More than 12 years after startup Carvana sold its first used vehicle at the High Museum of Art, the company is dabbling in selling new vehicles to Atlanta area residents.
Arizona-based Carvana recently purchased a Stellantis dealership in Union City, expanding the company’s sellable inventory beyond the tens of thousands of used cars on its digital platform. The dealership at 3950 Jonesboro Road offers new Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram models.
Carvana began to add traditional dealerships to its portfolio in February, acquiring a Stellantis lot in Casa Grande, Arizona. The company then bought similar dealerships in Dallas and San Diego before making Atlanta its fourth new vehicle market.
“We look forward to bringing exceptional Carvana experiences to Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram customers across the Atlanta area, a community that has been part of our story since the very beginning,” a Carvana spokesperson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement.
Credit: Courtesy of Carvana
Credit: Courtesy of Carvana
The dealership’s new vehicle inventory is accessible to Atlanta-area customers on Carvana’s website and available for home delivery, just like the company’s used car offerings. Dealership pickup is also an option.
An affiliate of Arizona-based Carvana paid about $13.1 million to acquire the Union City dealership in a sale that closed Dec. 4, according to Fulton County property records.
The seller was Taseer Badar, CEO of Texas-based ZT Automotive, which operated the dealership as South Atlanta Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat. It will now be known as Carvana Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Atlanta.
“We’re pleased that our friends at Carvana recognized the value we’ve created and saw strategic potential in this dealership,” Badar said in a statement.
Founded in 2014, ZT Automotive owns dealerships across Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Texas. Badar said the sale is part of an “ongoing portfolio optimization” and does not change his company’s broader strategy for its other dealerships.
“ZT Automotive is in expansion mode and actively looking for opportunities not only in our current markets but in new regions as well,” he said. “The Southeast continues to be a priority region for us.”
Carvana, with its prominent car elevator along the Downtown Connector, has made Georgia one of its largest employment hubs. But there have been bumps in the road.
Credit: Courtesy of Carvana
Credit: Courtesy of Carvana
The company in February 2022 announced it would add 3,500 workers to the Atlanta area and occupy a glitzy office tower in Dunwoody called Park Center 1. Carvana already employed about 1,500 Georgia workers at the time.
But the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on in-office work coupled with Carvana’s financial struggles at the time scuttled the deal. Carvana found itself squeezed by rising interest rates and the need to restructure debt and also faced layoffs.
Reports in April 2023 confirmed the office project was canceled, and Carvana has not disclosed how many of its expected metro Atlanta hires took place.
Carvana, however, has seen its financial situation and stock rebound since 2023. After bottoming out at about $4 a share in late 2022, Carvana’s stock closed Friday near an all-time high at more than $455 a share.
The turnaround has spurred various Georgia expansions. The company announced in January it would hire 200 people and expand a wholesale vehicle lot in Fairburn into what it calls a “megasite,” incorporating vehicle reconditioning services.
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