Lemoore
- A public notice announcing a bulk sale of assets of Bob Williams Chevrolet
in Lemoore to General Motors has fueled speculation that the city's only new
car dealership will soon close.
The sale is to take place Sept. 4 and the legal notice indicates “Certain assets used or useful in the operation of a Chevrolet car and/or truck dealership are located at 1356 West Iona Ave. in Lemoore.”
Attempts to contact Bob Williams were unsuccessful, although it was learned employees have been led to believe the dealership was closing and that layoffs were eminent.
Rick Sitek, GM dealer support regional manager in Thousand Oaks, whose name appears on the “Bulk Sale” notice, said he was not aware of the sale, asking the Voice to fax him a copy of the public notice. He later said he could not comment and that any comment would have to come from the dealer who was unavailable at press time.
Officials with the Kings County Economic Development Corporation said they were not aware of the dealership closing, but had also heard the rumors.
In April, the Lemoore City Council, acting as the city's Redevelopment Agency, approved a $465,325 line of credit to the Kings EDC which was used for a $250,000 business assistance loan to Bob Williams Chevrolet, one of Lemoore's top 25 sales tax revenue generating businesses. In making the latest loan, it was noted the dealership had already repaid two previous loans.
Lemoore City Manager Jeff Briltz said if the dealership closed, it would be a huge blow to the community.
“Their loss would be really significant,” Briltz said, noting it would go beyond simple economics. He said city revenues would be hurt, as well as a number of jobs lost in the city. Beyond that, the closure means people would have to travel out of town to purchase a new vehicle get parts or repairs. He said he was not concerned with the loan, saying he is confident the city will be repaid.
Bob Williams Chevrolet sells Chevrolet cars and trucks.
Auto dealers in California have seen sales of new cars and light trucks plummet by more than 18 percent in the first half of the year, according to figures from the California New Car Dealers Assn. That's compared with a nationwide drop of 10 percent. Not counting sales to corporate and government fleets, California dealers sold 634,577 cars, SUVs, pickup and minivans through June, versus 779,778 in the same period last year.
Sales are even worst for the Big Three U.S. companies. Domestic brand market share in California was 33.8 percent versus 47.8 percent in the nation.
Chevrolet sales were off even more. In California, Chevy sales were off 36 percent over the first quarter of last year with only 29,470 units sold statewide.
Although numbers are not available, there have been many dealership closings in the state the past several months. In the Sacramento area, six dealerships have closed this year. GM said it has closed about 600 dealerships in the U.S. over the past two to three years. The company announced a few years ago a move to consolidate dealerships.
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