Riley to sell dealerships to Columbia’s Drewing group
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Riley family is selling its car dealerships to the Columbia-based company known for its ties to the Joe Machens brand.
Riley Auto Group will sell Riley Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac, Riley Toyota and Riley Collision Center to Drewing Automotive Group, the company said in a news release. The deal is expected to close in December.
The Jefferson City-based Riley group was founded in 1936.
“I have the utmost respect for what the Riley organization has done, they have embodied the spirit of how a dealership should be run and operated," Rusty Drewing of Drewing Automotive said in the release. "What Kevin, Mike and Carey Riley have done has been nothing short of exceptional. I love the dealerships, the way they run them, the hometown feel and we will continue to support everything locally."
Riley Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac was hit by a tornado in 2019, causing significant damage. The company celebrated the reopening of its building in June this year.
The Drewing group started with the founding of Joe Machens Ford in Columbia in 1983 and took on its current iteration when it sold eight of its 10 Joe Machens dealerships to McLarty Automotive Group in 2015, according to the release.
Current employees will keep their jobs, the news release says. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Riley dealerships will be renamed Rusty Drewing Toyota and Rusty Drewing Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac.