaru—in three states.
The company has another dealership acquisition slated to close in December, Kaplan-Allen said.
Romeo Auto adds Volkswagen dealership
Romeo Auto Group acquired its fifth franchised dealership in early August, said Joe Romeo, the group’s executive manager.
Romeo said he purchased the Volkswagen in Kingston, New York on August 8 from Vinnie DeGeraloma. Automotive news. Kingston is between New York and Albany.
The shop was renamed Romeo Volkswagen of Kingston.
According to the group’s website, Romeo Auto is a family business that has been operating for more than 40 years. The group started in 1981 as a used car dealership and bought its first new car dealership in 2000, Joe Romeo said.
Romeo said the family bought a Volkswagen dealership in its place.
This is the group’s third dealership in Kingston. All Romeo dealerships are in New York, where Romeo is from, he said.
Romeo Auto also sells Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Kia, Ford and Toyota vehicles. The group owns a used car dealership, two collision centers and a garage, according to its website.
https://www.autonews.com/dealers/ford-subaru-vw-dealerships-trade-hands-q3
