Jackson Auto Group strengthens presence
By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
Despite concerns about an economic downturn, the Jackson Auto Group yesterday completed its purchase of Volvo's Honolulu franchise from TheoDavies Euromotors Ltd. for an undisclosed amount in a deal that the auto group said could nearly double its annual sales volume.
It will be the second auto dealership acquired by the Jackson Auto Group since it entered the Hawai'i auto market three years ago with the purchase of the Mike Salta dealership on Nimitz Highway in 1998.
"The Volvo name is one that is recognized worldwide as a a leader in manufacturing safe, high-quality vehicles," said Jack Jackson, Jackson Group's president and chief executive officer.
Jackson, which also has Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln dealership, plans to sell both brands from the 1-acre site at 704 Ala Moana.
Russ Wong, general manager for Jackson Auto Group, said about 43 TheoDavies Volvo Hawai'i employees will be affected by the sale and all of them have been offered jobs. He said he expected most of the staff to accept the offers.
"TheoDavies had been looking to sell the dealership for about a year now and Ford (which owns Volvo) has made it clear they wanted common ownership of their premium brands," Wong said.
But after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington last week and the economic slump that followed, there was some doubt about making such a large investment at this time, Wong said.
"There were several opportunities when we could have walked away since last week," Wong said. "But this is a long-term deal and just means that the transition will be more difficult than we had anticipated."
Wong said he plans to begin hiring to increase the staff at the Ala Moana dealership, which had fallen in recent months as TheoDavies prepared to sell the franchise.
He also said the company plans to also expand its service staff. Jackson Auto Group had about 87 employees before the deal closed yesterday.
But Wong said the biggest change customers will see is that the company will begin selling Lincoln cars alongside Volvos. Jackson also sells Pontiacs, Mercurys and Isuzu automobiles.
"With this new dealership our sales will probably increase from $35 million to more than $55 million," Wong said.
TheoDavies is planning to build new dealerships for its Jaguar and Land Rover lines of automobiles, which could cost more than $3 million. Both of those car brands are also Ford subsidiaries.
"We hope to be finished with construction on those sites sometime in the first quarter of 2002," said Gary Wassel, president of Jardine Hawai'i Motors Holdings.
TheoDavies, a division of Jardine Hawai'i, had held the Ala Moana dealership since 1997 and still operates a call dealership at 818 Kapi'olani Blvd. and a Honda dealership in Hilo.
Reach Frank Cho at 525-8088 or at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com
