Gettel Automotive Group purchases Palm dealerships in Charlotte County

The Gettel Automotive Group, which runs six dealerships in the Bradenton-Sarasota area, recently purchased 11 new franchises in Charlotte County.

By adding the 11 Palm dealerships in Punta Gorda, Gettel doubled its number of Florida franchises to 22. The new franchises are Toyota, Hyundai, Lincoln, Chevrolet, Buick-GMC, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Mazda and Mitsubishi.

Bill Finocchiaro, the general manager of Toyota of Lakewood for the past three years, is overseeing the transition in Punta Gorda. All eligible Palm employees were offered a job during the transition. There will be 250 associates at the Charlotte County locations, pushing the Gettel total to more than 1,100 employees.

The new Gettel franchises are located on South Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda.

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Gettel Automotive Group purchases Palm dealerships in Charlotte County."