Scott Biehl, owner of Mercedes-Benz of Fresno, has partnered with two investors to purchase Los Angeles-based Hornburg Jaguar Land Rover for a reported $21.65 million.

A Fresno auto dealer has entered a new venture that spearheaded the recent acquisition of a Southern California Jaguar Land Rover dealership.

Triunity Automotive Group is a Fresno-based corporation that came about after a business broker introduced Scott Biehl, dealer principal of Mercedes Benz of Fresno, with a pair of heavy hitting investors. Together they have acquired Hornburg Jaguar Land Rover Los Angeles from Pendragon North America Automotive, a British auto dealership group.

The purchase price for the dealership — now known as Jaguar Land Rover Los Angeles (JLR LA) — was a reported 15.8 million British pounds, or $21.65 million given the current exchange rate.

With 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, Biehl is CEO and dealer principal of Triunity. His partners and co-chairmen — Michael McKee and Rich Lavin — have more than five decades worth of business experience between them. This includes McKee’s work as CEO, CFO and vice chairman of Orange County real estate development giant Irvine Co. As for Lavin, he has 28 years of work at Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, Illinois, as a supervisor of its $20 billion growth market division.

Jaguar Land Rover Los Angeles will continue to operate at its Sunset Boulevard location until relocating to a new, nearly 100,000 square-foot facility on La Brea Avenue as early as March 2021.

Pendragon has been in the process of selling off its U.S. dealerships. Last month, Nelson Group Automotive — the owners of the Selma Auto Mall — also purchased a Jaguar and Volvo dealership in Monterey.

In a news release, Biehl said the dealership currently ranks in the top 10 in sales among U.S. Jaguar Land Rover dealerships. It also has a legacy that made it an attractive acquisition.

“The Hornburg store is a heritage dealership with a 70+ year history in Los Angeles and we intend on making a little history of our own,” Biehl said. “This community has a love affair with their cars, and judging by how often you see Jaguars and Range Rovers in all the places that define the best of LA, we’re committed to a definitive customer experience to match, even if you’ve purchased or have been servicing your vehicle elsewhere.”

Brady Schmidt and Gary Mull of National Business Brokers represented both buyer and seller.

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For more information, including Triunity’s plans for the Fresno area, see the front-page story in the Jan. 29 print edition of The Business Journal.