Lasher sells Elk Grove Auto Mall dealers.work, showroom to stay

The Wes Rusher days at Elk Grove Auto Mall are over. The automotive group has sold its Elk Grove Auto Group dealership to Canada’s Knight Automotive Group, but most of his 400-plus employees at the auto dealership are expected to keep their jobs.

Knight, based in Saskatchewan, Canada’s largest automotive group with 14 dealers in western Canada, eager to enter the US market. Knight purchased his Sunrise Ford dealership in Fontana and North Hollywood in January. The automotive group followed Southern State’s deal in June to acquire John Elway’s Claremont Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram from the former NFL quarterback’s Colorado-based dealer line. , Knight’s fourth California dealer and fourth U.S. acquisition in 12 months.

The sale, announced by Lasher President Scott Lasher to state employers, Elk Grove and Sacramento County leaders, did not disclose the name of the purchaser, but Elk Grove’s Acura, Audi, Dodge/Jeep and Subaru. , and maintained a Volkswagen showroom in the auto mall. Head of Knight Kevin Knight and auto group vice president Braden Mueller have received a license to operate a dealership on West Stockton Boulevard, according to city records.Mueller will open at The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday. He has confirmed that he has sold all five of his Lasher dealers.

Luscher’s letter states that “the buyer plans to continue its business and understands that it intends to retain most or all of its current employees, which will result in a significant number of employees remaining unemployed. It is written that

This memo is included in the State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice, or WARN Notice, which requires covered employers to provide advance notice to employees affected by factory closures and mass layoffs. I have.

A total of 414 employees across dealerships, from management and sales staff to service and parts personnel, were notified of the sale before the EDD’s WARN notice was filed on November 3 and their work was completed on December 1. We were informed that it would end on the day.

Terms of the sale are unknown. His calls to Lasher officials were not returned on Tuesday, but Lasher’s signage and inventory still adorn the sign and dot the lot.

Elk Grove officials confirmed the sale in a statement on Tuesday.

“The City appreciates the years of service that Lusher Auto Group has dedicated to the Elk Grove community,” the statement read. “Based on the information they provided, we understand that these dealers have been sold, but are expected to remain open and retain the majority of their workforce, and the impact on the local economy will be It should be minimal.”

Business at Lasher’s Elk Grove Auto Mall seemed unchanged on the outside. A plain printed sign outside the Lasher Elk Grove Volkswagen simply said that the dealership was closed on Mondays.

It is unclear why Lasher decided to sell. Automotive group founder and namesake Wes Lasher died in 2010 at the age of 88, but the dealership remained in the hands of his family through his sons Scott and Mark. The group was also a key economic engine for Elk Grove and Elk Grove Auto Mall.

But Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association, a trade group representing dealers, said buyers are likely to be drawn to the attractive and growing elk grove market.

“We’re looking at[deals]up and down the state, but Elk Grove would be near the top of the list. It’s a fascinating community,” Maas said. “This is a growing community, close to 200,000 people. We have the Sky River Casino. Buyers see a future market that is likely to grow, which is very attractive to them.”

Lusher’s Impact on Elk Grove’s Tax Base

rushers The impact on the Elk Grove economy is substantialAccording to the city’s 2022-2023 budget document, 10 of Elk Grove’s top 25 sales tax producers are Elk Grove Auto Mall dealers, including Lusher dealers. Lasher’s slates are also listed in the city’s “Major Projects.” This is a formula that takes into account a business’ number of employees, tax revenue, and facility size.

Lasher’s mark is even more significant given that the city relies on sales tax revenues from car sales.

Sales tax revenues from vehicle sales account for nearly one-third of Elk Grove’s revenues each year. Money from sales taxes is the city’s largest source of personal income, responsible for repairing roads, collecting garbage, and funding police officers on the streets. Parks, youth programs, and other community services.

Elk Grove isn’t the only place where car dealerships affect the city’s coffers.

New car dealers collect more sales tax than any other body in the state, according to the California New Car Dealers Association, a Sacramento-based trade group that represents dealers. According to the association’s 2021 Economic Impact Report, dealers take 13% of the statewide sales tax collected in 2020, last year’s data was available.