#1 Cochran Automotive buys first dealerships outside of Pa., acquires first Honda store

Cochran said he had a long-standing relationship with the Sweeney family including Blackann and her father, Doug Sweeney.

“There was a contact and kind of a, ‘What are you guys thinking about?’ After a few discussions we realized that there were a lot of similarities between the way they operate and what’s important to them and what’s important to us,” he said. “We think the marriage is going to be a good one.”

The Ohio acquisitions followed a fourth-quarter purchase in 2022 for #1 Cochran.

On Oct. 24 #1 Cochran bought Thomas Team Honda in Johnstown, Pa., from Thomas Automotive and one undisclosed minority partner, Thomas Automotive CEO Mark Thomas said in an email to Automotive News.

“Thomas Team Honda was unique among the Thomas dealerships in that we did not own the real estate,” Thomas said in a statement. “For us, the opportunity to sell arose at a time when our building lease was up for renewal.”

It marks the first Honda store for #1 Cochran, Cochran said. The dealership was renamed #1 Cochran Honda Johnstown.

“We’ve been seeking an opportunity for some time,” Cochran said of Honda. “This came up and we ventured a little bit east of where we’ve historically been into Johnstown.”

Cochran said this is the group’s first store in Johnstown, which is east of Pittsburgh and southwest of Altoona and State College.

The Honda acquisition was the group’s first since it bought a Ford store in March 2022, Cochran said. That acquisition was #1 Cochran’s first acquisition in more than three years.

#1 Cochran ranks No. 61 on Automotive News‘ most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 14,195 new-vehicles in 2021.