Portfolio diversity behind two new Pfaff acquisitions

LONDON, ONT. – Pfaff Automotive Partners has announced the purchase of London City Chrysler and London City Mazda.

London City Chrysler has been in business since 1995 and is Ontario’s eighth-largest Chrysler dealership by volume. London City Mazda has been in operation since 2014.

“We are excited to add these two well-run, profitable dealerships to our rapidly-growing group,” said Chris Pfaff, head of Pfaff Automotive Partners.

“Their teams are clearly as devoted to delivering an exceptional customer experience as we are – something that shows in their reputation within the community, as well as in their online reviews.”

Located in the London Airport Automall, London City Chrysler and London City Mazda employ over 130 sales, service, parts, and support staff.

Financial details were not disclosed.

This marks the latest move to diversify the portfolio for Pfaff, which has made its name primarily as a luxury and performance retailer. In addition to Porsche, Audi and BMW, the dealership group also handles Pagani and McLaren in Canada.

This past fall saw the addition of a Harley-Davidson store in Richmond Hill. And now with these two London area acquisitions, the group has added some domestic volume to complement its import volume brands including Toyota and Volkswagen.

Laurance Yap, director of marketing at Pfaff, said the group is looking to growth and diversify its brand offerings. Adding stores in London makes sense as Pfaff already has a presence in London through a partnership with Chris Leavens at Porsche of London.

“We see lots of opportunity in the London market, and particularly with the London Airport Automall location where both of these stores are located,” Yap told Canadian AutoWorld.

“It’s a new area, it’s easy to get to and the buildings are new.”

On the product front, the domestic portfolio through FCA is also a great fit for the Pfaff Leasing operation, which Yap confirmed is looking to “significantly expanding” its presence in the commercial market.

By adding an FCA store and the profitable pickup and commercial vehicle division, it is likely truck offerings will be a leader in the commercial leasing business growth.

“Also, having two more stores with more mainstream brands helps our group pre-owned strategy, which itself has aggressive growth targets,” Yap said.

The existing teams will remain in place at both stores.

And as for further growth in 2017, Yap said we will have to wait and see.