Vin Devers loses Porsche franchise

9/4/2010
BLADE STAFF

Auto dealer Vin Devers Inc., which sells Audi and Mercedes-Benz vehicles, has lost its Porsche franchise.

The lost franchise comes just five years after the Sylvania dealer announced it would build a dealership on Central Avenue and King Road in Sylvania Township to sell its luxury car brands.

The site was scrapped and no construction took place.

It was about that time when Vin Devers obtained the Porsche franchise, which had been held by Yark Automotive Group in Sylvania Township.

The dealer, which operates as Vin Devers Autohaus of Sylvania, and the German automaker parted ways June 30, said Tony Fouladpour, a spokesman for Porsche Cars North America in Atlanta.

Porsche initiated the termination, he said, declining to elaborate.

"It was a mutual business decision. It was based on a number of factors, not just on sales," he said.

Vin Devers officials declined to comment.

The dealership sold seven Porsche vehicles through the first half of this year and 18 last year, according to the Toledo Auto Dealers Association.

The bulk of Vin Devers' sales are Mercedes and Audi vehicles.

Porsches typically range in prices of $45,000 to $90,000.

Vin Devers said in early 2008 that it sold its 31-year-old Dodge dealership to Grogan's Towne Chrysler Plymouth and planned to use the proceeds to enhance its Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche franchises.

"We were building our import side and we did need money to expand our Mercedes and Porsche business," Paul Devers, who is the dealership's co-owner, said at the time.