Two Wilmington car dealerships have a new owner.

BMW of Wilmington and Porsche Wilmington, formerly properties of The Baker Motor Company, have been sold to Penske Automotive Group Inc., based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

“Penske Automotive Group, Inc., a diversified international transportation services company and one of the world’s premier automotive and commercial truck retailers, today announced that it has acquired BMW of Wilmington and Porsche Wilmington,” Penske officials announced in a news release Friday.

Commenting on the acquisitions in the release, Penske Automotive Group Chair and CEO Roger Penske said, “We are pleased to expand our relationship with these world-class brands and further enhance our premium retail automotive brand mix in the southeastern United States. The greater Wilmington, North Carolina area is a growing market, and we look forward to continuing these dealerships’ legacy of exceptional performance under the guidance of The Baker Motor Company. We welcome the associates of these two dealerships to the Penske Automotive Group team.”  

The automotive group’s intent always is to retain existing staff, Anthony Pordon, executive vice president of corporate development, said Tuesday.

“We go through a process of interviewing everyone and doing background checks, including drugs and driving records, as we’re buying the dealerships,” he said.
 
Penske Automotive Group operates in four continents and nine countries, Pordon said, adding, “Our brand mix is predominantly- 71% - premium/luxury brands, and we have a strong history of working with premium/luxury brands, including Porsche and BMW.”
 
Why did the company target Wilmington with this purchase?
 
“Wilmington is ranked as one of the top destinations for people to move to,” Pordon replied. “It’s in the Southeast in an area of growth. We look at population density. We would love to build a bigger presence in the Wilmington area. Two years ago we bought a Mercedes-Benz store in Charlotte, so now we have three stores in the North Carolina marketplace. And our Team Penske [auto racing business] in Mooresville is a significant investment in the state. So, we have a pretty big commitment in North Carolina.
 
“We would look at Wilmington as a possibility for future investment, depending on what becomes available,” Pordon continued. “We are very positive on the Wilmington market.”
 
Both newly acquired car dealers have earned their respective brand’s highest honor, the release stated: BMW of Wilmington has been recognized as a BMW Center of Excellence and Porsche Wilmington is designated a Porsche Premier Dealer. The expected combined, annualized revenues of the two dealerships is $140 million, according to the release.

South Carolina-based Baker Motor Co. acquired BMW of Wilmington in 2015 from Schaeffer BMW. Two years later, it purchased Porsche of Fayetteville and moved the dealership to Wilmington with plans to “build the ultimate Porsche facility for our customers in the Carolinas,” Baker president and owner Tommy Baker said in 2018. He was interviewed during his company’s renovation of both dealership facilities.
 
Wilmington has gained increasing allure for foreign, luxury and specialty car buyers. Last year, Jaguar Land Rover Cape Fear and Audi Cape Fear group added British sportscar brand Lotus and BMW Motorcycles to its lineup. The city is home also to Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz dealerships.
 
Penske Automotive Group, according to its website, offers “outstanding brands and invests in premium facilities which we believe will result in superior customer service and repeat and referral business.”