A small Southeast-based automotive group bought a Southern California Subaru dealership with the goal of making it the best-selling U.S. store for the Japanese brand.

Sutherlin Automotive Group bought the former McKenna Subaru from McKenna Automotive Group, adding the Orange County store to its small stable in what it expects to be the first of multiple California acquisitions. The Huntington Beach store sits just south of Los Angeles. Sutherlin is also seeking dealerships in Utah, as well in Southeast states. 

McKenna Subaru – rebranded as Sutherlin Subaru Huntington Beach – is the group’s fourth dealership. It also has a Subaru store near Knoxville, Tenn., and a dual Toyota and Lexus dealership in Montgomery, Ala.

Group owner and CEO Brett Sutherlin said he plans to double the Huntington Beach Subaru’s parts and service department to make it one of the state’s largest, and to add more than 75 jobs across the dealership.

"This is more than an acquisition — it's a statement of intent," he said in a press release issued by Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, which advised the group in the purchase.

"Southern California is the most powerful car market in the country — and Huntington Beach offers both the scale and the potential to redefine what a Subaru dealership can be. We didn't come here to participate,” Sutherlin said. “We came here to lead — and we will make this the #1 Subaru dealership in America.”

The store sits on seven acres in one of the busiest auto markets in the country. Sutherlin plans to relocate to the area to head group operations from the dealership, whose operations will be led by Eric Brower, who most recently managed the group’s Tennessee Subaru store.

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