Growing Randy Marion Automotive Group bought four North Carolina dealerships in two separate first-quarter transactions to expand its portfolio in the state. Randy Marion Automotive in Mooresville, NC, on March 6 bought Gerry Wood Dodge of Salisbury, which also sells Chrysler, Jeep and Ram vehicles; Gerry Wood Honda; and Gerry Wood Kia from Gerry Wood, according to Randy Marion Automotive COO DJ Heller. The dealerships, all in Salisbury, NC, were renamed Randy Marion Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram of Salisbury, Randy Marion Honda and Randy Marion Kia. Salisbury is northeast of Charlotte. Honda and Kia are both new brands for the group, Heller said.…

Germany for decades led on well-engineered combustion cars. It’s now facing a watershed year in the quest to retain an edge in the age of electric vehicles. Europe’s biggest economy is under growing pressure to retool dozens of fossil fuel-era factories employing tens of thousands of workers in a race for clean-technology leadership with the US and China. Volkswagen Group, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are rolling out several new battery-powered models in the coming months that will be pivotal to proving they can finally start to narrow the gap to Tesla and China’s BYD, the two clear leaders in EV sales.…