Stellantis led the industry by adding 32 minority-owned stores to its U.S. dealership count in 2022, while General Motors gained 26, according to the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers.
The organization’s data shows the number of minority dealerships jumped by 110 last year, bringing the total to 1,476. That’s just shy of 9 percent of the 16,773 franchised dealerships in the U.S., according to the National Automobile Dealers Association’s 2022 NADA Data report. Automakers added more than 100 minority-owned stores for the second year in a row in 2022, after an increase of 109 in 2021.
The industry had not gained more than 100 minority stores in one year since 2012.
Ford Motor Co. had the third-largest increase last year with 19 stores, followed by 17 for Nissan Motor Co.
GM had the most minority stores at the end of 2022 with 329. Stellantis was No. 2 with 243. Ford followed with 213, then Toyota Motor North America with 120 and Nissan with 113.
Phil Langley, head of U.S. network development for Stellantis, praised the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, the Chrysler Minority Dealer Association and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition for their continued support of the company’s efforts to add minority dealers.
“We are proud of our current position as a leader in the industry, having the largest percentage of ethnic minority dealer owners and operators among the Tier 1 brands,” Langley said in a statement to Automotive News. “We’re always looking to grow our bench of candidates, so our work will persist on this important initiative, as our mission is to continue to improve network diversity and strive for Stellantis to be the OEM of choice.”
Damon Lester, vice chair of NAMAD, said the boost in minority-owned stores can be attributed to automakers’ stable leadership in recent years. Companies have exercised their right of first refusal in some cases to ensure minority candidates get opportunities to own dealerships, he added.
Minority dealership numbers continue to rebound from the 2008-09 recession. After reaching 1,805 in 2005, by 2011 the number had dropped to 875, according to NAMAD data.
“As leadership continues to stay stable, meaning the presidents and CEOs of these entities have not switched hands, or retirements or things like that, we do tend to fare well when that happens,” Lester told Automotive News.
He said Stellantis has aggressively sought ownership opportunities for minorities, and he credits the automaker’s dealer development efforts and the work of its diversity and inclusion chief Lottie Holland for creating a companywide focus on the issue.
Mitch Mitchell, executive director of the Chrysler Minority Dealers Association, said the organization’s partnership with Stellantis strengthens each year. He said the organization has a program that identifies and trains candidates through the National Automobile Dealers Association’s dealer academy.
“As the minority dealer association, obviously our job is to advocate for opportunities for minorities in our automotive retail space, and so to see that our OEM partner is making those opportunities a reality for minority candidates, that’s fantastic,” Mitchell said. “For us to lead the way, that’s an even greater feather in the cap to show that we’re definitely trying to do the right thing as far as ethnic diversity is concerned to put dealers in place to reflect the communities where our dealers sell and service vehicles and where customers buy those vehicles.”
Access to capital continues to be a major challenge for aspiring minority dealers, Mitchell said, while franchise opportunities are getting more expensive as well. One of the goals now is to ensure that Stellantis can maintain the gains it’s making, he said.
Over time, minority dealers may retire and end up selling their stores to non-minorities, which hurts the numbers in the long run. However, as attrition slows, the minority dealer count has held firm, Lester said.
“A big thing that’s on our radar screen is making certain that we hold on to the existing franchises that we have while we’re trying to gain more,” Mitchell said. “Because if we don’t, it’s going to be like running on a treadmill if we’re getting more but we’re losing more out the back door.”
GM was the first automaker to formally launch a minority dealer program in 1972. In the past, the company has said that its minority dealers, which include African American, Asian, Hispanic and Native American retailers, are among the most successful in its network.
“GM is very proud of our accomplishments with the Minority Dealer Development Program,” Tia Hardman, director of dealer diversity relations for GM, said in a statement to Automotive News. “We are dedicated to growing a performance driven, customer-focused and profitable dealer network by attracting highly qualified minority dealer candidates to ensure that our retailers reflect the communities and the customers that we serve.”
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