Women's History Month: How Two Black-Women Are Driving Two Of Mercedes-Benz Black-Owned Dealerships

With less than 6 percent of today’s nearly 17,000 new-vehicle dealerships being minority-owned, its literally like finding a needle in a haystack to come across a mother-daughter dealership team. More specifically, a mother-daughter squad who have a financial stake (and hold key positions) in 2 out of 7 of Mercedes-Benz’s black-owned dealerships. The family-owned stores are located in Atlanta, Georgia and Covington, Louisiana.

According to the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD), 95 percent of today’s minority owned dealerships are first-generation dealerships. However, when it comes to minority dealers, especially Black dealers, the numbers are grave. One means of creating general wealth is through owning dealerships. They are literally cash cows, if run properly. This prominent Atlanta family has made provisions to hand the keys off to one of their daughters, when the time becomes appropriate, as opposed to allowing the business to slip outside of their hands (into other communities). 

In a wide-ranging, two-part conversation, Juanita and Grene Baranco talks about the highs and lows their family-owned business has navigated and the instrumental roles they have played as women leading the business. This family-owned business was started by Gregory and Juanita Baranco in the late seventies. A Pontiac dealership was the first brand that kicked off their portfolio of stores. The power coupe was amongst the first wave of Blacks who began to secure the keys to new-vehicle franchises from the automakers. 

To Tune In To Part One 

To hear the conversation, tune in to Auto Trends with JeffCars.com on Saturday, March 9 thru Thursday, March 14. The program will air on SiriusXM 141 and on several FM radio outlets. To get the updated schedule, click here.

To Tune In To Part Two 

To hear the conversation, tune in to Auto Trends with JeffCars.com on Saturday, March 16 thru Thursday, March 21. The program will air on SiriusXM 141 and on several FM radio outlets. To get the updated schedule, click here.