Carter Myers Automotive moves into Maryland with Toyota and Hyundai acquisitions

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Carter Myers Automotive in October acquired Toyota and Hyundai dealerships in Maryland.

The acquisitions were strategic, Liza Borches, president and CEO of Carter Myers Automotive, told WardsAuto in a Zoom interview. “There was a real purpose for us to go into that market,” she said.

They are the dealership group’s first acquisitions in Maryland, but the Virginia-based CMA had already begun building a dealership there after being awarded an open point by American Honda.

The business likes to have three-to-five stores in each market to allow for career growth for its employees without having to relocate, she said.

That number of dealerships also creates economies of scale for used cars, reconditioning operations and back office functions such as marketing and accounting, Borches said.

Rolling on day one

The Honda dealership is due to open in 2026. With that in mind, CMA started talking with other dealers in Lexington Park. They discovered Peter D’Arista — the owner of the Toyota and Hyundai dealerships — and his general manager, who was a minority owner, were looking to retire after 30 years.

D’Arista wanted a buyer who would take care of his team and continue to support the community. CMA fits that description.

For CMA, the timing is perfect. It allows the group to become involved with the Lexington Park community before the Honda dealership opens, Borches said.

CMA plans to initially keep all of the employees at the Toyota and Hyundai dealerships, as is its policy. Some of them may be promoted over to the Honda store, Borches says.

The group can also begin hiring service technicians and sales staff before the Honda store opens and use the two just-acquired dealerships as a training ground “so that when the Honda store is ready to open, we can get rolling on day one,” Borches said.

Image ready advantage

Manufacturers have been showing their new facility images to dealers more frequently in recent times, Borches said. She sees that as a sign.

“I think we’re going to see more OEMs that, as an acquisition happens, are going to require the brand-new look,” she said.

But renovations, or building completely new facilities, are expensive and time-consuming. So, the fact that the Toyota and Hyundai dealerships in Lexington Park were both image compliant made them very attractive, Borches said.

“One of the most important things about this acquisition,” Borches said, “was we do not have to build or renovate any facilities.”

CMA also has an executive ready to take over management of all three Lexington Park dealerships. They had already hired John Osborne with the idea that he would become manager of the Honda store.

His family was looking to move to the East Coast, and he had opened a Toyota store, among other relevant experiences, Borches said. Osborne is now executive manager of the two Lexington Park stores and will add the Honda store when it opens.

“He was a perfect fit for CMA,” Borches said. “We were a year early but when you find a great person and leader, you make a place for him.”

Concentric circle expansion

CMA continues to grow in a circle that keeps growing further out from its headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia. It now owns dealerships in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. These were its first Maryland stores.

“We just keep finding opportunities that are slightly expanding our circle but are still easy for us to access,” Borches said.

The company aims to stay in the mid-Atlantic region as they continue to grow, Borches said. CMA isn’t a big player in the luxury space because it likes smaller communities, she said.

It wants to continue to grow in the non-luxury, higher-volume brands, Borches said, and to stick to smaller cities and towns.

Lexington Park, the town in Maryland where the dealerships are located, has a population of around 13,000. “We aren’t looking to grow in Metro areas,” said Borches.

CMA prefers such smaller cities, where “people matter, relationships matter, and community is real,” she said. “Where you’re gonna see your customers at the restaurant at night, or at the soccer field, or at church.

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