Auto Dealers in State See 6.3% Gain in Revenue : Economy: But fewer California dealerships are among the nation’s top 500 as 5% of total go out of business.

Despite a weak state economy, California’s major auto dealers saw their gross revenue jump a healthy 6.3% last year to $4.5 billion, according to Auto Age Dealer Business magazine.

But fewer of the state’s auto retailers made the trade magazine’s list of the nation’s 500 largest new car dealers based on 1992 sales of new and used cars, parts, service, financing and body repairs. And the higher sales of those that did came at the expense of the hundreds of smaller, less financially stable dealerships, industry sources said.

At the end of 1992, California had about 1,750 new car dealers, down 5% from 1,845 a year earlier, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which licenses dealers.

Casualties have been greatest in Southern California, where a three-year recession has cut deeply into consumers’ disposable income. The Auto Age listing, compiled from data supplied by the dealers, graphically details the hit California’s auto retailing industry took last year.

There are 10 fewer California dealers on the list--86 versus 96 in 1991--and the rankings of about half of those that remain plummeted dramatically as dealers from states with healthier economies forged ahead.

“The rest of the country has started coming out of the recession, and that’s what let them show sales increases,” said Jay Gorman, executive vice president of the California Motor Car Dealers Assn. in Playa del Rey.

“California still is in a deep recession, and I have not seen any indication that it will be any better this year. In all likelihood, it will be worse, with all the layoffs being announced in aerospace, defense and now the military (base closures). That’s a lot of people who won’t be buying new cars in California this year.”

In California, 25 of the 86 dealers on the list sold fewer new cars in 1992; 14 said their total gross incomes slipped below the year-ago level.

One of those was Longo Toyota in El Monte, perennially the nation’s largest dealership.

Longo retained its first-place ranking in 1992, but said it sold 1,241 fewer new cars than a year before and reported a 2.2% drop in gross revenue to $255.6 million. Longo’s 13,432 new car sales last year grossed $199.8 million, down from $208.8 million for 14,673 new cars sold in 1991.

Greg Penske, Longo’s general manager, said that while overall sales were lower the dealership’s used car sales, net profit and market share all increased.

“Our market share among the 74 Toyota dealers from L.A. to San Diego went up. And our used vehicle sales went up 61 units, which helped our profits,” Penske said. “In a tougher market, we did better, with 11.9% of Toyota’s sales in the region,” up from 11.8% in 1991.

In addition to the downward direction of California sales, the Auto Age report underscored the state’s continuing love affair with foreign automobiles. Forty-eight of the California dealers on the magazine’s list were European and Japanese car dealers--56% of the total. Nationally, foreign brands accounted for just a quarter of the 500 biggest dealerships.

The most common franchise on the list was Ford, with 155 dealers (28 in California), followed by Chevrolet, with 125 dealers (five in California). All Japanese brands combined accounted for 123 dealerships. Of the two European auto makers, Mercedes Benz had 14 dealers on the list and BMW had two.

Both of the BMW dealers are in California--one is in Orange County--as were eight of the Mercedes dealerships, including three in Los Angeles County and two in Orange County. Japanese auto makers had 37 California dealerships in the top 500; Toyota lead with 21.

The Top 10

Ten of the 86 top automobile dealerships in the state are located in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to a 1992 list compiled by Auto Age Dealer Business magazine. The dealerships were ranked by total revenue from the retail sales of new and used cars, and parts and service. Revenue in millions of dollars; cars sold are a combination of new and used, in units sold:

1992 Dealership, City Rank Revenue Cars sold Longo Toyota, El Monte 1 $255.6 16,175 Galpin Ford, Sepulveda 3 187.8 10,190 House of Imports, Mercedes, Buena Park 5 126.8 2,152 Don Kott Ford, Carson 6 124.6 5,626 Norm Reeves Honda, Cerritos 9 120.7 7,535 Toyota of Cerritos 18 105.1 5,847 Downtown LA Motors 30 92.3 1,765 Fletcher Jones Mercedes, Newport Beach 34 90.3 1,526 Toyota of Orange 45 84.9 5,225 Longo Lexus, Cerritos 47 83.9 2,425

1991 Dealership, City Rank Revenue Cars sold Longo Toyota, El Monte 1 $261.3 17,355 Galpin Ford, Sepulveda 3 145.0 8,198 House of Imports, Mercedes 5 120.1 2,246 Don Kott Ford, Carson 6 109.9 5,876 Norm Reeves Honda, Cerritos 4 128.5 8,738 Toyota of Cerritos 45 69.7 4,308 Downtown LA Motors 18 82.1 1,782 Fletcher Jones Mercedes, Newport Beach N/A N/A N/A Toyota of Orange 23 79.6 5,786 Longo Lexus, Cerritos 107 57.3 1,610

Source: Auto Age Dealer Business magazine; Researched by JOHN O’DELL / Los Angeles Times