The Grappone Auto Group will sell two of its five dealerships this year, including its Toyota and Hyundai branches. (Photo by Geoff Forester/Concord Monitor)
The Grappone Auto Group is selling two of its franchises, Toyota and Hyundai, as the company completes the transition into the fourth generation of family ownership.
The change comes as Robert J. Grappone, whose grandparents started the firm in 1924, is selling his ownership interest. His daughter, Amanda Grappone Osmer, who has worked at the company for 28 years, will buy his shares of their Ford and Honda franchises — she already owns Grappone Mazda — while the Toyota and Hyundai franchises are being sold to McGovern Auto Group, which owns dealerships throughout the Northeast.
“This decision was not made lightly,” said Osmer. “While we wanted to keep all five franchises under the Grappone name and in the family business, this transition ensures we remain a strong, sustainable, family-owned company.”
Details of the sale were not released.
The sale of the Toyota and Hyundai franchises is set to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Until then, Grappone will operate the dealerships.
The firm dates back to 1924 when Italian immigrants Rocco and Emanuela Grappone bought a Gulf service station in Concord, followed by an Oldsmobile franchise a year later. Their son John later moved the operation to Bow, and the company acquired the five brands that today comprise Grappone Automotive Group. His sons Robert and Allen took over the business and eventually handed it off to the fourth generation.
Osmer oversaw the move of Grappone Mazda to Concord in 2022. The remaining franchises are still in Bow.
Robert Grappone and his wife, Beverly, are well known in the region for their philanthropy and good works. Their connection to their alma mater, Saint Anselm College in Manchester, includes funding the Grappone Humanities Institute in memory of their son Gregory, who passed away in 2015.
