Viva & Fiesta Auto Group on Dec. 13 added the Toyota brand to its dealership portfolio and expanded its presence in Las Cruces, N.M.
Viva of El Paso, Texas, bought Vescovo Toyota in Las Cruces from George Vescovo, according to Kerrigan Advisors, a sell-side firm in Irvine, Calif., which represented the seller in the transaction.
The dealership was renamed Viva Toyota of Las Cruces. Las Cruces is in the southern part of New Mexico, just north of El Paso. The group also has a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat store in Las Cruces.
Vescovo has stayed on as general manager of the dealership, said Jamie Dick, president of Viva & Fiesta Auto Group.
Dick said the brand and location presented an attractive opportunity for his group.
“It’s just our first Toyota store and obviously Toyota’s a marquee brand,” he told Automotive News. “Las Cruces is just about 40 minutes away from our headquarters.”
Viva Auto Group, which has 16 new-vehicle franchises at dealerships in Texas and New Mexico, operates under the Fiesta brand name in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe markets, Dick said.
