Carter Myers Automotive Acquires Craft Automotive Family-Owned, Employee-Owned Company Welcomes Three New Dealerships | Journal-news

MARTINSBURG – Carter Myers Automotive (CMA), a family and employee dealer group celebrating 98 years in Virginia, announced the acquisition of Craft Automotive.

This acquisition will also include their three franchises: Honda, Hyundai and Chrysler Dodge, Jeep and Ram, all located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Following this acquisition, CMA will now have 23 sites representing 18 new automotive brands and employing more than 1,100 people.

“Lynchburg is a community we’ve wanted the opportunity to serve for some time now,” said Liza Borches, CMA’s fourth-generation president and CEO. “As a company that has been doing business in central Virginia for nearly 100 years, these Lynchburg locations will fit perfectly with CMA’s mission to advance the lives of as many Virginia communities as possible. »

The Myers and Craft families have worked together in the industry for generations.

“In the 1980s, Billy Craft was always quick to help with additional inventory when my dad expanded into the Charlottesville market,” Borches said of the families’ longstanding relationship. “Most recently, Kendall and I both served on the Virginia Automobile Dealer Association together. It was only natural that when he was looking to sell the family business, he came into our family.

Asked about Kendall Craft’s decision to sell the business, Kevin Hamlet, Managing Director of Billy Craft Honda, said, “Kendall wanted to make sure their company’s legacy would be in good hands. For years, all of the employees worked very hard for him and his father and served the Lynchburg community. It was important for him to take care of them.

To ensure they are supported, CMA will ask all current Craft Automotive associates to stay and enjoy the benefits of owning part of the business.

“Every employee who wants a job will always have a position with the new CMA dealerships, and on top of that, they will also be part of our family of owners,” Borches said, referring to CMA’s employee stock ownership plan. , which allows employees to own part of the business. “We want the Lynchburg community to know that the same great faces that have served them so well for over 40 years will always be there. But now, customers will see the benefits that only direct contact with an owner and the scale of CMA can provide.

The dealerships will now operate as Honda of CMA’s Lynchburg, Hyundai of CMA’s Lynchburg and CDJR of CMA’s Lynchburg. They join five CMA dealerships in Staunton, Va., three in Charlottesville, Va., three in Winchester, one in Williamsburg, Va., five in Richmond, Va., and three in Martinsburg.

About Carter Myers Automotive

Carter Myers Automotive was founded in Petersburg, Virginia in 1924 by H. Carter Myers, Sr. What began as a single store has grown to include 23 locations representing 18 brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler , Dodge, Ford, GMC , Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lincoln, Nissan, RAM, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. The company is now run by its founder’s great-granddaughter, Liza Myers Borches.

CMA is a family business that also shares ownership with its employees. Thanks to their unique employee shareholding plan, CMA’s approximately 1,000 employee-shareholders currently own more than 26% of the company. This allows CMA employees to do their best to help customers, hence their motto “Owners Just Care More”. Career opportunities can be found on the CMA website at www.CMAcars.com.

For more information, contact Matt Walsh, Vice President/COO, Carter Myers Automotive at [email protected] or by calling 434-951-1000.

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