CEO Jenell Ross of Bob Ross Auto Group (photo credit: JR)
In 1979, Jenell Ross’
father, Bob Ross Sr., became Mercedes-Benz's first Black dealer. Ross, who is a
second generation Mercedes-Benz dealer, is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the luxury dealership this year. She’s has held the much deserved title of leading the Ohio-based Bob Ross Auto Group for the past two decades, as a result of her father's passing.
In a day and time, when
it was still rare for ethnic minorities to land non premium dealerships like
Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda and Chrysler, Ross’ father managed to earn the
keys to secure a German luxury franchise. Traditionally, these upper echelon
dealerships were typically awarded to White men. Still today despite the slow progress ethnic
minorities have made in gaining access to the keys, its a rarity to find them in the dealers seat, especially when they're a woman.
While men continue to
outpace women in their household in terms of registering new vehicles,
ironically, that is not the case for Black women, who are slightly outpacing
Black men in their household in terms of registering new vehicles in their name.
In fact, Black women register a slightly larger share of new vehicles in their
name, when compared to other households.
Conversely, while Black
women are making inroads due to their buying power, it hasn’t translated to the
ownership ranks. In fact, Ross is just one of a handful of Black women who have
managed to get their hands on less than 20 of the approximate 19,000 new car dealerships scattered throughout the United States.
Sadly, while many
statistics infer that women play a key role in influencing car buying decisions
in their household, as a group, they have less than a 6 percent ownership stake
in all of the U. S. stores. In a business where many dealership owners are a member of the millionaires’ club, only 2 Black women have been able to move
beyond just owning one of the world’s most prestigious luxury cars to
actually having skin in the game, in terms of owning a Mercedes-Benz
new-vehicle franchise.
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| Jenelle Ross with her parents and sibling as a youth. (photo credit: JR) |
Jenell Ross and Juanita
Baranco, who is one the co-owners of Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead, are a part of this
tight-knit pact of Black women who hold keys. These two entrepreneurial women have managed to add a little
‘Black Girl Magic’ to Mercedes-Benz's approximated 400 new-vehicle franchises based in the United States.
Ironically, although Blacks, as a
whole, own only 7 of the German luxury maker stores, which equate to less than
2 percent of all of the brand’s luxury stores, Mercedes-Benz is one
of the top two most purchased luxury brands in the Black community.
This weekend Jenell Ross, whose been
in the driver's seat for over two decades, takes time out of her hectic schedule to
talk to SiriusXM's Auto Trends with JeffCars.com
about how her dad landed a Buick store, which was his first dealership, to how he acquired the
Mercedes-Benz franchise to how she has managed to make sure
the family-owned dealership has continuously maintained a spot on Black Enterprise’s annual top
dealers listing since its first landed a spot in the seventies - despite many minorities being
forced to close their doors approximately 10 years ago, as a result of the Great
Recession.
Ross, who is the chair of the Federal Reserve Bank Cincinnati branch, continues to keep her parents dream and legacy
alive, as she makes her own mark in the automotive industry and beyond.
To
Tune In
To hear the conversation, tune in to Auto Trends with JeffCars.com Friday, March 29 at 12:00 P.M. ET on
SiriusXM Channel 141. Encore broadcasts can be heard on Sunday, March 31 and
Monday, April, 1 at 12:00 P.M. ET and 1:30 P.M. ET, respectively.
Cruise over to SiriusXM to
find out more about free trials and how to listen in your car or on your
smartphone.
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