Walser Automotive Group Expands Through Major Acquisition
Walser Automotive Group has completed the largest acquisition in the company’s history, expanding its dealership network through the purchase of Freeway Ford, Metropolitan Ford, and Suburban Chevrolet. The transaction adds nearly 300 employees to Walser’s organization and further strengthens the company’s presence across the Twin Cities automotive market.
The three dealerships were previously owned by the Grossman family, a longstanding Minnesota automotive dealership family. With the completion of the transaction, the stores move from one established Minnesota automotive family to another, creating a significant transition within the state’s automotive retail industry.
The acquisition gives Walser an opportunity to expand its franchise portfolio while building on the operations, employees, customer relationships, and community connections already established at the three dealerships. For Walser, the deal represents both a major expansion of its physical retail footprint and another step in its long-term strategy of growing its automotive business in markets where it has an established presence.
Andrew Walser, CEO of Walser Automotive Group, said the company saw strong alignment between its organization and the dealerships acquired from the Grossman family. He emphasized the value of established dealership operations, experienced employees, and familiarity with the Twin Cities market.
“It is rare to find this kind of alignment with established dealerships, great teams, and a market we know well. Bringing them in is a meaningful investment in the Twin Cities and in Walser’s long-term future,” Walser said.
Expanding Walser’s Twin Cities Presence
The acquisition adds three dealerships to Walser Automotive Group’s portfolio, bringing the company’s total network to 35 rooftops. The transaction provides Walser with additional representation in key Twin Cities communities and expands its relationships with customers across several automotive brands.
Freeway Ford, located in Bloomington, and Metropolitan Ford, located in Eden Prairie, return Ford franchises to Walser’s portfolio. The company has a long history with the Ford brand, making the acquisition particularly significant from a franchise perspective.
Walser’s relationship with Ford dates back decades. Towns Edge Ford in Hopkins became one of the company’s earliest franchise acquisitions when it opened in 1968. However, Ford had not been part of Walser’s franchise portfolio for approximately two decades.
The acquisition of Freeway Ford and Metropolitan Ford therefore marks the return of Ford dealerships to Walser’s retail network after a 20-year absence.
The addition of two Ford dealerships gives Walser an opportunity to reestablish its presence with one of the world’s best-known automotive manufacturers while leveraging its existing knowledge of the Twin Cities market. It also provides the company with a larger platform from which to serve customers shopping for Ford vehicles across the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area.
Chevrolet Footprint Expands Into Southwest Metro
Alongside the two Ford dealerships, Walser has acquired Suburban Chevrolet in Eden Prairie. The addition expands the company’s Chevrolet presence beyond its existing location in White Bear Lake and gives Walser a stronger position in the southwest portion of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Chevrolet represents another important franchise for automotive retailers because of its broad vehicle lineup, which includes passenger vehicles, SUVs, pickup trucks, and commercial products. By adding Suburban Chevrolet, Walser can broaden its geographic reach within the Chevrolet retail network while establishing another dealership location in a major Twin Cities community.
The combination of the Ford and Chevrolet dealerships also adds greater brand diversity to Walser’s overall retail operation. Customers in different parts of the metropolitan area will have access to Walser-operated dealerships representing multiple major automotive manufacturers.
Nearly 300 Employees Join Walser
One of the most significant aspects of the acquisition is its impact on employees. Nearly 300 employees from Freeway Ford, Metropolitan Ford, and Suburban Chevrolet will join the Walser Automotive Group organization as part of the transaction.
The addition of these employees represents a substantial increase in Walser’s workforce and brings experienced automotive retail professionals into the organization. Dealership employees typically have deep knowledge of their local markets, customers, vehicle brands, service operations, parts departments, sales processes, and community relationships.
Walser has emphasized that preserving and building on those relationships is a central objective following the acquisition.
The company said it has tremendous respect for what the Grossman family and dealership employees have built over the years. As another family-owned automotive business, Walser said it understands the importance of long-standing relationships between dealership employees, customers, manufacturers, and local communities.
“We have tremendous respect for what the Grossmans and their employees have built. As a family-owned business ourselves, we understand how much those relationships matter. Our goal is to build on that foundation, take care of our employees, and provide the customer experience we are known for,” Walser said.
The comments reflect an emphasis on continuity as the three dealerships become part of Walser’s broader organization. Rather than treating the acquisition solely as an expansion of physical locations, the company is positioning the transaction as an opportunity to integrate established teams and continue serving customers within the communities where the dealerships have operated.
Two Minnesota Automotive Families
The transaction has particular significance because both organizations have deep roots in Minnesota’s automotive industry.
The Grossman family has operated dealerships in the Twin Cities for many years, developing the three acquired stores and establishing relationships with employees and customers. Walser Automotive Group also has a long history in Minnesota, with roots extending back more than 70 years.
The transfer of the three dealerships from one Minnesota automotive family to another creates continuity within the state’s dealership community. It also allows Walser to expand its organization through businesses that already have established operations and local recognition.
Family ownership remains an important part of the U.S. automotive dealership industry, where many dealership groups have grown over multiple generations. Such businesses often place significant emphasis on employee relationships, customer loyalty, local community involvement, and long-term investment.
Walser’s acquisition reflects this broader structure of the automotive retail market while giving the company additional scale.
A Major Milestone in Walser’s Growth
Walser Automotive Group began as a single dealership and has expanded over more than seven decades into a large automotive retail organization. The company now operates 35 dealership rooftops following completion of the transaction.
The acquisition represents a major milestone in that growth trajectory. Adding three dealerships in a single transaction significantly increases the scale of Walser’s operations and reinforces its presence in its home market.
The Twin Cities remain strategically important to Walser because of the company’s longstanding history in the region. Operating multiple dealerships across the metropolitan area provides opportunities to serve customers in different communities while building on the company’s existing infrastructure and market knowledge.
The addition of Freeway Ford, Metropolitan Ford, and Suburban Chevrolet also gives Walser the ability to expand its relationships with vehicle manufacturers and customers without entering an unfamiliar market.
For automotive dealer groups, acquisitions can provide opportunities to achieve greater operating scale, broaden brand representation, and expand geographic coverage. At the same time, successful integration requires maintaining dealership operations, employee engagement, customer service, and manufacturer relationships.
Walser’s stated approach is to build on the foundations established by the Grossman family while integrating the dealerships into the company’s broader organization.
Strengthening Long-Term Investment in the Twin Cities
Walser described the transaction as a meaningful investment in the Twin Cities and in the company’s future. The acquisition increases Walser’s physical presence in Bloomington and Eden Prairie while adding another Chevrolet dealership to its network and bringing Ford back into its franchise portfolio.
The company’s emphasis on long-term investment also reflects the importance of the Twin Cities to its history. Walser has spent decades developing its operations in Minnesota, and the latest transaction allows the company to deepen its presence in the market rather than expanding exclusively into new geographic regions.
The acquisition also provides Walser with established facilities, employees, customer relationships, and dealership operations. These assets can serve as a foundation for continued development under Walser ownership.
As the automotive retail industry continues to evolve, dealership groups are increasingly focused on combining traditional retail operations with digital sales capabilities, customer experience initiatives, service operations, parts businesses, and other areas of automotive commerce. A larger dealership network can provide additional resources to support these activities while allowing companies to share operational expertise across locations.
Continued Focus on Employees and Customers
Walser’s leadership has placed particular emphasis on employees and customers as the three dealerships transition into the organization. The company’s comments indicate that maintaining the strengths of the acquired stores will be an important part of the integration process.
For customers, the transition brings the dealerships under the Walser brand while retaining their established locations and local market presence. For employees, joining a 35-rooftop automotive group provides access to a larger organization while preserving the experience and relationships developed within their existing dealerships.
The company’s approach is consistent with its broader description of itself as a family-owned automotive business. Walser has highlighted its long-term commitment to employees and communities throughout its history.
The addition of nearly 300 employees makes workforce integration one of the most important elements of the acquisition. Their experience and knowledge of the three dealerships will be valuable as Walser works to combine the operations while continuing to serve customers.
Ford Returns After Two Decades
The return of Ford to Walser’s franchise portfolio is one of the defining elements of the transaction.
Walser’s relationship with Ford dates to the company’s early years, when Towns Edge Ford in Hopkins opened in 1968. After Ford was absent from Walser’s portfolio for approximately 20 years, Freeway Ford and Metropolitan Ford restore the brand to the company’s dealership network.
The two dealerships also provide Walser with a presence in Bloomington and Eden Prairie, two important Twin Cities communities. Their addition complements Walser’s existing dealership operations and creates opportunities to develop a larger Ford customer base within the region.
With the acquisition now completed, Walser Automotive Group enters its next phase of growth with three additional dealerships, nearly 300 new employees, and an expanded presence across the Twin Cities.
The transaction brings together two established Minnesota automotive families and combines their respective dealership histories under Walser ownership. It also represents a return to the Ford franchise for Walser while expanding the company’s Chevrolet operations into southwest metro markets.
For Walser, the acquisition is more than an increase in dealership count. It represents a significant investment in its home market and a continuation of a growth strategy that has transformed the company from a single Minnesota dealership into a 35-rooftop automotive retail group.
As the newly acquired dealerships move forward under Walser ownership, the company will focus on integrating its new teams, maintaining customer relationships, and building on the foundations established by the Grossman family.
The completion of the transaction marks one of the most significant milestones in Walser Automotive Group’s more than 70-year history and establishes a larger platform for the company’s continued development in Minnesota’s competitive automotive retail market.
Source LInk:https://www.businesswire.com/
