Raleigh’s family owned Anderson Automotive Group bought seven dealerships in the Greenville, South Carolina, area for an undisclosed amount, continuing a rapid expansion in the Palmetto State.
Anderson bought five dealerships in Greer, one in Greenville and one in Easley from MCE Automotive Group, which is led by dealer principal Mark Escude, CEO Michael Anderson said Monday. The operations include Toyota, Hyundai, Genesis, Nissan and Kia franchises in Greer; a Kia store in Greenville; and a Chevrolet store in Easley that was formerly Miike Hovart Chevrolet. They will have the Fred Anderson brand.
In January, Anderson bought five Upstate South Carolina dealerships from Bradshaw Automotive, then sold two of those to Charlotte-based Mills Automotive Group, Michael Anderson says.
Anderson Automotive now employs 750 people in the Greenville area, 100 in Charleston, South Carolina and 850 in the Raleigh metro area. It has 18 dealerships now with expected annual revenue of $1.8 billion.
Michael Anderson’s grandfather, Andy Anderson, opened a dealership in Creedmoor in 1955, then a Chevrolet dealership in Waynesville in 1960. In 1970, his son, Fred Anderson, became the youngest Chevy dealer in the U.S. at age 21. After lots of success in western North Carolina, Anderson expanded with a Toyota dealership in Raleigh that has become one of the Japanese automaker’s largest volume locations in the Southeast.
Fred Anderson remains chair of the company. Michael Anderson has worked for the business for 22 years, becoming president in 2014 and CEO in 2019. Two sisters, a brother-in-law and a cousin are also involved in the business.
“We’ve been preparing to grow for years, then these two opportunities came back to back” in the Greenville area, Michael Anderson says. “Adding 10 stores in eight months is a big deal for us, but this will give us a large presence and allows us to double down in this market.”
Autos remain in relatively short supply, while demand for vehicles remains robust, making it a profitable period for many auto dealerships. After a bidding process for the MCE operations, “we were able to put together the most attractive deal,” Anderson says.