Longtime Elk Grove Nissan, Mazda dealership sold to new owner; workers expected to keep jobs
John Driebe, owner of Nissan and Mazda dealerships at Elk Grove Auto Mall, is selling his Elk Grove showrooms, but most if not all of his nearly 200 employees are expected to keep their jobs, he said Thursday.
The dealerships “will look the same. The facilities will look the same. The people will be the same,” Driebe, who is retiring after 44 years in the Sacramento auto market, said Thursday afternoon.
Driebe announced the sale of his Nissan of Elk Grove and Mazda of Elk Grove dealerships to DriveFamilyFirst LLC, and its owner, longtime business partner Robert Martinez, in filings Feb. 4 to state employment officials.
Details of the sale were not disclosed. Driebe anticipated the transition to happen at the end of March.
“It will be business as usual, locally owned and family-owned,” Driebe said.
Driebe’s Elk Grove dealerships mark 22 years in business this year. He also owns two Roseville showrooms, Mazda Roseville and Infiniti Roseville.
The Elk Grove showrooms at the Auto Mall, as well as an oil change service and collision repair shop also owned by Driebe’s Sacramento Motorcars LLC, are also included in the sale.
With the announcement last week to the state Employment Development Department came a WARN notice to workers that their jobs would likely end March 31.
The WARN — Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification — Act requires employers to give their employees 60 days’ notice before a mass layoff or relocation.
But in his WARN letter, Driebe said the new owners would likely keep employees on the job.
“We anticipate that the purchasing entity will continue to operate an automotive dealership at the same location and hire most, if not all, of the current employees,” the letter read.
“We pulled together everybody” to announce the sale, Martinez said Thursday. “I want to maintain the legacy. This allows me to continue what John started. It’s important that this business is in the community.”
The employees include 146 workers at the two showrooms at 8440 Auto Passage Drive and 8588 Laguna Grove Drive. Elk Grove Custom Collision, a collision repair and detailing shop, employs 43 workers; 10 people work at an affiliated Quik Lube at 8588 Laguna Grove Drive, Suite B, according to the notice.
Workers at Lasher Auto Group received similar notices when Lasher sold its Elk Grove dealerships to Canada’s Knight Automotive Group in 2022, but most of Lasher’s 400-plus workers kept their jobs.
Elk Grove’s economy has long been fueled by auto sales. The Nissan and Mazda dealerships were listed among Elk Grove’s top 25 sales tax producers in the city’s recently released 2024-25 budget, joining 10 other Elk Grove Auto Mall dealerships on the list.
Elk Grove relies heavily on sales tax revenues — the city’s largest individual revenue source. Some 30% of that revenue typically comes from auto sales, say Elk Grove finance officials.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 12:20 PM.
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