BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — West Herr announced the purchase of Towne Automotive Group’s BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and MINI dealerships, as well as Towne’s Northern Collision Center in a Monday release.

Starting Thursday, Jan. 12, the four dealerships will be open for business, donning the West Herr name.

“Frank Downing, President of the Towne Automotive Group is very highly respected in Western New York for his business acumen, integrity, and highly ethical commitment to his customers and employees,” said Scott Bieler, president and CEO of the West Herr Automotive Group.

“Frank has true compassion for our community which is evident through his many community efforts and contributions,” Bieler added. “We are excited and look forward to carrying on the quality treatment of customers and employees that Frank Downing and his team have established through the years. All of us at West Herr are very excited to represent as the sole location of BMW, Audi and MINI in the Buffalo market.  We are also very pleased to now welcome Volkswagen to the West Herr family and the 27 brands we represent in Western New York.”

West Herr says that the four dealerships will be operated out of their current facilities, with the MINI dealership eventually relocating to a building near their Acura location on Transit Road in Williamsville.

The purchase means that West Herr will now own and operate 27 dealerships in the Buffalo market. They intend to retain “nearly all” of the 166 employees working at each facility.

“We recently started to consider strategically simplifying our business structure. This move will allow us to continue to serve the Western New York Community and our customers from our Southtowns locations in Orchard Park, Hamburg and North Collins,” Downing said.  “We are dedicated to treating our loyal customers and our over 300 employees like family.  We will continue to operate as we always have over the past 50 years with integrity, professionalism and a focus on customer service and the community.  I have tremendous respect for Scott Bieler and the entire West Herr organization and have full confidence in the future direction of those dealerships and wish them all the best.”