Benson Automotive Group

What Benson Automotive Group does

Benson Automotive Group is a privately held multi-brand automotive dealership group founded in 1982 by Tom Benson with Best Chevrolet in Kenner, Louisiana. Since 2012, the group has been owned by Gayle Benson, who also owns the NFL's New Orleans Saints and the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans. The group operates eight franchise dealerships across Southeast Louisiana (Greater New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner) and South Mississippi (D'Iberville), representing Cadillac, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz across three locations, INFINITI, Volkswagen, and Porsche. Each franchise operates as a separately branded sub-dealership with its own showroom, sales, service, and parts operations.

The group's core products and services span the full vehicle ownership lifecycle: new vehicle sales, used and certified pre-owned sales (155+ CPO units, 586+ used units), manufacturer-certified service and maintenance, genuine OEM parts, collision and body shop repair, in-house financing and leasing, and trade-in acquisition through the 'Benson Buys Cars' program. The technology stack is centered on the DealerInspire dealer website platform with inventory search and filtering, online financing applications, a payment calculator, trade-in valuation, and service scheduling. Inventory data feeds integrate with Cars Commerce (Cars.com) and CARFAX for vehicle history reporting, with ComplyAuto handling website privacy compliance.

The business model is a traditional B2C and B2B dealership model: one-time revenue from vehicle sales (new, used, certified pre-owned) across premium and mainstream brands; recurring revenue from service, maintenance, and parts departments; commission revenue from F&I products through the finance center; and transaction revenue from collision repair and trade-in acquisitions. Distribution is anchored in physical showrooms, with digital channels used for lead generation, financing applications, and service scheduling but not for direct vehicle delivery. Customer concentration is low, with individual consumers as the primary segment and commercial fleet operators (via the Mercedes-Benz Van Center) as a secondary segment.

Name

Benson Automotive Group

Legal name

Benson Automotive Group

Website

https://bensonautogroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Benson Automotive Group is a privately held multi-brand automotive dealership group operating eight franchise rooftops across Louisiana and South Mississippi. Owned by Gayle Benson since 2012, it sells new, used, and certified pre-owned vehicles from Cadillac, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, INFINITI, Volkswagen, and Porsche alongside service, parts, body shop, and finance operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Vehicle Sales: One-time transaction revenue from sales of new, certified pre-owned, and used vehicles across multiple franchise brands (Cadillac, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, INFINITI, Volkswagen, Porsche).
2. Service and Maintenance: Recurring revenue from vehicle service departments offering oil changes, tire rotations, brake pad replacements, transmission repairs, and other maintenance services.
3. Parts Sales: Revenue from selling genuine OEM parts for DIY maintenance and repairs, accessories, and components for vehicles serviced at dealerships.
4. Body Shop Services: Collision repair, custom paint jobs, and comprehensive bodywork services for vehicle damage repair.
5. Financing and Insurance Products: Commission revenue from facilitating vehicle financing, lease plans, and potentially extended warranties or insurance products through finance department partnerships.
6. Trade-In Vehicle Acquisition: Acquisition of customer trade-in vehicles for resale through 'Benson Buys Cars' program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Benson Automotive Group is a multi-brand automotive dealership group that sells new, used, and certified pre-owned vehicles across eight franchised locations in Louisiana and South Mississippi, representing Cadillac, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz (passenger and commercial Sprinter vans), INFINITI, Volkswagen, and Porsche. Beyond vehicle sales, it operates manufacturer-authorized service and maintenance departments, genuine OEM parts counters, collision/body shop facilities, and in-house finance centers offering financing, leasing, and trade-in acquisition through the Benson Buys Cars program.

Product overview

Benson Automotive Group is a multi-brand automotive dealership group operating eight dealership locations across Louisiana and South Mississippi. The group functions as a unified platform offering new vehicle sales, used and certified pre-owned vehicle sales, professional service and maintenance, genuine OEM parts, collision/body shop services, and in-house financing. The portfolio includes luxury brands (Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Porsche, INFINITI) and mainstream brands (Chevrolet, Volkswagen) through separately branded sub-dealerships: Mercedes-Benz of New Orleans, Mercedes-Benz Van Center of New Orleans, Cadillac of New Orleans, Best Chevrolet, INFINITI of South Mississippi, Mercedes-Benz of South Mississippi, Volkswagen of South Mississippi, and Porsche New Orleans. Additional digital products include a payment calculator, online trade-in valuation tool, and service scheduling capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Vehicle Sales
• Used Vehicle Sales
• Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles
• Vehicle Service and Maintenance
• OEM Parts Sales
• Body Shop and Collision Repair
• Vehicle Financing and Leasing
• Benson Buys Cars Trade-In Program

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cadillac (General Motors)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFranchise dealership agreement for Cadillac of New Orleans located at 3100 Lime St, Metairie, LA 70006. Sells new and certified pre-owned Cadillac vehicles with associated service, parts, and body shop services.
• Chevrolet (General Motors)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFranchise dealership for Best Chevrolet at 2600 Veterans Memorial Boulevard, Kenner, LA 70062. Founded by Mr. Tom Benson in 1982. Offers new, certified pre-owned, and used Chevrolet vehicles including Silverado trucks, Traverse, Equinox EV, and Bolt EV.
• Mercedes-Benz (Daimler AG)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThree Mercedes-Benz franchise locations: Mercedes-Benz of New Orleans (3727 Veterans Blvd, Metairie), Mercedes-Benz of South Mississippi (D'Iberville), and Mercedes-Benz Van Center of New Orleans (1741 Poydras St). Sells passenger cars, SUVs, and commercial Sprinter vans.
• Porsche (Volkswagen Group)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFranchise dealership for Porsche New Orleans at 3700 N Causeway Blvd, Metairie. Sells new and certified pre-owned Porsche vehicles including Taycan electric sports car, Cayenne E-Hybrid SUV, and other models.
• INFINITI (Nissan)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFranchise dealership INFINITI of South Mississippi at 11779 Bobby Eleuterius Blvd, D'Iberville, MS. Sells new and certified pre-owned INFINITI vehicles including QX60 and QX80 SUVs.
• VolkswagencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFranchise dealership Volkswagen of South Mississippi at 11689 Bobby Eleuterius Blvd, D'Iberville, MS. Sells new and used VW vehicles including Atlas, Tiguan, Taos, and Jetta models.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Holman Automotive: Family-owned private automotive group offering retail dealerships, fleet services, and parts distribution. Comparable to Benson in family ownership, multi-brand retail, and B2B/fleet exposure through its commercial van business.
• Hendrick Automotive Group: The largest privately held automotive dealer group in the US, operating over 140 dealerships across multiple brands and states. Most directly comparable to Benson as a private, multi-brand, multi-state group with diversified service operations.
• Ken Garff Automotive Group: Private multi-brand automotive dealer group headquartered in the western US with similar regional concentration and brand diversity. Comparable as a privately held, family-influenced dealer group operating multiple franchises.
• Berkshire Hathaway Automotive: Subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway operating a large network of franchised auto dealerships across the US. Comparable to Benson as a multi-brand, multi-state dealership group with associated service and parts operations.

Broad incumbents

• Asbury Automotive Group: Public automotive retailer with over 150 dealerships concentrated in the Sunbelt. Highly comparable in geographic focus and brand mix to Benson, but publicly traded and materially larger.
• Group 1 Automotive: Public US automotive retailer with over 200 dealerships across the US and UK. Comparable in multi-brand franchise model and service operations, but operates at materially larger scale than Benson.
• Penske Automotive Group: Public international automotive and commercial truck retailer with heavy premium-brand exposure including Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi. Directly comparable to Benson's premium-brand mix, though with global scale.
• Sonic Automotive: Public automotive retailer with over 140 dealerships including EchoPark used vehicle stores. Comparable multi-brand franchise model with emphasis on premium and luxury brands similar to Benson's portfolio.
• AutoNation: Largest automotive retailer in the US with over 250 dealerships across multiple brands. Comparable business model with multi-brand franchises, service, parts, and F&I revenue streams, but at vastly larger scale.

Others

• CarMax: Largest used vehicle retailer in the US operating a national chain of stores plus online sales. Overlaps with Benson's used vehicle business (586 used units) but operates a fundamentally different capital-light, no-haggle model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Benson Automotive Group