Knight Automotive Group of western Canada buys two California Ford dealerships

Western Canada's Knight Automotive Group entered the United States last month, buying two Ford dealerships in California.

Kevin Knight and Knight Automotive on Dec. 9 bought Sunrise Ford Fontana and Sunrise Ford North Hollywood, both in California, from the Bruncati family, according to Performance Brokerage Services, an Irvine, Calif., buy-sell firm that handled the transaction.

"We have always had an interest in expanding to the U.S.," Braeden Mueller, vice president of Knight Automotive, wrote in an email to Automotive News. "We wanted to find the right fit for our business model and were patient in pursuing the right acquisition."

Knight Automotive is among several Canadian dealership groups that have headed south for dealership purchases in recent years. Foundation Automotive Corp. of Calgary, Alberta, for example, has grown considerably in the United States since buying its first dealerships here in 2019.

Mueller said he has had a long relationship with Jason Stopnitzky, co-founder of Performance Brokerage Services, and he told Knight Automotive that the California Ford stores were available.

"We currently have a Ford dealership in Canada, so when the opportunity to own two Ford stores in California that were both legacy and high-performing stores came forward, it was a natural attraction to try and put a deal together," Mueller said.

Mueller said Knight Automotive has 14 dealerships in Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The U.S. dealerships will retain their names.

Knight Automotive was founded more than 40 years ago by the late Ted Knight, Performance Brokerage said. The company now is led by Ted's son, Kevin, who is president.

Mueller said Knight Automotive is looking to continue to grow in the United States.

"We are always actively looking," he said.

Bob Bruncati and his wife, Maureen Bruncati, launched Sunrise Ford of Fontana in 1991 and bought Sunrise Ford of North Hollywood in 1996, according to Performance Brokerage. The Bruncatis' three sons — James, Dan and Tony — had taken over the business and were managing daily operations, according to Performance Brokerage.

James Bruncati, one of the former owners of the dealerships, in a statement said Performance helped to find them a buyer "that fit very well with the culture we built. Kevin Knight and Braeden Mueller from Knight Automotive were a pleasure to deal with and I feel they will do extremely well in the future."